November is the Time to Plant Cool Season Flowers

One of the fall outs of the crisis of the economy is that more people are going back to the earth, eating at home, growing their own veggies and fruits, bicycling to the store, to work or for just plain fun. There is more walking and talking with neighbors and sharing their gardens. My neighbor gave us some really great tomatoes as mine seem to be behind hers this summer/fall, probably not enough water as I cut back because of the drought. Also, we did get some great plums and apples picked from two friends’ houses and John made some jam and I made sugar free applesauce.

November is the time to plant cool season flowers, trying your hand at seeds, or buying the small six packs of primroses, primulas, pansies, violas, snapdragons, stock, cyclamen, iceland poppies, hellebores, plus trees and shrubs. Camellias, especially the sasanquas, are in bloom and bud in the nurseries if you want to see their color before you buy. Remember snails and slugs are really active in the fall and winter, so don’t forget the pet and kid-safe Sluggo or the beer in shallow lids! Garden debris harbors snails, earwigs and many other pests and a host of plant diseases. By composting your leaves, you will eliminate the hiding places of many pests and open the sunlight to the plants below.

There is still time to plant bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and many more spring blooming bulbs. Plant early blooming smaller bulbs as ground cover, they will reward you in the spring season. It is also time to plant winter vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, sorrel, chard, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, onions and garlic.

Roses don’t need too much right now but if you don’t want to keep cutting off the spent blooms, pull the spent petals now and let the hips form. This discourages the plant from creating new growth and forces it into dormancy. This resting period acts as rejuvenation to the rose plants, plus they are great to use in floral arrangements and keep their fall color when dry. Continue watering until the fall and winter rains come. By keeping the debris clear around roses, it keeps the fungal spores and wintering insects at bay. For easier cleanup strip the roses of dried and withered leaves before they fall. Cut out any spindly or crossed growth now to save time when you do your major pruning later at the end of Dec or early Jan. You can change location for roses now if you are careful, but be sure to prepare the hole ahead of time and check for drainage, a key to growing wonderful roses. They say the mood-enhancing aroma of roses can lift the spirits like no other perfume, so consider having roses near windows or where you sit.

Speaking of fragrance, consider that fragrant plants add another dimension to your garden almost as strong as the visual beauty of flowers. Add fragrant plants near a door, under a window, on the patio, or along a walkway. Try some easy to grow scented geraniums, the smells of which can remind you of roses, nutmeg, apples, peppermint, chocolate mint, lemon and other citrus. Herbs along the pathway that one can brush against to release the aroma is also a great idea, try growing mint in a container as it will get very weedy and invasive, it can take over a garden plot. Try some of the following plants for fragrance: osmanthes, daphne, star jasmine, clematis, viburnum, pittosporum, azaleas, sage, gardenia, abelia, butterfly bush, chamomile, basil, catnip, phlox, lilies, sweet peas, and tuberose.

If you have container plants, remember to water them even though the rains might start. Speaking of containers, many veggies can be grown in containers as well as fruits.

One of my most loyal readers has a predominately shade garden, so some research netted the following plants to grow: ground covers such as epimedium, bergenia, moneywart, purple winter creeper, pachysandra, annuals such as browallia, foxglove, sweet alyssum, bulbs such as grape hyacinth, woodland lily, and lily of the valley, perennials such as bleeding heart, helleborus, corydallis, hosta and violets.

Fall cleanup and weeding is important for a healthy garden; time spent now will pay off in the future. Also, it is a great time to check your tools to make sure they are sharp and ready to go when you need them. You may write to me c/o San Mateo Garden Center or e-mail me at macro6096@hotmail.com.

Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow? by Mary Crowell