I'm so ready to be done with gardening by November; I don't like to be cold and wet and, as embarrassed as I am to admit it, I'm afraid of spiders. At this time of year there are all those fat, slow-moving spiders that get in your hair, on your arms....they give me the creeps. So I keep a watch out for spiders and shamelessly follow the sun so that only the warmest areas of the garden get much attention. But I'm driven by the need to clean up enough to get bulbs into the ground, as well as by the thought of how grateful I'll be in springtime for every bit of work accomplished now.
So here's the minimum that needs to be done before coming indoors for awhile.....
There's a rhythm and order to autumn work, just as in springtime. First bring in any plants you want to winter over; my windowsills are full of tender succulents and scented-leaved geraniums. Then clean up and compost the shriveled pumpkin vines, spent annuals, perennials that have already mushed down, like ligularias and hostas, and those that have fallen over like sneezeweed, or grown rampant, like hardy geraniums. I like to leave lily stalks, ornamental grass blooms, and even yellowing raspberry canes for the birds, and to keep the garden from looking too barren. It's time to cut back the flowers on lavender so that water doesn't run down inside and freeze over the winter, and to cut back the longest branches on rose bushes so they don't whip about in the wind.
All this cutting down and clearing up should leave some exposed soil, so go ahead and add some lime or bulb food if you're so inclined. Then tuck bulbs, including lilies, into pots and areas where the soil drains well and they'll get sun come springtime. Then top off any bare soil with a generous helping of compost and/or mulch......and you're done until after the first hard frost does its damage.
These fancy-leaved geraniums are no longer blooming, but the foliage will carry on until hit by serious frost.
A yellowing stand of lilies adds height and bulk to the garden, and is a gathering place for chickadees and other little birds...
A spent lily stalk has its own stark beauty against the November sky....
After all the cleanup, smaller beauties like hellebores become the stars of the garden again...
