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Virginia Landmarks December 2, 1998 | Gardening By The Yard | National Register March 29, 1999 |
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Gardening by the Yard
By Tom Corbin A Fairlington Gardener November Gardening Tips
In spite of the cooler temperatures and shortening days, there are still "chores" to do in the fall border. The exceptional color of the leaves and late blooming flowers make this a great time to be outside. Mums the WordMums from the road side stand or Home Depot are an easy way to brighten the fall landscape, and many Fairlingtonians dress their porches and borders with these "instant color" plants. Unfortunately many mums planted in the fall do not survive the winter, and it's best simply to treat them as annuals and discard after blooming. |
If you check a quality nursery, however, you can find the "rubellum" mums, an heirloom garden plant which is hardy and more spectacular than the common mums usually found. The "rubellum" mums are sometimes called Korean mums, have single daisy-like blooms in various shades of pink, salmon, white, and rose, and are winter hardy. Their fragrance on warm days is a real plus. These blend well with purple flowering kale and multi-colored pansies.
Spring BulbsHopefully you've been taking advantage of the good weather to plant spring bulbs. Many folks do not realize that in order to have incredible spring color from bulbs that they need to be planted in the fall. It is too late to plant the smaller bulbs - crocus, snowdrops, anemones, etc., and daffodils are already making roots - but still plant them if you find them on sale.
Tulips, however, can go in as late as the ground can be worked. Plant same color tulip bulbs in clumps for a dramatic display as they do not look "right" planted in rows, but are more striking when massed in clumps and groups. Daffodils look great "naturalized" (as nature would have planted them) with other plants and shrubs. Daffodils are more "informal" and tulips, more "formal". Bulbs can provide color from late winter to late spring…if you have the space!
Winter Interest
Some perennials provide handsome winter interest and should be left until spring before cutting down. Sedums have good colored seed heads; Russian sage looks nice in the winter landscape as does the seed heads of liriope; grasses can remain until late winter provided that they don't get too weather beaten; and some ferns provide winter interest (some are evergreen).
The stems of annuals contain much water and are a mess to clean up after frost hits them. Clean up is easier before the first killing frost. Even though the winter garden may seem stark to some, a clean, well mulched border with evergreens, some winter interest plants, and perhaps a "berried" plant will keep the gardener happy over the winter.
Think Mulch
Mulching keeps the border attractive and uniform in appearance, but it also insulates your plants as it helps maintain an even soil temperature and prevents premature growth in the spring. Also "breaks down", decomposes, during the season and enriches the soil as well as prevents plants from "heaving" out of the soil because of freezing and thawing.
The condo association uses shredded hard wood bark as mulch, and if you're putting down any of you own, you should match it with that provided by the association. Be careful and buy quality mulch as the cheaper kinds may contain fungi and disease. Colored bark or wood chip bark is not appropriate in the common beds.
Check out the gardening feature on HGTV (Home and Garden TV) http://www.hgtv.com for tips and advice! You may also access the site from the Fairlington gardening page at http://www.fairlington.org/gardenadvisor.htm
 Photo from Tom's Garden by Commons Resident Guy L. Adams (Click on Photo for More Images) |
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