WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE LEAVES?

Mr. Much More Patient and I spent a good part of the weekend dealing with the first round of fallen leaves at our house. Because we have a lot of trees, it works better to do it in two or three sessions rather than wait until everything is on the ground.

And while some people bag their leaves or push them to the curb for pick up by the city, every leaf in our yard gets put to use in any number of ways.

First off, I'll admit to a bit of ridiculousness when it comes to leaf clean up. I blow or rake leaves out of garden beds so that they can be chopped up and put back in those garden beds. Go ahead and laugh at me, because I agree that sounds a little insane. But I'll tell you why I do that: Chopped leaves break down in months; whole leaves take much longer and can stick together and create a mat that's difficult to break up. Of course the latter works just find in forests, so clearly it's nothing major to be worried about, but aesthically it's not as pleasing to me.

The leaf pick up process starts with our lawn tractor and a bagger. The mower chops the leaves up some. From there, I run them through the chipper shredder, which chops them up into about half-inch sized pieces. Because the mower cuts the lawn at the same time, there is some grass mixed in as well, meaning that there's a pretty good balance of nitrogen-rich material (grass) and carbon-rich material (leaves) and it should all break down relatively quickly.

It's not the prettiest composting operation, but it works.

From there, I use the leaves in several different ways.

1. IN THE COMPOST BIN

Garden cleanup produces a lot of green material in fall so I need a lot of leaves to get the compost balances right for proper cooking. To be honest, if I were composting "correctly," I would have a bin to hold greens in until I needed them, but I'm a lazy although enthusiastic composter, so it all goes in the bin when I have it and I try to figure it out later. Basically I jam the bin as full as I can with leaves along with the greens, throw some water on it before I put the hoses away for winter, and let nature do the rest. By late spring, most of it is lovely compost and the rest becomes the basis for future compost.

2. MULCH GARDEN BEDS

I did this for the first time last year in one part of the garden and I was so happy with the results that I'd like to do it everywhere I'm able to this year. After I clean out my beds (I leave some plants standing for winter interest, others get cut back, and I try to remove all the perennial weeds that I can), I just throw on about a 4-inch layer of chopped leaves. In the bed I did this in last year, I had significantly fewer weeds in spring and by mid-summer, when the plants had filled in, the mulch was almost entirely broken down. It does take a lot of leaves to mulch like this, however.

Chopped into tiny bits, the leaves quickly break down into leaf mold or as part of compost.

3. MAKE LEAF MOLD

Leaf mold, which is nothing more than what's left after leaves disintegrate, is an amazing mulch and soil amendment. I like to mix it in to potting mixes to help lighten the soil and add some beneficial microbes. It's also a fabulous mulch for spring and summer. The good news is that making leaf mold requires nothing more than patience. Some people do it by filling up plastic garbage bags with damp leaves, poking some holes in the bag and letting it do its thing, but all I do is make a pen out of chicken wire (just to keep them from flying everywhere), and fill it up with leaves. I use my chopped leaves, but whole leaves work just fine too. I never look at it again until they've broken down and it's time to use what's left.

4. PROTECT SENSITIVE PLANTS

On occasion I'll protect the crowns of cold sensitive plants with leaves. For the roses I planted this year, I will use either a rose collar (here's an affiliate link to one I found but haven't tried) or create a cage with chicken wire or hardware cloth and mound up leaves over the crowns. I've also done this with non-bud hardy hydrangeas with some success (and some failure). The key is to wait until the plant is dormant before you do this. I've heard Thanksgiving weekend as a suggested time and that works pretty good for me.

5. MULCH OVER HEELED-IN PLANTS

Any plants that I either don't have time to plant or don't want to plant in their final location get heeled in inside their pots (usually in my raised vegetable beds, just for convenience). After a hard freeze I go back and cover the whole group of pots with mulched leaves to provide additional insulation.

The shredding part of this leaf operation is optional, but it does speed up the decomposition process. Mulch with a mower works just fine as well and for compost and leaf mold, whole leaves will work as well.

I actually use so many leaves that I occasionally take some from my neighbors. I'm not going to lie. All of this is boring, tedious work, often done in a fair amount of solitude because I'm wearing hearing protection when we run all these machines, so it's not my favorite job. But when nature dumps a whole bunch of free, fabulous material at your feet, you don't look that gift horse in the mouth.



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EXTENDING FALL COLOR

There's been no sign of frost here and none in the forecast through the weekend. Surely it will happen next week. The delayed onset of cold weather is just fine with me (although I fear having to wrap up so much in the garden in very cold weather, because when it does come I think it's going to come quickly), not in the least because the garden looks remarkably good right now.

There are a lot of leaves down, but plenty of plants are still putting on a show, somewhat unexpectedly.

Here's a bit of the color happening around the garden. I've shared a few of these on Instagram this week too.

Most of the leaves on my favorite maple have fallen, but they are pretty even on the ground. I imagine I will find them less attractive when I'm cleaning them up.

I planted Amsonia hubrichti in part for its texture but also for its fall color, which is stunning even if everything around it is looking sort of shabby.

A closeup of Amsonia hubrichtii.

Gingko biloba 'Gnome' is showing lovely, almost variegated color.

How can you not love those frilly leaves?

A week ago Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' looked like this. Absolutely stunning.

It's clearly past its peak now, but still beautiful.

A closeup of a leaf from last week.

The climbing hydrangea is always a stunner this time of year.

I struggle with the garden on the north side of the house, but perhaps fall is its beast season.

On the right side of that garden is this stunning spirea. I have to search around underneath it for a tag. 

Spirea closeup.

The 'Venus' dogwood in that garden has gorgeous color even if it doesn't show too well from afar.

I always forget the name of this shrub that I picked up on a whim at the Klehm's Song Sparrow open day a few years ago, but I love its shiny leaves.

Here's a closeup.

Some of the 'Limelight' hydrangeas have gone a bit over, but a few still have a lovely rosy blush.

I always forget that hostas bring great fall color as well. Sure, they are a little poopy, but they are the prettiest golden color. 

What's the color situation in your garden?

10 GARDENING JOBS FOR LATE FALL

As a Midwesterner, I have been raised to be excellent at complaining about the weather. It's the No. 2 most popular hobby in these parts, bested only by something related to football. But this fall we've had absolutely nothing to complain about. This El Niño year has given us the most lovely weather, including the conditions we enjoyed this past weekend when I was able to garden in shorts for most of Sunday. On November 15. That is unheard of here. 

Much of the country has been enjoying equally unseasonably warm weather, so even though we are all making holiday lists and dreaming of leftover turkey sandwiches and pumpkin pie, there are still garden chores we can do now. And anything you do now will only make your life easier come the busy spring gardening season. 

I rake the leaves out of the bed and Mr. Much More Patient swings by in the lawn mower and mulches and collects them. 

1. Deal with the leaves. 

Rake leaves out of garden beds and off of your lawn. I've been reading a lot of new theories on leaf management, many advocating leaving them where they lie for the benefit of wildlife, but I'm not a fan. I suppose that works if you don't have a lot of leaves or if you live in the middle of a city where places for wildlife, but here, where the leaves fall a foot deep and there are more than enough places for wildlife to take refuge, the disadvantages of leaving leaves far outweigh the advantages. Leaves form thick, solid mats that foster mildew and lawn problems, and insulate garden beds, making them perfect for protecting nasty weeds. I'm not saying you have remove every last one, but get the majority out of the way. Plus, if you don't pick up leaves you will miss out on the chance to turn them into leaf mold simply by doing nothing but putting them in bags or in a pile and letting them rot down, and thus creating an great soil amendment. 

2. Clean your tools.

This is the last gardening project I'll do this year, as I use my tools every time I'm in the garden. But at the end of the season, I'll bring them all in the basement, give them all a good scrub, sharpen them if needed, oil the blades and apply a little boiled linseed oil to the wood handles. When spring comes they'll be good to go. 

3. Weed!

Weeding is no more fun in fall than it is in spring, but you're going to have to do it sometime, so if you can stand it now, do it. Some perennial weeds like offender No. 1 around here—garlic mustard weed—are easy to pull and stand out bright green against the fading garden so it's easy to spot them.

4. Put away pots.

Dump out pots and store them in a protected area for winter. Bonus points if you clean them first, but I've never bothered. At most I give them a rinse in spring before planting, but it really is better to scrub them out with a diluted bleach solution. (Do as I say, not as I do.)

A couple dozen pots of perennials are heeled in the raised vegetable garden for winter. When the ground freezes, I'll throw on a layer of mulch for some extra protection. 

5. Heel in perennials still in pots. 

Any plants that you haven't had time to put in the ground have officially missed the planting window if you're in zone 7 or lower. No worries: Just find an out-of-the-way spot in your garden, and bury the pots up to about an inch from the rim. Keep them well watered while you can and after the ground freezes, give them a nice layer of mulched leaves (I know, I told you to get rid of them, but mulched leaves are different), straw or evergreen boughs. I always use a corner of my raised garden for this and the pots are removed by the time I need to plant seeds.

6. Plant bulbs.

Yep, there's still time; you can plant bulbs right up until the ground freezes. A bonus is that many stores and bulb companies are offering fantastic sales for procrastinators so you can really make out. 

7. Keep everything watered.

I'm absolutely convinced that one of the critical factors in a plant surviving a tough winter is whether it enters winter well watered. As long as you can use your hose, keep watering. And yes, these last two tips are repeats from my September suggestions, but they still apply even two months later. 

8. Cut back perennials. Selectively.

There's a fair amount of research that suggests that perennials fare better when left to stand over winter, but it's not always possible to leave an entire garden standing. Some plants just look terrible going into winter, have flopped completely or are prone to reseeding, which makes them good for birds but not great for the gardener. Other plants like hostas turn into a goopy mess that fosters and environment that's perfect for nasty things like slugs to hide and lay eggs. I'd say I cut back about half the garden in fall and finish the rest in spring. I leave a few things standing because it makes the winter landscape much more attractive, but I like to get a jump start on spring gardening.

Last year I used string wrapped around stakes to protect plants from deer. This year I may try just using a deer repellent. 

9. Protect sensitive plants.

Anything that is questionably hardy, particularly beloved or dear or expensive and on its first year (so I don't really know how hardy it is here), usually gets a layer of protection. For some plants, this is burlap, which can protect flower buds set in summer and fall. Many others get a chicken wire cage that will be stuffed with shredded leaves or evergreen boughs after the ground freezes. This protects them from wind and sun scald more than cold, which is often blamed for damage caused by the former conditions. Equally as important is protection from deer, who get very hungry when snow is covering everything else they eat. Last year I caged almost everything, but it was a lot of work and quite unattractive. This year I think I'm going to use deer repellant. I have been using Messina's Deer Stopper II all summer and have been very impressed so I think I'm going to give it a real workout by trying it over winter as well. Reapplying it won't be particularly fun but it will be a good excuse to trudge around the yard in the snow. 

10. Bonus job: Edge beds.

I never seem to get to this in fall at home, but at one of the master gardener projects I work at, we always edge the garden bed in fall and it makes that job so much easier and faster in spring. It will also help keep grass from creeping in beds in spring before you can get out there to garden.

A WEEKEND IN THE GARDEN: IT'LL CURE WHAT AILS YOU

After one of the more challenging weeks of my working career, I was absolutely spent going into the weekend. I desperately needed to just stop thinking about everything for awhile.

Thank goodness Mother Nature cooperated and presented two nearly perfect spring days for me to get lost in the garden. And that's exactly what I did, getting caught up on some cleanup and a few small garden projects.

Right now they are just little clumps of chives around the perimeter of the circle garden, but soon they'll form a mini hedge.

The best thing I did in the garden was continue to work on the chive hedge in the circle garden. I started this as an experiment a couple years ago on just one section of the garden but was so thrilled with it, I've been slowly working toward extending it around the entire garden, including the interior borders. The lovely thing about chives is that they are so easy to grow and divide. The entire hedge has come from dividing the chives I had and dividing a few from my mother's garden. Because they grow quickly, I can sometimes divide them again at the end of the season.

I've made it almost all the way around the perimeter, and the one section is completed on the interior as well. I'm growing a few from seed as well and as soon as those plants are hardened off, I should only have a small amount left to do.

I love the hedge for a variety of reasons. For one, I think it lends structure to this garden that has always suffered a little bit from an identity crisis. I think that's a factor of having too many gardens; I spread my efforts across too many spaces so it can take a long time for one to be just right. But it also has the benefit of keeping out rabbits. I don't fool myself into thinking that the deer will give a rip about chives, but I think bunnies will. And lastly, they are so beautiful when they are in bloom and they are a huge draw to pollinators. Plus, why not have a hedge you can eat.

Unfortunately, in my much-needed Zen state of gardening, I failed to pause and take photos. If I had you might have seen an interesting development in the skinny patio garden. Things don't grow there like they should. The results of a soil test shed some light on that, but I've always felt like the inability of the climbing rose to thrive there was indicative of a larger problem. Turns out it probably was just the rose.

Since I'm completely redoing that bed—digging out everything and moving it or tossing it and replacing the soil—I dug up the climbing rose in order to move it. What I found was roots, in the perfect shape of gallon container, trapped in a circle. Although I purchased it in a two- or three-gallon container, clearly it had been grown in a gallon nursery pot for too long, then transplanted in a larger pot for sale, but remained rootbound. I'm irritated about it and frankly I'll be a little more careful about where I buy roses from now on. I trimmed up the roots to get rid of some of those that were strangling everything and moved it over by the veggie garden. Honestly, I don't give it a great chance of thriving there, but I'll continue to nurse it along.

While cleaning out the beds I unearthed the tiny purple tips of the Virginia bluebells popping up.

So many leaves fell last last fall that the gardens were really messy. I ended up just using the leaf blower (I detest leaf blowers because I find them obnoxious but I recognize that they have their place and I'm pretty sure this is it) to clean out the beds. Unfortunately I also blew away just about every plastic plant tag, so I made a mental note about being better to use my metal plant labels.

Of course there were little projects along the way as well. I divided a few perennials, pruned some clematis and swung by my mom's garden to give her some help digging all the plants out of a garden where a new deck will be situated.

In a couple months a weekend of this kind of hard-labor gardening (as opposed to plant shopping and planting) will seem dreary and monotonous, but for now it was glorious respite from the more serious bits of life. My hamstrings are sore and my fingernails are gross but I wouldn't have it any other way.

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT GARDEN CLEAN-UP

I forget how difficult it is to keep on top of photos when Daylight Savings Time ends. Seems like I'm only home when it's dark these days.

The deep freeze is scheduled to arrive this week and stick around for at least a week. Temperatures next week will struggle to break 20. In other words, it was time to get going on my garden cleanup.

Here's how I prioritize garden cleanup in the perennial garden.

1. Pots. Pots must be cleaned out (and by this I mean dumping the soil and plants out, not actually scrubbing them, which I realize you are supposed to do but I rarely get around to) and moved into the garage to get them out of the way for shoveling and to avoid damaging them.

I finished this project up Sunday and I'm feeling much better just having that done.

The Venus dogwood gets a heap of chopped up leaves over its roots. The poles will come into play later for protection from deer.

2. Leaves. I don't like tons of leaves left sitting in the garden over winter. They form a huge frozen mat that takes forever to thaw and they never break down. So I try to get as many leaves out of the garden as I can. Then I run over them with the lawn mower a couple times before bagging them with the mower. The chopped-up leaves are then either used for leaf mold (kept in a separate pile or bins), added to the compost pile or used as a winter mulch around the roots off plants I want to offer extra protection to.

These chopped up leaves are like gold to me. I'd take as many of them as I possibly could. Mr. Much More Patient has wisened up to this and has started lobbying for a fancy new riding lawn mower (that we don't need) with a huge leaf mulching/collecting attachment that he says would work so well he'd even go collect neighbors' leaves.

The main garden is mostly cut back and ready for winter.

3. Cutting back perennials. I've read plenty of articles that suggest it is better for the health of the plants to leave them standing over winter and certainly it is good for wildlife. What it is not good for is the gardener in spring. That's a lot of work added on to an already busy season.

I split it about half and half. I like to leave ornamental grasses standing as well as sedums. I will leave a few coneflowers standing for the birds and I always leave all the spent flowers on the hydrangeas. I will also leave everything that was newly planted this summer standing. And the same goes for things like clematis that shouldn't be pruned until late winter. Although I only have about half of the gardens (half of the half of the stuff I clean up) finished, this is a project that can go on as long as I can get in the gardens, so I'll probably pick it up again over the weekend and even beyond if we get a little warm spell.

Anything I can do now saves time in spring and there is never enough time in spring.