Fantastic Lakes Gardener's December Checklist



Hello, winter and the holiday season. Many Great Lakes gardeners are nearly too busy this past month with vacation tasks to spend time gardening. But the winter garden offers inspiration for holiday decorating, as well as gardening outside has generally stopped, there are a few important tasks to do according to the weather. Plus, once the snow blankets the floor, we can take gardening inside.

Barbara Pintozzi

Instead of purchasing a front-door wreath, fill out a classic ice skate with greenery from the garden (here arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis), pinecones and bright berries (here wahoo, Euonymus americanus)or rose hips, and tie it with a bow to hang on the front door. The trimmings are supported by A small round of floral foam stuck at the boot’s neck. Spray conifer greenery with an antidessicant to keep it refreshing and include small decorations or candy canes to complete the appearance.

Barbara Pintozzi

Decorate outside for the holiday season. Welcome guests with a front entry flanked by containers full of evergreens and dried cuttings from the garden. Supplement those gleanings with bought greenery, for example eucalyptus, put everything at a festive kettle and complete with a bow. Gluing or painting glitter makes them stand out.

5 Container Gardens for the Holidays and Beyond

Barbara Pintozzi

Winter comes to the backyard. December 1 marks the start of winter. Here come these flakes. They seem so pretty and benign as they float, but beware when they start to pile up.

Barbara Pintozzi

Heavy snow accumulations can harm woody plants by bending down them or breaking limbs. Eliminate fresh, thick snow from evergreens, like this arborvitae(Thuja occidentalis ‘Elegantissima’), by lifting and lightly shaking a broom underneath each division. Batting the snow off from the top could cause more harm.

Don’t try to dislodge snow when it has suspended to the branches. Prop the branches up from underneath.

Barbara Pintozzi

As it is the best insulator against the cold Snow can actually help the backyard. Without adequate snow cover, plants are exposed to this frost-heave cycle, which can expose roots, leading to plant death.

To hedge your bets, mulch the garden after the ground has frozen, to keep it suspended. Shredded leaves are good for most of the backyard, tucked in around plants but never on the crown.

Perennials with evergreen basal foliage, for example peach-leafed bellflower (Campanula persifolia ‘Blue-Eyed Blonde’, revealed), cardinal flowers (Lobelia species and hybrids) and coral bells (Heuchera) want an airier mulch, or they’ll be smothered and rot. If pine straw is inaccessible, use old Christmas tree branches to mulch them.

Barbara Pintozzi

Consider plants’ needs when decorating outside. The delicate branches and forming flower buds of a few trees can get broken when vacation lights are strung or removed. Instead of draping the branches, wrap the trunks of easily damaged trees like yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea, revealed) and magnolia for a modern, joyous appearance.

Barbara Pintozzi

Similarly, it is far better to put outdoor nonbreakable decorations into containers rather than hanging them from fragile branches. The ball decorations here echo the shape of cold-tolerant cosmetic cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea).

Barbara Pintozzi

Turn to indoor gardening. Put your creativity to work by making an indoor vacation fairy garden. While small plants, for example variegated ivy (Hedera helix, revealed), are usually used in fairy gardens, even larger plants, similar to this dusty miller (Artemisia stelleriana) and Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla) towering within the spectacle give the planting depth.

Barbara Pintozzi

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum sp) blossoms easily inside in winter, but the enormous, top-heavy flowers often encounter over. Provide support to keep the blooms upright. Supports can be produced from bamboo or timber cuttings from the garden, like these red dogwood (Cornus alba) stems. Connect with raffia, ribbon or floral wire, based on the appearance you wish to attain. This sort of support can also be used for paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta).

Water fountains of bulbs for forcing weekly. Provide adequate moisture for indoor plants and poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima), which can be challenging with warm indoor air. Too much water can be as fatal as too little, so check the soil moisture before watering rather than watering on an agenda. Don’t allow plants to stand in surplus water in a saucer. Set them at the brightest location in the home, but away from drafts and heat vents.

Happy holidays!

See related