November Gardening Jobs

wintering over mums inside my garage this year. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

November Gardening Jobs

This year I am going to winter hardy mums in my garage. I love these long-lasting cut flowers that are a natural bug deterrent. They do well on my shallow soil profile but are usually only available in the fall. I will be planting them this spring in the garden to give them a longer growing season. I garden in USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

As long as the ground is not frozen, fall is an excellent time to plant trees, bushes, perennials and bulbs.

Now that all of my tropical plants are settled inside, I am still moving potted plants around to give them optimum light conditions. With my house heat on, plants are adjusting to the warm conditions by dropping leaves.

Tree leaves have also been busy, from changing color to making their way onto flower beds. I like to use mowed over leaves for a layer of mulch that decomposes into soil over the next few years. I will be adding wood chips from our local recycling center after the first hard frost. The combination will create a plantable bed by next spring.

Missouri’s native tree flowering dogwood leaves turn purple in fall. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins Photo)

Plants continue to need moisture; an inch a week is a good measure, especially for woody plants, such as azaleas and evergreens. When watering, check for damaged branches and remove. Once winter ice moves in, the ice will cause more damage than necessary on those weak and damaged limbs. I take pruners with me so I can also trim out suckers and branches that are too long, especially along where I regularly walk. No point in putting that off until later when the ground is covered in ice and snow.

If you haven’t done so already, this is a good time to empty most of your composters. Most likely candidates to get the new rich soil amendment include asparagus and strawberry beds.  I also added compost to my deck pots to get them ready for my next crops. I still have red onions growing so I may scatter some lettuce and spinach seeds.

Still need to mound my rose crowns with 6 inches of soil or so before the first frost. I have mounds of mulch already piled nearby to scatter on the plants after I add a layer of leaf mulch for extra insulation.

My purple coneflowers bloomed well this year so I have trimmed a few seed heads to plant in my nursery bed next year. The rest I leave for winter bird food.

Have grass to mow? You should be on the downside of the mowing season. Make the last cut when you see grass has stopped growing. Let clippings lie where they’ve been cut to restore Nitrogen to the soil. Have fun mowing over the leaves to shred and move them to flower beds.

Don’t forget to stop and enjoy the fall colors. Trees, shrubs and some perennials take on a different color in fall, changing gardens into new, sometimes surprising color palettes. Take note of something you like and plant more next year.

If you’ve enjoyed daffodils and tulips earlier this year, this is the time to get bulbs planted. There is a variety of other spring bulbs to plant now including lilies and hyacinths. Check your local home and garden center for the varieties best for your area, and shop late season discounts.

Charlotte

Gardener Book Gift Ideas

Two complimentary books to raise your own fruit. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Gardener Book Gift Ideas

Books have been a favorite holiday gift so here are three that are excellent choices alone, or as a complimentary gift set.

Let’s start with how to plant mini fruit trees and berries, then get bees to pollinate them. Christy Wilhelmi's "Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden" and my award-winning "A Beekeeper's Diary Self-Guide to Keeping Bees 2nd Edition" make a helpful combination gift!

I met Christy through an international gardening group and loved the description of her gardening website as for "people with a healthy sense of humor about their obsession with organic gardening." 

Christy's book "Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden" ($27.99 US) will guide the reader on how to add, and manage, dwarf fruit trees. I myself have more than 60 dwarf fruit trees growing outside, and another handful inside in pots. Those tropicals inside go out on the deck during the growing season and are swallowtail butterfly caterpillar food, well,  besides giving me fresh fruit. By the way, Christy also has several other excellent gardening books, a fun podcast, classes and gardening guides at Gardenerd.com.

Now if you know of someone who wants to get a start on beekeeping, my award-winning workbook and beginning beekeeping book "A Beekeeper's Diary Self-Guide to Keeping Bees 2nd Edition" ($34.95 US hard cover, $24.95 ebook) covers the most common native bees. It also offers a step-by-step guide on how to keep honey bees. For the gardeners, it has a whole chapter on planting for pollinators and has been a popular read for those curious about what it takes to be a beekeeper even if they don’t follow up.

The book has been approved by the Great Plains Master Beekeeping program as offering scientifically-based best management practices.

Writer’s Digest Review

Don’t take my word for it, here is what a Writer’s Digest judge said about the diary November 21, 2022:

“This book is exemplary in its structure, organization, and pacing. The structure of the chapters/parts aid in a compelling organization of the story or information. The pacing is even throughout and matches the tone/genre of the book….

This book is exemplary in production quality and cover design. The physical materials, printing, and binding are of professional quality and traditional industry standards. The typesetting and page layout (including illustrations, images, or figures) are easy to follow, thoughtfully designed, and error free. The cover appears to be professionally designed and is compellingly related to the content/genre of the book. This book is exemplary in its choice of topic or theme of the story. It is unique but still has strong appeal for most readers in its intended genre…

This book is exemplary in its voice and writing style. It has a unique voice, and the writing style is consistent throughout. The style and tone are also consistent with or will appeal to readers of the intended genre…

This book is well researched and well written. While the lessons in the pages work well, the added pages for notes, etc., really help make this a great interactive book on beekeeping, as well as maintaining a healthy yard.”

Free Bee Book Mark

For a limited time, I will include a metal bee bookmark when purchased from my website. You've been forewarned: cats may find the bee charm bookmark irresistible. (Found the stolen bookmark, still looking for the snowman ornament.)

For those of you who like autographed books, both books are available autographed from the authors websites. 

Another gardener book, this one about how to make a healthier garden. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)

Every fall, I stash a book stack to read during cold, snowy winter months. You don't need a cold day to enjoy reading Mary-Kate Mackey's "The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World."

I also met Mary-Kate through the international gardening group and recently worked with her on a live "meet the author" forum. She lives in the Portland, Oregon area but shares an "older" garden, much like my 40-year old limestone hillside garden. If you didn't know, gardens will take a shape, and direction, all of their own. I try to embrace that energy, striving for balance as opposed to imposing perfection.

Mary-Kate Mackey's book "The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World" ($13.59 US) offers a number of thoughtful reasons why we should rethink our gardens and how we can all contribute to a greener world. 

Shopping on Amazon? Get all three!

(Amazon determines book pricing and regularly changes it)

A Beekeeper's Diary, Self-Guide to Keeping Bees 2nd Edition (available hardcopy and ebook)
Grow Your Own Mini Fruit Garden (available hard copy and ebook)
Simple Steps to a Healthy Garden (also available hard copy and ebook) 

Happy gift-giving, and don’t forget to pick a few books up for yourself!

Charlotte

Hardy Garden Mums

Pink daisy-like hardy garden Mums were planted last fall, survived winter and made it through our record hot summer. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Hardy Garden Mums

Have you ever wondered why some mums make it through winter but others do not?

Getting mums through their first winter in a garden can be challenging. There are a couple of reasons why including that there are two different types of mums.

The perennial, fall-flowering form is Chrysanthemum x morifolium and are the best to add to gardens. These are the ones that come back year after year once they get established. By comparison, the annual variety is Chrysanthemum x multicaule. These tend to be sold as gift plants in grocery stores and florists and don’t do well outside of a greenhouse.

If your plant has no identification, here’s how to easily tell them apart. Annual mums have thinner, strappy leaves that are not as toothed as the perennials, which are wide and deeply notched.

How to Plant Hardy Garden Mums

Make sure the root ball is nicely hydrated. I will place them in a bucket of water overnight to ensure they have all of the water they need. Sometimes they can get dry sitting in a pot at a garden center and only watered with a sprinkler.

Secondly hardy garden mums in USDA Hardiness zone 5 like at least 6 hours of sun a day.

Hardy garden mums make great plants for flower bed corners and mixed in with other perennials. You can keep them short by pinching them once a week mid-spring until July 4 weekend to keep them bushy.

I let mine grow tall so they are easier to cut for flower arrangements.

More hardy garden mums starting to bloom. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

Why Plant Hardy Garden Mums

There are many reasons I plant mums. First they are a natural bug repellent. As a matter of fact many of the “safe” bug sprays are made from pyrethrin which is “eau de mum.”

Secondly, hardy garden mums are easy to grow once they are established. It’s better to buy them in spring if you can find them but most hardy garden mums are available for purchase in the fall. If you plant in fall, plan to give them a gallon of water a month through winter to help their roots get established. If you can mulch with leaves or wood chips that will help protect them as well.

Finally I love having mums because they are one of the longest-lasting cut flowers. As the growing season wanes, having blooming hardy garden mums provides a source of fresh flowers easily through the holidays.

I keep small fresh flower bouquets in several spots around my house. In the photo, besides mums there are pink vincas, red yarrow, dark pink geraniums, yellow mums and blue lavender.

Charlotte

October Gardening Jobs

Time to bring in my favorite red begonias to winter over inside. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

October Gardening Jobs

Out of the four seasons in my garden, this is the most challenging. I have to decide which plants come inside to winter over and which ones I have to leave. And I don’t like to leave any of them!

Our weather forecast for USDA Hardiness Zone 5 is calling for a frost early October and a hard frost mid-November. I’ve brought all of my tropical citrus inside so they can get acclimated to changed conditions before dry heat kicks on.

Some of the other good fall gardening tips this time of year include:

1. Pick herbs before they have flowered to capture the full flavor. Wait until after they have flowered and cut the new herb sprouts to dry for later use. Except for basil.

2. Besides harvesting, this is the time to freeze extras for later use.

3. Start pruning and checking for any hitchhikers on plants that are coming inside for winter. To cut down on leaf drop, bring plants in a month before turning on the heat, which is usually end of October for me.

4. For single plants in separate pots, consider combining them, watering well and then bringing them inside. Even if they only last for a couple of months, they will help to extend the growing season.

5. Water. Perennials, established trees, evergreens and azaleas need one inch of water a week. Water into the ground so the water hydrates plant roots. Keep watering until our first hard frost. For our part of the country, that usually around Halloween.

6. Stop fertilizing and pruning. Wait until January-February to prune after the plants are dormant and you can better see their form.

7. If you have trees with fungus or other issues, collect those leaves and burn or bury into the ground. I leave most of my leaves on flower beds except for diseased ones, don’t want to spread that fungus. Those I bury in the ground.

8.If you haven’t cleaned up flower beds of spent plants, here’s your last chance to gather seeds. Leave some for the birds, they will eat them over winter. Leave the rest to clean up in spring. By then, most of the greenery will have broken down and become part of the garden mulch.

9. Plant spring bulbs. Add a little bone meal at the bottom of the hole to slowly feed the bulbs. Plant bulbs close together if you don’t mind digging them up in a couple of years to separate. If you would rather not, give them more space in between. Mark where you planted them so you don’t dig them up next year when planting something else.

10. Leave the falling leaves where they are. If you are worried about your grass, run the mower over them. Leaves return Nitrogen to the soil and make a wonderful amendment to flower beds and help retain moisture.

11. Plant trees and bushes; make sure to water daily until frost.

And yes, my two young cats love their fresh catnip! (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)

12. Even though the fresh catnip pot gets a lot of love, I still bring one in. Maybe I should consider growing catnip in a hanging basket.

13. Enjoy the beauty of fall as leaves turn, native plants bloom and temperatures turn crisp and cool.

Charlotte

December Gardening Chores

Shredded and small dried leaves make good winter mulch. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

December Gardening Chores

At least this year my overwintering nursery won’t get new additions; I will be planting the last of my new plant arrivals this month, hopefully a good 5 weeks before a hard frost. Last year, our soil never froze; the year before it was January. The rapid changes in our climate are showing up in my USDA Hardiness zone 5 garden.

I still have some spring garden bulbs to get in the ground. Sprinkled with bone meal in the hole before placing the bulb, these new garden additions will be fun to see in bloom in only a few months. Or so I remind myself; I miss my green garden wintertime.

Here are some other December gardening chores:

Get broken branches and limbs trimmed before ice hits, or before someone runs into them visiting for the holidays. You know where they are but people new to your property are bound to run into them.

 As soon as a hard frost hits, it will be time to mulch. Mulching maintains the soil at an even temperature. During winter, the point of mulching is to keep plants in hibernation. If you still have shredded leaf piles, move those into flower beds, those will also make good mulch.

 To mulch trees, make a well around the tree trunk and leave an area the width of a tire between the tree trunk and the mulch. When mulching, don’t pile mulch up to the trunk or you will create an area for diseases. Leaving a little moat around the tree also reduces girdling.

 Have empty pots, garden carts, rakes leaning against the side of the house? It’s time to clean them off and store them for the season. The rakes, in particular, you don’t want to step on the tines and hit yourself on the side of the head.

Mulch-covered mums showing new growth; keep them watered over winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

If you are planting mums this fall, make sure to get them mulched and regularly watered over the cold months. Leave the dead growth, it will protect the young shoots growing in the plant center.

Empty composters into flower beds. Leave enough to get a new batch started.

Clean out and organize your garden implements so you know which ones need repairs including sharpening. Winter is a good time to get those done.

Did you save seeds this year? Get them in containers and labelled; store seeds in a cool dry space.

Keep an eye out for plant sales. Bulbs are usually half off this time of year and seasonal plants get marked down after the holidays.

Give gardening gifts for the gardeners on your gift list starting with these wonderful gardening gloves with honey.

Finally remember to rest and start planning for next year. If you haven’t already, make notes of what worked well this growing season and what you want to try next year. Before you know it, it will be spring!

Charlotte

Fall Mum Planting

The flowers are dying but the mum can still be planted in the garden. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Fall Mum Planting

Those lovely chrysanthemum flowers have died off and you’re ready to toss the plants but wait. You are looking at the wrong part of the plant.

First, why would you want to save a mum?

Chrysanthemums are natural bug deterring plants. Most of the “organic” bug sprays on the market are made basically out of essence of mums.

Secondly, mums can grow back next year with a little first winter care.

So what are you looking for?

I know it’s tempting to say the plant is done but forget the dead flowers. Carefully part the stems and look at the center. You should see new growth in the center of the plant.

Look at the inside bottom of the plant, if it’s doing well you will see new growth. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Sometimes you will also see growth down the side of the root ball, that’s a good sign, too.

f the stems are still green, chances are there is also new growth in the plant center.

If you don’t see anything at first, look at where the stems split from the center stalks, there may be new growth just starting along the plant stems.

Also check the root ball. If it’s dry, put the whole root ball in a bucket of water and let it rehydrate.

Old totes are good ways to rehydrate dry mums assuming they don’t have holes. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Mums have shallow roots so make sure to get the top watered. I use old beekeeping storage totes although one of them had a hole in the bottom. You want a container that will hold water long enough for the plant to absorb it into its entire root ball.

Once the root ball is saturated and you see new growth, it’s time to get the mums permanently in the garden.

Dig a hole twice the size of the root ball. Water it before you put in the mum to make sure the surrounding soil is saturated. I wait for a good rain before I plant; that way the ground is hydrated and I can more easily dig my limestone hillside.

Break off the bottom 2-3 inches of the root ball in case the roots are bound. I pack that soil back in around the planted root ball.

Place the mum in the dug hole, then tap soil all around it. Water again.

Leave the dead branches; those will help protect the new growth over winter.

Mulch planted mums with leaves around the perimeter to protect new growth. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins0

Again don’t worry about those faded and drooping flowers, keep your eye on the green stems and whatever growth you found in the plant center.

Mulch the plant all around. I use chopped up leaves.

Once we have a hard frost, I will add mulch over the top. Mulch helps to protect the plant from freezing and thawing.

Through winter, check the plant to make sure it’s not dry. Water regularly; a gallon a month per plant.

Now there is no guarantee that these plants will make it through winter but a high percentage of the ones I have planted this way have survived. They may be different shaped and smaller size than the original plant but one growing season will help them get big again.

To keep their round shape next year, pinch them back every few weeks. I use my plant snips to quickly cut the plants back. They also work well to snip off dead flower heads and encourage new flowers.

Here is a mum I planted a couple of months ago now showing new flowers in the center where there is new growth.

Surprise, one of the mums I planted earlier is showing new flowers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Did I mention that mums also make very long lasting cut flowers?

Charlotte

Compost Autumn Clematis

Autumn clematis vines in one of my composters. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Compost Autumn Clematis

I have a soft spot for climbers and especially the beauty and scent of autumn clematis. Although beautiful, they are not native to my Missouri USDA Hardiness zone 5 garden.

The challenge is that these hardy perennial vines can easily get out of hand and take over; I see hillsides covered in them mid-summer. As a responsible gardener, if I am going to plant them then I need to keep them in check.

Autumn clematis growing on my cattle panel arbors. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins

During the growing season, I keep them trimmed and bushy. They grow over several bent cattle panels forming arbors over hillside pathways.

Once they bloom and before they go to seed, I cut the autumn clematis vines to soil level and compost. The idea is to prevent them from spreading where they aren’t welcome.

The best option would be not to plant these at all and find something as pretty and interesting but less invasive.

Let’s see what I can find for next year.

Charlotte

November Gardening Chores

Time to get these transplanted mums back in the ground. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

November Gardening Chores

If you’ve never been through a home remodel or reconstruction, trust me when I say there are so many unexpected ways it can impact a garden. Even being careful, construction crews will inadvertently break limbs and walk on plants, which is why I moved some of my chrysanthemums out of the way earlier this fall. I garden in USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

With most of the reconstruction now done, it’s time to get the plants back in the ground and mulched so they have a chance to get re-established. As long as the ground is not frozen, fall is an excellent time to plant trees, bushes, perennials and bulbs.

Now that all of my tropical plants are settled inside, I am still moving potted plants around to give them optimum light conditions. With my house heat on, plants are adjusting to the warm conditions by dropping leaves.

Tree leaves have also been busy, from changing color to making their way onto flower beds. I like to use mowed over leaves for a layer of mulch that decomposes into soil over the next few years. I will be adding wood chips from our local recycling center after the first hard frost. The combination will create a plantable bed by next spring.

Missouri’s native tree flowering dogwood leaves turn purple in fall. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Plants continue to need moisture; an inch a week is a good measure, especially for woody plants, such as azaleas and evergreens. When watering, check for damaged branches and remove. Once winter ice moves in, the ice will cause more damage than necessary on those weak and damaged limbs. I take pruners with me so I can also trim out suckers and branches that are too long, especially along where I regularly walk. No point in putting that off until later when the ground is covered in ice and snow.

If you haven’t done so already, this is a good time to empty most of your composters. Most likely candidates to get the new rich soil amendment include asparagus and strawberry beds.  I also added compost to my deck pots to get them ready for my next crops. I still have red onions growing so I may scatter some lettuce and spinach seeds.

Still need to mound my rose crowns with 6 inches of soil or so before the first frost. I have mounds of mulch already piled nearby to scatter on the plants after I add a layer of leaf mulch for extra insulation.

My purple coneflowers bloomed well this year so I have trimmed a few seed heads to plant in my nursery bed next year. The rest I leave for winter bird food.

Have grass to mow? You should be on the downside of the mowing season. Make the last cut when you see grass has stopped growing. Let clippings lie where they’ve been cut to restore Nitrogen to the soil. Have fun mowing over the leaves to shred and move them to flower beds.

Don’t forget to stop and enjoy the fall colors. Trees, shrubs and some perennials take on a different color in fall, changing gardens into new, sometimes surprising color palettes. Take note of something you like and plant more next year.

If you’ve enjoyed daffodils and tulips earlier this year, this is the time to get the bulbs planted. There is a variety of other spring bulbs to plant now including lilies and hyacinths. Check your local home and garden center for the varieties best for your area.

Charlotte

Flying Ghosts

One of my neighbors has these ghosts flying at her driveway entrance. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Flying Ghosts

When people say fall garden decor, it’s usually chrysanthemums on their mind unless it’s the kick off of the holiday season, Halloween. In the midwest where I live, people have become more and more engaged in Halloween decor, from painting hay bales with pumpkin faces to elaborate front yard scenes including black cats and tombstones.

In my neighborhood, we usually share seasonal garden flags and maybe a few pumpkins until this year. One of our neighbors went all out by setting up a Halloween scene including flying ghosts.

I stopped long enough to - yes, I peeked under the sheets.

The inside of the ghost has a simple foam head and shoulders. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Years ago, I made some similar flying ghosts out of foam styrofoam balls and clothing hangers repurposing old white t-shirts. Mine were smaller because I had them hanging inside in my dining room. These outside flying ghosts were larger but looked very similar in construction.

One other reason these are fun; they don’t require a lot of storage room so you can make several and keep everything in one box.

A hook at the top of the foam head makes hanging the ghost easy. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Here’s how the flying ghosts look as part of the Halloween scene at the entrance of the driveway. Our neighborhood kids have to pass the scene on their way home from the school bus stop.

As I was taking the photo, the black spider on the left startled me.

Here’s her whole Halloween scene; the black spider on the left got me! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I’m not a fan of horror movies or the scarier part of this holiday but the ghosts, and spiders, are fun to have in the garden.

Boo!

Charlotte

Ten Ways to Use Leaves

Leaves are starting to cover my mulched garden paths. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Leave the Leaves

For years neighbors would ask me why I left my leaves on the garden in the fall. Their main concern was that the leaves would turn the soil too acid for anything to grow.

Besides sitting on the side of a limestone hill surrounded by woods and not having any grass growing, the thought of trying to rake leaves was daunting. When I realized leaves decompose into organic soil conditioners, I was sold. Now more than 30 years since I started this practice, my latest soil test shows the soil - I’m just excited to be able to say I actually have some soil now - is close to the middle of the scale so leaving leaves does not necessarily acidify soil.

Ten Ways to Use Leaves

Since I have so many leaves, and have been known to haul more back home from our recycling center, reconsider bagging that ready powerhouse that you could easily use. Here’s how I use leaves on my hillside:

1. Added to compost bins. Good compost is half green (kitchen scraps) and half brown (leaves). I stuff my composters full of dried leaves in fall. By the time I’m working my garden in the spring I have a ready source of compost waiting for me. Yes, it takes longer for compost to cook over fall and winter but I don’t need it then.

2. I cover all of my flower beds with leaves to protect young plant starts and established perennials from winter ice. I prefer to use mulched leaves for this so I haul those back from our recycling center. By spring it’s amazing how few leaves are left because they slowly decomposed over fall and winter.

3. The decomposed leaves also feed soil microbes, bacteria and mycelium and they, in turn, feed the plants.

4. Flower beds also have open spots for ground nesting bumble bees so the leaves protect those nests. I also have ladybugs and other beneficial insects that depend on leaves for winter cover.

5. If I am planting trees in fall, I line the bottom of the holes with wet leaves to help keep tree roots hydrated.

6. When I remove a hillside limestone rock. I fill the holes with packed leaves so no one will fall into the hole. After a few years, that hole becomes an excellent planting hole full of decomposed leaves that have turned to soil food.

7. In spring, I save whatever leaf pile is left and fill new plant holes with leaves. The leaves hold in water and keep feeding the surrounding soil which feeds my plants.

8. When mulching my paths, which I do about every three years, I will first line the paths with leaves and cardboard, then add the mulch. The cardboard and leaves cuts down on plant growth although I do have some paths I had to move because native plants grew there.

9. If you live in a more urban environment and have a lawn mower, mow your leaves into smaller pieces and rake them onto flower beds. Leave some on your grass, too. The smaller pieces will decompose faster and will feed the soil that’s growing that expensive grass you planted. A good rule of thumb is about half an inch of shredded leaves.

10. Bag your leaves in black plastic bags and stash them where rain and sun will cook them. One of my brothers bagged leaves and forgot about them behind his garage. When I was visiting and helping him clean up the yard, we pulled the bags out and found lovely decomposed leaves that looked like compost. instead of having them hauled off, we spread the composted leaves all over his flower beds. He said the leaves had been sitting there for about a year.

If you don’t have leaves, invite your neighbors to bring over theirs.

The more you use them the more you will appreciate what leaves can do in your garden!

Charlotte

Wintering Tropical Plants

Tropical plants lining up for their fall trimming and spray bath before heading inside for winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Wintering Tropical Plants

Plants look like they’re taking a number to wait in line, doesn’t it. In some ways, they are. The tropical and tender plants are getting sorted by size and lighting requirements before they spend the next 6 months inside. Our first hard frost in USDA Hardiness zone 5 is end of the October so these tropicals need to get settled where they can safely survive.

This is a hard time for me. I worry that I will run out of space before I run out of plants so I try to bring in as many as I can. It takes some planning to figure out what goes where for light requirements as well as easy access to those that need more frequent watering.

I try to get these inside before I turn on the house heat so they can adjust to their new space before the temperature changes. If I don’t, leaves fall and it takes longer for the plants to adjust to their new growing conditions. I try to give them at least 4 weeks to adjust inside before I turn on the heat.

Plants with long trunks and stems get tied up so they don’t take up so much room. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

To get potted plants ready for the move inside:

1. Trim each plant of excess growth.

2. Tie up long branches.

3. Check for bugs.

4. Spray with a solution of a quart of water with a squirt of Dawn liquid detergent while wiping off any visible bugs.

5. Remove top 2 inches of soil; replace with new potting soil to remove any dormant bugs.

6. Separate into lighting requirements.

7. Clean bottom dish; replace with sturdy larger ones to help humidity those that need extra humidity.

8. Add castors to bottom of heavy plants.

9. Shake plant to remove hitchhikers like tree frogs, praying mantis and, one year, a chipmunk; that was exciting.

Most of my plants have been with me for a number of years so they have favorite wintering spots already reserved. Newcomers are harder to fit in to ensure they get sun so I sometimes set them on pot stands.

I do - grouse is a good word - as I move furniture to bring in the greenery, it can take me a good week or so. My cats enjoy finding hitchhikers but I would rather not be greeted by a lizard, or more commonly a frog, sitting on my kitchen counter.

One of my tropical fruit trees surprised me with a fresh lime; okay front of the line for you! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The tropical fruit trees are wonderful to have inside over winter. They tend to bloom in January and February, filing my rooms up with a lovely fresh scent.

This year we also have another very special addition, a pot of fresh catnip that needs to find a good sunny spot.

I don’t know what I was thinking, the fresh catnip lasted only a week inside. James A Mess now has the pot to sun in for the rest of winter. Note to self: plant catnip in hanging pots for next winter.

This is James A Mess’s favorite fresh catnip pot which will be coming inside with the rest. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

It’s a bit of a fuss right now but when that first snowfall starts, with temperatures in the single digits and I’m warm and surrounded by flowering greenery….that makes me very happy.

Charlotte

October Gardening Chores

Even though there’s little left, this catnip pot will be coming inside for winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins))

October Gardening Chores

Of all of the plants that will transition from my deck inside for winter, I have one very sorry pot of catnip that is a must. My little tuxedo cat James A Mess claimed the pot earlier this spring and loves to roll in what remains of the catnip plant. I doubt poor catnip plant will survive winter being so well loved but it will get a prominent spot in the sun. And I’m sure James will continue to enjoy it.

Out of the four seasons in my garden, this is the most challenging. I have to decide which plants come inside to winter over and which ones I have to leave. And I don’t like to leave any of them!

Our weather forecast for USDA Hardiness Zone 5 is calling for a hard frost around Halloween. I’ve already started to bring the tropical hibiscus inside so they can get acclimated to changed conditions before the dry heat kicks on.

Some of the other good fall gardening tips this time of year include:

1. Pick herbs before they have flowered to capture the full flavor. Wait until after they have flowered and cut the new herb sprouts to dry for later use. Except for basil.

2. Besides harvesting, this is the time to freeze extras for later use.

3. Start pruning and checking for any hitchhikers on plants that are coming inside for winter. To cut down on leaf drop, bring plants in a month before turning on the heat, which is usually early October.

4. For single plants in separate pots, consider combining them, watering well and then bringing them inside. Even if they only last for a couple of months, they will help to extend the growing season.

5. Water. Perennials, established trees, evergreens and azaleas need one inch of water a week. Water into the ground so the water hydrates plant roots. Keep watering until our first hard frost. For our part of the country, that usually around Halloween.

6. Stop fertilizing and pruning. Wait until January-February to prune after the plants are dormant and you can better see their form.

The gift passion vine, left, and Little Hottie hydrangea, right, are ready and waiting to be planted outside. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

7. If you have trees with fungus or other issues, collect those leaves and burn or bury into the ground. I leave most of my leaves on flower beds except for diseased ones, don’t want to spread that fungus. Those I bury in the ground.

8.If you haven’t cleaned up flower beds of spent plants, here’s your last chance to gather seeds. Leave some for the birds, they will eat them over winter. Leave the rest to clean up in spring. By then, most of the greenery will have broken down and become part of the garden mulch.

9. Plant spring bulbs. Add a little bone meal at the bottom of the hole to slowly feed the bulbs. Plant bulbs close together if you don’t mind digging them up in a couple of years to separate. If you would rather not, give them more space in between. Mark where you planted them so you don’t dig them up next year when planting something else.

10. Leave the falling leaves where they are. If you are worried about your grass, run the mower over them. Leaves return Nitrogen to the soil and make a wonderful amendment to flower beds and help retain moisture.

11. Plant trees and bushes; make sure to water daily until frost.

And yes, my two young cats love their fresh catnip! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

12. Stop long enough to enjoy the beauty of fall as leaves turn, native plants bloom and temperatures turn crisp and cool. A hot cup of tea with fresh honey sounds good about now, too!

Charlotte

Winter Flowers

Do you recognize these flowers? They are favorite summer bloomers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Winter Flowers

There are many exotic plants that bloom over winter to give us flowers - moth orchids, Poinsettias and Amaryllis bulbs, even African violets. But you can also have a little bouquet of flowers if keep these two plants in pots inside: geraniums and vinca.

Both considered annuals where I live in mid-Missouri, these hardy plants are good bloomers through summer and fall outside. By the time the first frost hits our area, people tend to toss out the vinca and maybe store geranium roots in brown bags.

I bring both inside in pots and make sure they have a good amount of sunshine in southern windows. Over the years, these have been my continuously-blooming flowers through winter, giving me enough color to make small bouquets.

This red geranium adds interest contrast to the thicker traditional geranium petals, (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Studies show that flowers contribute to our sense of happiness and well being. Having even a little bouquet through winter is a good pick me up and can be a thoughtful gift in the middle of a cold spell.

These are a new geranium now starting to bloom. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This light pink geranium was a 25 cent purchase at the end of the season at one of our home and garden centers. I didn’t know what color it was but I knew the geraniums grow well for me potted inside.

These peach geraniums bloomed continuously earlier this summer. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Geraniums are available during the growing season in a wide range of colors from white to variegated. They are also used in both hanging baskets as well as containers making them quite versatile.

I have a gorgeous dark pink one that is setting buds in my office but not currently in bloom. i’ve had that geranium for more than 8 years. I give it new soil every fall so that it has a good boost to bloom through winter.

Pink vincas also bloom well inside over winter. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

ere’s another surprise. The popular vincas will also grow well potted inside. These hot pink ones have been wintering over with me for several years.

Come spring, they get repotted in fresh soil and spend the summer outside on my deck.

So next time you have some favorite annuals in pots, bring them inside and give them the right light. You may also enjoy flowers all four seasons year around!

Charlotte

Best Leaf Mulch

Shredded leaves make excellent mulch and growing medium. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Best Leaf Mulch

Over the years I have become very particular about the leaves I use for fall mulching. My favorite combination are the leaves ground up by lawn mowers and turned into small pieces.

I can usually find those shredded leaves in bags people haul to our local recycling center. Not every bag will work. Some have tiny pieces of grass mixed in. Others include small twigs and even seed pods. Nothing wrong with those additives for recycling but for my flower beds I want just the shredded fall leaves.

Some shredded leaves without anything else mixed in. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

On warm fall days, I will look for a pile of dumped shredded leaves and fill brown bags full or the shredded leaf goodness.

Be careful, the dust of the leaves can get into your lungs if you get too close.

Here’s what one of the larger piles of dumped shredded leaves looks like. The taller pile makes it easier to fill brown bags.

Be still my heart, a pile of shredded leaves waiting for me at our local recycling center. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Besides working as mulch, which keeps the soil temperature around plant roots from thawing and heaving, shredded leaves make an excellent planting medium in spring. By then the leaves have started to decompose and some plant roots will find their way into the decomposing leaves for nutrition and ease of growth.

In fall, i will cover roses, newly-planted perennials such as mums and any trees I may add with shredded leaves. The leaves will provide the new plants with protection as they settle into their new growing spots.

I also use shredded leaves to protect my hillside flower beds. Winter winds can dry out plants; by covering them with shredded leaves, they not only get protection from changing temperatures but also from damaging winds.

Shredded leaves return organic matter to soil, feeding the microscopic creatures that live there. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

One more reminder about the role of leaves in our garden. There are many beneficial garden residents that winter over in leaves from gnats and spiders to butterflies, moths and salamanders.

I will continue to haul shredded leaves back to my garden until it’s too cold to spread them, and I can hardly wait to see how the garden will grow next year!

Charlotte

Coleus Flowers

These lovely blue flowers are among not often seen flowering coleus. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Coleus Flowers

Most people recognize these plants when they see them. The general family of coleus plants features a wide range of colors and shapes, all provided by the varied leaves of this annual plant.

One of the features not often seen are coleus flowers. Once the plant blooms and goes to seed, the plant tends to not grow as vigorously. Many people pinch off the flowers to help extend the vigor and life of this easy and hardy summer gardening staple.

True blue flowers are rare in gardens so i was delighted to see that these inherited coleus flowers were indeed blue. Coupled with their colorful leaves, the blue flowers were a pretty combination.

Gardeners tend to select coleus more for their leaf color and shape than flower color. The leaves have a variety of shapes as well as color combinations.

There’s a wide range of coleus with different leaf shapes and colors. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

In addition to interesting green leaves, coleus can also have other strong leaf shapes and color combinations, very similar to the range of mixed fabrics that can be found in handmade quilts like a Flower Garden Quilt. . Here are a couple of coleus plants now wintering over inside my house in a shade pot.

At least two different coleus wintering over in one of my shade pots. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Growing outside, coleus provide a pop of color through the summer growing season usually in a shady spot.

Right now they are adding nice unexpected color inside in my living room.

Coleus plants blooming inside in my living room window. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Coleus can easily be grown from both seeds and from cuttings rooted in water.

My goal is to see if I can get these potted coleus to make it through winter inside so they have an earlier start in next year’s growing season.

Charlotte

November Gardening Tips

Dry leaves are a gardener’s best friend, excellent for composting and harboring good insects. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

November Gardening Tips

We’re welcoming November this year with a couple of weeks of warm weather as opposed to the nippy cold rainy days we’ve had for the past two weeks. The raw weather brought us almost 3 inches of welcome rain but I still have some plants to get in the ground in USDA Hardiness 5.

i did get all of my plants inside to winter over. Now that they are all settled inside, I am still moving potted plants around to give them optimum light conditions. My heat is on so leaves are dropping, especially the ferns.

Tree leaves have also been making their way onto flower beds for mulch and a layer that hopefully decomposes into soil over the next few years. I will be adding wood chips from our local recycling center after the first hard frost.

If you want to plant shrubs and move trees, this is a good time. I prefer planting into final spots in spring so my seedlings are now in pots and heeled into the nursery garden bed. That will give me all winter to decide on their final destination.

Love my honey-colored hardy mums currently in bloom. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

It’s been very dry so remember to water. An inch a week is a good measure, especially for woody plants, such as azaleas and evergreens. When watering, check for damaged branches and remove. Once winter ice moves in, the ice will cause more damage than necessary on those weak and damaged limbs. I take pruners with me so I can also trim out suckers and branches that are too long, especially along where I regularly walk. No point in putting that off until later when the ground is covered in ice and snow.

If you haven’t done so already, this is a good time to empty most of your composters. Most likely candidates to get the new rich soil amendment include asparagus and strawberry beds.  I also added compost to my deck pots to get them ready for my next crops. I still have red onions growing so I may scatter some lettuce and spinach seeds.

Still need to mound my rose crowns with 6 inches of soil or so before the first frost. I have mounds of mulch already piled nearby to scatter on the plants after I add a layer of leaf mulch for extra insulation.

Have grass to mow? You should be on the downside of the mowing season. Make the last cut when you see grass has stopped growing. Let clippings lie where they’ve been cut to restore Nitrogen to the soil. Have fun mowing over the leaves to shred and move them to flower beds.

Love the red leaf color native dogwoods add to my hillside. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Don’t forget to stop and enjoy the fall colors. Trees, shrubs and some perennials take on a different color in fall, changing gardens into new, sometimes surprising color palettes. Take note of something you like and plant more next year.

Charlotte

Versatile Leaf Bags

Fall leaf bags are excellent for storing dug up plants. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins(

Versatile Leaf Bags

There’s an excellent garden tool usually available in the fall but it’s not for gathering leaves.

Those large tall brown leaf bags make excellent temporary plant storage when you dig up plants. Fall is an excellent time to move peonies and daylilies as long as they have about a month to settle in their roots before a hard frost. Well even if there is a hard frost, they need warm soil for their roots and that can stay warm until January.

Back to the brown bags.

Brown bags can be used to collect compost additions from the garden. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

These brown paper bags are sold for leaf collection and are often used to haul leaf and grass clippings to our local recycling center.

The brown bags not only are double and triple thick but they can also be used to kill off hard to reach grassy areas where cardboard is hard to use. Once down, cover with wood chips to hold them in place.

Brown bags can also store plant trimmings for easy moving to compost piles.

If you are putting something with weight on it, add a piece of cardboard at the bottom to minimize the bags ripping from the weight.

If you happen to use these for leaves, dump the leaves and bring them back home. You can keep using them for many garden uses.

Now I haven’t decided when to introduce one of these to my cats as a cat toy. They love the smaller brown paper bags that hold groceries. What do you think are these too big?

Charlotte

Gardening Shoes

My favorite gardening shoes from Sloggers, comfortable and cute to boot. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Gardening Shoes

If you have large feet like I do with broken little toes, the idea of a pair of cute, fun shoes is just plain out of the question. I feel lucky to find shoes with rounded tips and a width to accommodate my little crooked pinkies without falling off my ankle and often take what I can find regardless of color.

So it was with great delight that I found these gardening shoes from Sloggers. They were surprisingly heavy to the hand but the design and waterproof quality sold me on trying them. They retailed for $29. where I purchased them at a local home and garden center.

Once out in the garden, they are surprisingly comfortable and frankly lightweight. I usually change shoes when going from the garden to a retailer but I often forget I even have these on.

A friend who used to run a garden center said she had one in every color. They are practical for all sorts of soil conditions and garden seasons.

If you are looking for a gift for a gardener, these would be an excellent choice. I bought mine one size larger than the size I wear. If that’s an issue, keep your receipt so the gift recipient can trade them for a better size.

You should be able to find these online from a variety of retailers as well.

Charlotte

Mushroom Compost

Mushroom compost is an easy and inexpensive way to refresh soil. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Mushroom Compost

If there is one product to stockpile over winter it is mushroom compost. Mushroom compost is the easiest way to refresh potted soil and give your indoor plants a mid-winter pick me up without having to repot the plants.

A number of studies are confirming that mycelium, or the underground fungus network that lives in soil, is critical to the health of soil residents including plants.

To keep soil alive and healthy, gardeners feed the soil residents with compost, recycling kitchen scraps back into soil. As I like to say, we are all connected.

Enter mushroom compost, a product I discovered this year with the help of a local garden center. Although I still produce my own compost, I discovered mushroom compost is also handy to easily refresh potted soil.

This geranium has lived in my office for a good 8 years, getting new soil every spring. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This lovely geranium was an end of the season purchase a good 7 years or more ago. I moved it to my office so that I could keep it watered over winter and it has never left. I know when the soil needs help when the leaves start to dry up and the plant no longer flowers.

I remove the top 3-4 inches of potted plant soil and replace it with a mix of half new potting soil and 1/4 to half mushroom compost.

I have also just mixed the mushroom compost into the top two inches of existing potted soil and use mushroom compost when I plant shrubs and trees. I want to give those roots a good start.

The started using mushroom compost this summer on my deck plants. The new infusion of fresh soil and fungi compost has given my potted plants a wonderful new lease on life. I am stockpiling a supply for use mid winter. I will also be using mushroom compost in spring when I plant vegetables in pots.

There are a number of granulated products on the market that will do the same thing. These bags, at less than $4 a bag, are not only a good value but easy to store for later use.

Charlotte

October Gardening Tips

Time to enjoy a few more bouquets of cut garden flowers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

October Gardening Tips

Don’t know what to think yet but I had better get a start getting plants inside. Out of the four seasons in my garden, this is the most challenging. I have to decide which plants come inside to winter over and which ones I have to leave. And I don’t like to leave any of them!

Our weather forecast for USDA zone 5 is calling for an early first frost around October 21 instead of Halloween. The extended winter forecast is for a colder season with little precipitation so mulching will be important after the first frost.

Some of the other good fall gardening tips this time of year include:

1. Pick herbs before they have flowered to capture the full flavor. Wait until after they have flowered and cut the new herb sprouts to dry for later use. Except for basil.

2. Besides harvesting, this is the time to freeze extras for later use.

3. Start pruning and checking for any hitchhikers on plants that are coming inside for winter. To cut down on leaf drop, bring plants in a month before turning on the heat, which is usually early October.

4. For single plants in separate pots, consider combining them, watering well and then bringing them inside. Even if they only last for a couple of months, they will help to extend the growing season.

5. Water. Perennials, established trees, evergreens and azaleas need one inch of water a week. Water into the ground so the water hydrates plant roots. Keep watering until our first hard frost. For our part of the country, that usually around Halloween.

Hardy mums, right, start to bloom and add a dash of fall color. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

6. Stop fertilizing and pruning. Wait until January-February after the plants are dormant and you can better see their form.

7. If you have trees with fungus or other issues, collect those leaves and burn or bury into the ground. I leave most of my leaves on flower beds except for diseased ones, don’t want to spread that fungus. Those I bury in the ground.

8.If you haven’t cleaned up flower beds of spent plants, here’s your last chance to gather seeds. Leave some for the birds, they will eat them over winter. Leave the rest to clean up in spring. By then, most of the greenery will have broken down and become part of the garden mulch.

9. Plant spring bulbs. Add a little bone meal at the bottom of the hole to slowly feed the bulbs. Plant bulbs close together if you don’t mind digging them up in a couple of years to separate. If you would rather not, give them more space in between. Mark where you planted them so you don’t dig them up next year when planting something else.

10. Leave the falling leaves where they are. If you are worried about your grass, run the mower over them. Leaves return Nitrogen to the soil and make a wonderful amendment to flower beds and help retain moisture.

11. Plant trees and bushes; make sure to water daily until frost.

12. Stop long enough to enjoy the beauty of fall as leaves turn, native plants bloom and temperatures turn crisp and cool. A hot cup of tea with fresh honey sounds good about now!

Charlotte