"Candace I know I have to rake all the leaves off my lawn before the snow falls, but what about our new garden beds? Should I worry about the leaves smothering the new plants we just put in?"

 

No worries! One of the best things about perennial gardens is that leaves are best left as they fall - no raking required! The leaves will keep the plants protected from the freeze-thaw yo-yo of temperatures that we get here in the GTA in the winter season which is so hard on the plants - especially newly planted ones. By late spring most of the leaves will have rotted down into the soil to provide organic matter that will improve the soil texture and fertilize your plants for free!  Unlike your artificially maintained lawn grasses perennials - even ornamental grasses which are not mowed will have no problem growing right though the leaves come spring.   In fact, the leaves you raked off your lawn?  Put them on the garden too!

 

Promoting and encouraging beautiful, diverse, eco-friendly, organic, quiet, and sustainable alternatives to the front lawn. 
 

Flowers in the Front Yard
4885 Victoria Street
Claremont, Ontario L1Y 1A9
905 649 6671

flowersinthefrontyard.ca 

It's not too late to plant bulbs!  Most spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils,  tulips and crocuses can be planted right up till the ground freezes too hard to dig. Stop in at your local garden centre this time of year and you can pick up bulbs a discount prices! The selection may not be as good this late in the season - but the prices certainly are.

 

Choose Your Garden Style 

Next meeting - Pot Luck dinner and surprise!  November 16th at 6:30pm. Significant others are welcome!  RSVP requested.

Most plants - even hardy ones - will be hard put to survive unprotected over the winter left in their summer homes. Perennial plants that are currently in frost proof containers can be protected over the winter by burying them up to the crown level (pot rim) in the ground. Perennials that are in your window boxes, or ceramic pots need to be removed from their containers and "temporarily" planted in a bare spot in the garden. I use my vegetable garden for this purpose, then dig them up to add to my containers again in the spring. Waste not, want not!