The Rural Voice, 2006-12, Page 48Rhea
Hamilton -
Seeger and
her husband
live near
Auburn. She
is a skilled
cook and
gardener.
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
December is a hard month to think
about gardening. The time is swept
up in plans for the holidays, baking
great varieties of intensely sweet and
rich treats, shopping for those simple
but meaningful gifts among all the
glitz and glitter that assails our
senses.
And amidst all that we write cards
to let friends and loved ones know
that even with all the hustle and
bustle of the month we are thinking
of them and have found four hours to
sit and write to them all. I still believe
cards should be left to the new year
and written at leisure and encompass
more than a quick signature at the
bottom of a syrupy greeting. Oh well
another pet peeve to let go of.
The days are shorter. You leave in
the dark and come home in the dark
taking only a few moments some
mornings to stumble through the
garden to fill the bird feeders so that
you will have entertainment on the
weekend outside your window.
But until the snow flies I still
manage to get outside albeit for only
short stints. My husband thoughtfully
leaves a couple of plastic lawn chairs
tucked up against the house that we
can carry around to any sheltered spot
on a random sunny day on the
weekend and sit outside with a hot
coffee. I know he would rather be
somewhere further south but this is
the best we have right now. And let's
rejoice, after December 21 the days
begin to get longer!
From a gardener's perspective
winter really can be a nice time to see
the garden. I have already started to
make notes for major jobs to be done
this winter and early in the spring.
Without all the leaves you can see
clearly the form of your shrubs and
44 THE RURAL VOICE
Gardening
December bits and pieces
trees. We have a young maple that
just seemed to pop out of nowhere. It
had a double trunk and a couple of
years ago we trimmed up his tight
sidekick and his gratitude has been
expressed in rapid growth to the
detriment of the large tree beside
him.
The larger tree is an unknown. I
thought it was a Kentucky coffee tree
but the flowers are pea -like and don't
fit the description and no seeds pods
are produced to help identify the tree.
So I need to do more research. It is a
troublesome tree. It leafs out late,
drops its leaves early and under
stormy conditions
doesn't hesitate to
drop a flurry of
branches on the
garden below.
In an effort to
compensate for the
encroaching young
maple, this older tree
has extended branch
growth on the opposite side and is
now crowding out a lovely old shrub
lilac that has been with us for over 40
years. A bit of judicious pruning is in
order and now that the perennials at
the base are nicely dormant it is a
good time to take the project on when
there will be reduced damage from
falling limbs.
Deadwood in the centre of old
shrubs cannot be ignored during the
winter months. It makes it much
easier to see what has to be clipped
out and allows you to see the shrub
bones and prune for the best shape.
Pruning during the colder months
means no mosquitoes or black flies
buzzing around your head. A much -
appreciated bonus.
But the real joy of the winter
garden is seeing who else is enjoying
it with you. We have a number of
bird feeders outside our dining room
window. The bird books are not far
from the table as we identify the wide
variety of visitors to the feeders.
During the summer it is a whole
different gang and you hear them
more than see them. But in the winter
the feeders are busy.
The snow also helps us to identify
those visitors we don't usually see.
The deer come ever closer to the
house to feed on fallen apples and
nibble on odds and ends sticking up
in the garden. Last winter we could
see where a couple of deer had lain
near the evergreens for the night. The
turkey tracks along the bushline are
still plentiful but we have yet to see
any come close to the house.
Winter is also a time for spring
cleaning. Yes you read right. Once
the weather turns balmy, gardeners
head outdoors. Housework is a chore
for the wintertime. It just makes good
sense to use the time indoors to clean
out those corners we ignore the
rest of the year. Normally you
would call it spring cleaning, I
think it should be renamed winter
wipe -all.
The back door is always a
source of great piles of odds and
ends. Broken flower pots with
shards saved for drainage in
another pot, old garden gloves
tossed when they get too wet to work
in, bent trowels set aside with hopes
that they can be straightened later,
assorted empty containers to use for
just things, bits of old dishes found in
the garden and set aside in hopes they
can be worked into a mosaic of
something, newspapers for use as
damp wrapping around plants you are
moving in the spring or donating to
another garden. old broom handles to
use as stakes, paint cans and brushes
from summer jobs to do and ones that
have been done and so on. Since you
can't easily walk past the mess and
go outside without pause for a coat,
hat, mitts, and boots you have to deal
with the mess. This is my winter
wipe -all.
My favourite time of December is,
as you may have guessed, December
26. The great holiday is over, the
pace slows measurably and there is
enough food in the house you don't
have to grocery shop for weeks.
There is time again to walk through
the garden and think about the season
to come and the work to do. It is a
time to breathe deep and just enjoy
life. A gift that every one one of us
should enjoy.0