These have been quiet days for The Lazy Berkshire Gardener. I have put off a few things because the ground isn’t freezing hard and the rain hasn’t fallen. When this column appears, we will finally have some rain in Berkshire County and perhaps even snow—but the ground still hasn’t frozen hard. Regardless, not much is blooming outside right now.
If you are like me, you need color. Houseplants that bloom at this time of year have been selected by the horticulture industry exactly because they can tolerate cooler indoor temperatures. Cyclamen and Thanksgiving (AKA Christmas) cactus are two examples. The industry has hybridized what were two distinct Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti to create a holiday cactus, which is now the predominant variety available at garden centers. These aren’t really cacti and should be watered often so that the soil stays moist throughout but not soggy.
When you can get outside again in the next few days, clear the last remaining dead stems of your perennials, like asparagus! My asparagus patch has been a pretty golden color for weeks, but the dead ferny tops will splinter and start blowing around. It is time to give them a clean cut with the pruners.
My houseplants could also use some pruning back. As sunshine intensity fades toward the winter solstice, I will move the houseplants closer to the window but also recognize that winter is a time of rest for most plants. That means I can cut them back a bit and reduce the watering while their growth slows.
However, for newly started herbs that I want for holiday meals, I will place them closer to bright southern windows, water more carefully, and even fertilize every month—especially if I snip them for cooking on a regular basis. Herbs that benefit from this would be basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and cilantro.
Pull up any wooden stake supports to prepare them for winter storage and they will last longer. I took an old wire grill brush and scraped the moist soil from the tips before storing the stakes in my garage. Scraping the soil helps prevent rot by letting the wood dry out.
I gathered the compostable hemp twine that I used to support the asparagus stems and placed it on branches or near the bluebird house. Birds will take the twine to form nests in the spring.
I also need to add stakes—reflectors that is—to the edges of my driveway while the ground is still soft. I use reflectors to mark the entrance to and edges of the driveway for me and my plow person. I hope the stakes will save me the trouble next spring of reseeding ruts in the lawn caused by plows or heavy truck tires.
Not only tires will wreck lawns through the winter; avoid walking on frosted lawns or you’ll create a path of damaged plants. If you have a routine path to the compost pile, chicken coop, shed, or around the garage, replant a different, more resilient groundcover for the path. You could also install a gravel path or steppingstones. It is not too late!
Speaking of lawns, you can still scratch some grass seed into bare spots formerly occupied by annual weeds. The seed will sprout in our cool weather or be ready to sprout next spring when ideal weather conditions return.
I am very happy to think rain may be falling as you read this. We need it. The rain keeps the Lazy Berkshire Gardener inside but still gardening. It is time to do the things I have put off. Oh joy! I can finally empty the buckets of partially full seed packets, twine, and bits of wire that I have saved.
If I didn’t have one already, I could use the wet weather to quickly put a compost screen together and have it ready for spring. A screen is easy to build from some spare lumber. Form two-by-fours or one-by-fours into a rectangular frame roughly three feet by three feet. Mine has additional pieces of wood underneath holding the longer pieces together. Then, use a staple gun to affix quarter-inch hardware cloth to the flat side. You will have a very large “sifter” that can support shovels full of compost. I gently sift the compost through the screen and into a wheelbarrow with my trowel and get a beautiful light organic mix that I add to the vegetable garden and perennial beds as mulch or a planting amendment.
With the dry garden soil lately, I lost my taste for digging up new flower beds or breaking new ground in the lawn to plant bulbs. But I knew I wanted more of a spring show. This past week I chose to plant bulb layers in some large plastic nursery pots. These plastic pots held my cosmos and zinnia over the summer. Now, I have repurposed them to hold daffodils, tulips, and crocus through the winter.
I realized since these pots will be outside, I need to protect the tulips from marauding voles. I lined the pots with quarter-inch mesh hardware cloth. This should slow down any pest that wants to sample the tulips.
I planted a layer of daffodils adjacent but above the tulips to also deter the pests. Voles do not like daffodils. The tulip and daffodil bulbs are four to six inches below the top of the pot. I added soil, then about two inches below the pot edge, I placed muscari bulbs.
I am worried that red squirrels or voles will still find a way into these pots, so I have used some more hardware cloth as a temporary cover over the pots. I will keep an eye on the them for the next few weeks until the soil freezes solid. Then, I will put the pots in a shady location to keep them frozen. Is this too much work for a lazy gardener? Not compared to digging in hardpan soils. Choose your battles, my friends!
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I am willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
