My Mom and Dad love to listen to CBC Radio as the background of their day. My grandparents did this too, and so does my Aunt. They regularly share interesting little tidbits that they hear from the day’s stories. My Mom likes the gardening segment in particular, and she always shares the advice with me. Though she always wonders why they don’t give more time to the gardening experts; there always seems to be so many people with questions, and never enough time.
A couple of weeks ago she mentioned that one of the CBC gardeners suggested leaving your perennials intact. This apparently allows bees and insects to overwinter in the dried out stalks, as well as providing homes and food for wildlife. It just so happened that the week before, my Mom had helped me cut back some of my perennials in our backyard. If we’d known this then, we might not have cut them back. I then realized that our new bee and butterfly garden, still full of wild flowers, would be the perfect spot to leave untouched for the winter.
Our pollinator garden project has been a huge success this year. Perhaps there are already creatures in these hollow, dried out stalks and the flower heads with their shrivelled up petals, setting up for the winter.
The garden did its job in the summer months by producing beautiful blooms and nectar for the bees. Now, as we prepare for the winter months, it is providing a safe place to rest. So I will leave my dried up stems and stalks for the winter this year, and I will smile because it makes me think of my Mom and how she shares her stories with me. That makes my heart happy and puts a smile on my face.
It is time to be thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter. As the temperature drops and the weather begins to cool, fall clean up begins.
Today in the vegetable garden, I cut back some plants and harvested my root vegetables. It looks so empty now, but I left the kale in hopes that it will continue to grow as the temperature gets cooler.
The process of putting the garden to bed offers a chance for reflection on the year’s growing season, evaluating successes, failures, and considering new approaches for the next year.
Elsewhere, some plants are slowly dying, but some are still blooming beautifully. The bee and butterfly garden is still thriving. It is safe to say that this new pollinator garden was a huge success! I will start trimming the perennials tomorrow and scatter seeds for next year.
Although this process of harvesting and cleaning up seems like the final phase of the year, gardening is a year-round activity that involves planning in Winter, planting in Spring, enjoying the fruits of your labour in Summer, and preparing (like today) for the next season in Fall.
Good night for now, my sweet garden!
