Gardening for the Soul…

Here I am, in my small corner of the world, smack-dab in the middle of Massachusetts. This five-part blog series is for anyone who finds nature feeds their soul and for whom may want to learn a bit more about maintaining vegetable, fruit, and flower gardens.

My experience: I’ve been obsessing over flower gardens for fifteen years, my berries/apples for about seven years, and I’m relatively new to vegetables, four years in now (thanks to impulse pandemic gardening). I only know what I know. My background is in science, and I now write novels full-time. The way I garden is only one way. I am no expert, but feel free to glean whatever information you can from my series…

Time to prepare for winter…

Thank you for joining me over the past five blog posts. We’ve designed flower gardens, built vegetable beds, harvested produce for our tables and pantries, and now as winter approaches, you may wonder what’s next. Our gardening season is entering its much-needed hibernation or as I call it, our “quiet months.” Even with my love of all things green, I relish a break off during winter.

However, the gardening adventure continues through the colder months and there are a few things to do before we take a sabbatical until spring. Planting bulbs for spring, gathering our late-producing autumn harvest, bringing plants indoors, maintaining vegetables in a greenhouse, and pruning/cutting back for spring are all on the docket for autumn/winter.

Planting in Autumn

Autumn is a good time to divide flowers that have spread beyond their britches (such as lilies, irises, or any perennial that needs thinning). This can also be done in the spring. Traditionally bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, and crocus, are planted in the autumn. Don’t forget to get any nursery “yard sale” finds in the ground before the ground is too hard to work/frozen. Furthermore, now is the time to plant a few vegetables like garlic, onions, carrots, beets, turnips, spinach, collards, kale, and radishes to “overwinter” and produce a spring harvest. Some may need to be covered. Time these plantings around the last frost Knowing your hardiness zone will guide you in this planning.

Bringing Plants Indoors

Tropical plants (e.g. hibiscus, mandevilla) need to come inside once the temperatures start to drop (usually below 40-45oF here). I let the leaves and petals fall, then cut them all back to 6-8 inches, and keep the plants in a warm spot, watering as needed during winter. Some come back full and hardy in spring, some don’t make it. They can also be kept in a warm garage or basement. I also learned last year that geraniums (typically considered an “annual” here) can be brought inside and left in a sunny spot. I did not cut them back, and they eventually rebloomed in spring! What a happy discovery!

Maintaining a Greenhouse

Though I’ve done a boatload of research on greenhouses for my current novel, I do not have one. All I know is a. having one extends your season a bit longer in the autumn and spring, or, with the right set-up (heating, etc.), can be utilized all year, and b. greenhouses can be simple or elaborate depending upon your needs and budget. I say have at it! Like a “she-shed”, a greenhouse remains on my dream bucket list.

To Prune or Not to Prune, that is the Question!

Prune at your own discretion. I suggest reading about each perennial or fruit plant before digging in with the gardening shears. I’ve learned by reading and practice which of my plants need pruning and when. Woody plants such as hydrangea, azalea, rhododendron, and some chrysanthemums only need pruning for shape. Their blossoms grow on “old growth,” so if they get cut back to the ground, you’ll have no flowers the following season.

However, many perennials will need to be cut back each year (in autumn or spring) to both clean up the flower bed and to encourage new growth. I go a bit prune-happy and cut most perennials in autumn. Tree leaves stick around in the flower beds, even after raking, providing shelter for animals and coverage for roots and bulbs. Flowers with heads that have gone to seed (such as black-eyed Susan, coneflowers/asters) can also be left until spring for pruning, as they provide seeds for birds to eat during winter. As for fruit, apples and blueberries can be pruned in spring; everbearing (twice blooming) raspberries get cut down in the autumn. This is also a great time to shape any evergreens you have, like hollies or overgrown euonymus.

Fertilizing and Winterizing

Don’t forget to feed the flower beds with a slow-release fertilizer. The rule is to give our perennials their treats with the “treat” holidays here in the USA (around Easter in March/April and Halloween in October). For most of my flowers a broad 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer (granular, sprinkled on the flower beds) suffices. I use a more acidic fertilizer for azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, and blueberries.

When it comes to preparing the vegetable beds, there are several things to do for winter: clean out diseased plants, remove all the spent plants, clear out weeds, plant cover crops such as clover to prevent erosion (optional), amend the soil with compost, manure, leaves, straw, leaves, bone meal, and fertilizers, and replenish soil and mulch as needed. Some plants can stay. I left oregano last year and it has taken over part of a bed.

Well, that’s it from me! Until spring, fellow gardening friends, adieu! Stay warm this winter and think green.

More in the series:

Part 1 (June): Setting up Vegetable Gardens

Part 2 (July): Setting up Perennial Flower Gardens

Part 3 (August): Fruit Extravaganza!

Part 4 (September): Harvesting your Veggies & Planting for Late/Second Harvests

Part 5 (October): Pruning Your Perennials and Preparing For Winter (veggies & flowers)