In the Garden: December

It’s a beautiful day, warm, sunny, and filled with possibilities. My garden is in full bloom, rich in buttery yellows, shades of purple and blue, and romantic pinks. I picked dahlias, mums and roses this morning, and arranged them in a vase with scented lavender and freshly cut herbs. Blue jays and crows are on the roof and in the trees.

Am I dreaming? No, I am wide awake and up early at my home in southern California, where I am spending the month of November visiting family and whipping the garden into shape for the winter.

I will reluctantly cut back the roses this afternoon, so that they will bloom again in January. The roses are home to ladybugs, large greedy grasshoppers, and praying mantises ready to lay their eggs.

The rosemary is in full bloom and covered with native bees. Daffodils are poking out of the soil and will bloom alongside the roses in January. Paperwhite narcissus are already a foot tall and budding. Climate change has caused them to bloom a bit earlier each year. We now enjoy their spicy blooms in late November instead of at Christmas.

In mid-November, the southern California sun shines an hour longer than it does in Point Roberts. Daylight savings time ended four days after I arrived, and the winter solstice will occur shortly after I return to the Pacific Northwest. By mid-January, Point Roberts days will be growing noticeably longer, and I’ll have my eye firmly fixed on the coming of spring.

The weatherman tells us that the U.S. and Canada should expect another La Nina fall and winter. Here in the California desert, we’ve had periods of rain, hail, and strong winds in the past few days, after months of record high temperatures and drought.

Before leaving Point Roberts at the end of October, we prepared our garden for the changing weather. The hoses were removed, drained, and stored for the winter, and Ray wrapped the outdoor faucets with rags before adding snug covers. I pulled lots of emerging weeds and began spreading fallen leaves throughout the garden. In December I’ll add more leaves to compensate for the lower temperatures and will cover my dahlia beds with plastic tarps to avoid rotting the tubers.

I’ll be moving the rest of my frost-tender potted plants into our unheated greenhouse in early December. Doing so allows me to overwinter tender salvias, geraniums, herbs and many other plants usually grown as annuals in the Pacific Northwest. Because nighttime temperatures inside the greenhouse are the same as the temperature outdoors, I cover plants inside the greenhouse on especially cold nights and remove the covers when the sun warms the indoor air.

Outdoors, snow is a great insulator and protects winter vegetables and many hardy shrubs and plants. It’s important to keep an eye on the weather forecast, and place sheets, blankets, commercial row cover (aka “garden wool”) or plastic tarps over plants when temperatures fall below 25 degrees.

Frost and freezing temps enhance the flavor of many winter veggies, including brussels sprouts and greens. Leafy winter greens – chard, kale, cabbage, radicchio and others – wilt during heavy frosts and freezes but should fully recover after they thaw. The best way to harvest them is to pick a few outer leaves from each non-frozen plant. Root crops like carrots, beets, leeks, and garlic are safe to remain uncovered until temperatures reach 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some cutworm varieties remain active all winter. They are voracious eaters and even one cutworm can make your plants look like there’s an entire army at work. If you notice leaf damage, check your plants right before sunset. Remove the grubs by hand (gloves make this easier to do if you’re squeamish), crush them, or drown them in a bucket. Once killed, they can be left on the ground as a treat for the birds.

Avian flu advisory: Please be aware that avian flu (aka bird flu) is an ongoing and expensive concern in our area. Farmers must destroy entire flocks when the illness is diagnosed, creating shortages, and driving up the price of eggs and poultry.

On November 12, British Columbia confirmed Canada’s first case of human avian flu H5N1. In the U.S., there have been more than 40 confirmed cases. The virus has also been found in dogs, cats, raccoons, foxes, goats, pigs, and cattle.

We can help control the spread by not touching sick, wounded or dead animals, by keeping our bird feeders clean, and by not leaving food outdoors. If you see sick or dead animals in your yard, take your bird feeders down for at least a week. If your cat brings home a wounded or dead bird or animal, bag it up and dispose of it in a trash can, not in the forest.

Like human viruses, good practices, sanitation, and reasonable precautions go a long way toward preventing the spread of avian flu.