I haven’t had time to type up a garden post in a bit, I’ve had lots to do the past few weeks! We have been getting the house ready for our first house guests. 🙂 I was also trying to get as much done in the garden before the frost came. Now that it has I can look back a little on what I have accomplished the past few weeks.

I wanted to get further along with the fences than I did before the temperature dropped, but procrastination and cold season slowed me down. Yet I managed to give it a good scrub with water and vinegar! It’s already made a huge difference. We picked up the fence paint the day before the temps dropped, so we weren’t able to get that on yet. It’s a beautiful, deep shade that I think will make our colorful garden beds really pop.

Next up was tidying our red rose bush that is growing in one of the raised brick beds. It was completely drowning in ivy vines and I wanted to cut all of that back. My intention was to uncover the rose in order to move it to the front garden in its dormancy period, but after seeing how big the trunks were at the base.. I’m unsure. It seems so happy and has grown very well there, I would hate to move it and risk killing it. However, I thought it would fit the romantic color palette I intend to design with in the front garden better. It also risks being battered by rouge footballs when it’s in the back garden- I have seen it happen. I also reasoned I could leave it for another season and try propagating it in the spring. That way if the transplant doesn’t go well I have back ups, and can preserve it. It’s the most beautiful plant the last owners left and I would like to keep that part of the garden’s history for us to enjoy. It gave one last bloom before the frost came- what a stunner.

In the very final warm days I decided to try clearing a little further back. I’ve mainly been putting work into the patio area and the long, skinny beds along the side. However, the ivy “tree” we have growing at the beginning of the path was surrounded with weeds and dead branches and garbage and I wanted to give it a good clean so it was less of an eye sore. Ohhh boy was it a mess! Beyond clipping back the ivy, I also uncovered a decaying picket fence and scalloped pavers! I was able to tidy it very nicely and give myself a better idea of its potential. I think I will make it into a little hidden flower bed for some shady varieties and maybe hide some gnomes and fairies under the cover of ivy. I had to pull out some of the paving slabs that were tipping out of the soil from the massive roots pushing from underneath. So my plan is to leave those tiles out and just extend the bed forward, then hide the roots with mulch and trailing flowers.

Writing this on November 26 I have YET to plan my peonies and narcissus due to a delayed delivery. Having guests and plans around the holidays have pushed back the planting as well, but I need to get them in this weekend at the latest. Luckily, other than one slushy day last week, the weather remains mild and I think they will be just fine. I’ve been too busy to give much thought to the garden, but I think I’ve put enough work in to give myself a little rest. There won’t be too much I can do as far as gardening goes for quite a while, so I’ll be taking more time to plan and prepare for next year! As well as relax and enjoy what we have accomplished so far.

Katy