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Calendar
Open Garden Dates
Our garden is under going some renovation, mostly a new patio &
pergola; once the construction is complete we will schedule an open garden - probably late summer or early fall. Send us an
email to be added to our invitation list.
Winter Gardening Tasks
While gardening chores are not as plentiful in winter as they are the rest of the year, there are still important tasks to complete; many will help to make the spring chores a little lighter.
Clean up the garden
Store tools, chemicals, etc. where they will be protected from the weather. Store empty pots indoors or turn upside down so they won’t collect water. Hoses should be drained and stored where they won’t freeze. Also check with your irrigation contractor about how to winterize your sprinkler system.
Hand Tools: Scrub the soil off of shovels and trowels and protect them with a light coating of oil. Unpainted wooden handles should be lightly sanded and then protected with wood oil or preservative; worn painted wood handles should be sanded and given a fresh coat of paint. Winter is a great time to have your tools sharpened. Sharpen lawn mower blades, shovels, clippers and shears; replace pruning saw blades as needed.
Power tools: Check the owner’s manual or the manufacturer’s website for maintenance schedules and storage recommendations. Consumer Reports has good information on winterizing lawn mowers
Prepare plants for winter
Leaf & Plant Litter: It is very important to clean up around any plants that showed signs of disease or pests; Hosta foliage can harbor snails & slugs, so be sure to remove it! Small leaf litter can be used to mulch planting beds or added to the compost pile; larger leaves should be shredded by running them through the lawn mower or chipper before using them for mulch. Don’t allow leaves to pile up on the lawn.
Tender Plants: Move tender plants into a sheltered location before the first hard frost; in the Portland, Oregon area, plants should be moved before Halloween. Historical temperature data can be found on the Oregon Climate Data website.
Houseplants: If they spent the summer out doors they should be moved back inside by the end of September.
Mulch: the ground around borderline hardy plants should be mulched after the first hard frost. Coarse bark, chopped leaves, or fir branches all make good temporary mulch; be sure to remove the mulch in springtime. Hardy Fuchsia & Abutilon (flowering maple) are two examples of plants that appreciate the protection of the winter mulch.
Annuals: Winter pansies will bloom through the winter into the spring; they may look “melted” when it is really cold, but will perk up once the temperature rises above freezing. Don’t be tempted to leave the pansies in the ground for summer…while they may still look good in June, once the hot July weather arrives they will look very sad.
Bulbs: Don’t worry if garden bulbs start to grow in the middle of winter, they will wait to bloom until the time is right. It is important to leave the foliage on bulbs after blooming, it provides food for next years flowers; but, If you don’t like the look of ripening/browning bulb foliage consider planting the bulbs in pots set into the ground. Once the bulbs have bloomed, the pots can be lifted and stored out of view until next fall’s planting time.
Perennials: Autumn into early winter is an excellent time to plant and transplant in the Portland, Oregon area. If you need help in deciding what and where to plant don’t hesitate to call for a fall or winter on-site consultation! Many perennials perform best with division every few years; Heuchera, daylilies, ornamental grasses and ferns especially so. While some plants like to be divided in winter, others prefer to wait until spring; consult a good reference book or contact The Gardensmith for advice. Make a note of any plants that need division in the spring in your garden journal or calendar. Extra plant divisions can be moved to other parts of the garden, shared with friends, or donated to a charity plant sales. POPA and The Friends of Ledding Library accept plant donations.
The foliage of herbaceous perennials can be cut back/removed once knocked down by frost. It is very important to clean up around any plants that showed signs of disease or pests; Hosta foliage can harbor snails & slugs, so be sure to remove it! Insert a stake or other marker near the base of each plant to remind you of its location.
Lawn: Clear fallen leaves off of the lawn. Avoid walking on the lawn when it is wet since this can compact the soil; also stay off the lawn when it is frozen since this can damage the blades of grass. These links from the Oregon State University’s Extension Service have good information on caring for lawns in the Portland area. Maintaining a Healthy Lawn, Fertilizing Lawn,
Planting a new Lawn
Vegetable Garden: Clean up the garden as the crops finish up. Liter in the vegetable garden can act as a host for disease and shelter garden pests. Cover areas not being used for winter crops with compost or straw mulch, or plant a cover crop. Peas can be planted in late February. Spend a rainy winter weekend planning the year’s crops; with some planning one can maximize the garden space with a succession of plantings.
Pest Control
Rodents: Watch for rodents looking for a warm winter home; block entrances they may use to get into your home and out buildings.
Snails & Slugs: Bait for slugs with a pet safe bait in late January; over wintering slugs will be the parents of next springs slugs!
Weeds: Keep up with the weeding. Perennial weeds can grow an extensive root system over the winter and be hard to pull in the spring. Annual weeds can flower and then send out seeds to sprout once the weather warms up.
Drainage: Prepare for winter rains. Clean the gutters, check the down spouts, and rout rain water away from the house. Venture outside during a downpour to look for drainage problems before they have a chance to do serious damage. If your landscape has a drainage problem, look for a qualified contractor in the “drainage contractors” section of the yellow pages.
Snow & Ice
Wet snow and thick ice can be especially damaging to evergreen plants, their foliage can be weighted down causing branches to break. If possible, knock heavy wet snow off of trees and shrubs, especially evergreen magnolia. If branches break off of large trees call an arborist to evaluate and repair the damage.
Fall Gardening Tasks
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