Wow it has been a month since I last posted...where did the time go? Well my garden is usually sleeping this time of year but the 70+ degree temperatures this fall has kept things blooming well past their normal season delaying some of my garden clean-up. I just can't cut back a plant that is still blooming so the final clean-up will have to wait until a freeze.
December's days are short, and the nights are long as winter arrives here December 22nd, the shortest day of the year. Hopefully you can chalk up another successful year of gardening and take a break from gardening chores. Most gardening activities this month will take the form of decorating touches in the front yard for the festive holiday season. I'll collect sprigs of Holly, Magnolia, evergreens and berries from the yard for indoor decorating and package decorations. I also decide which of my Christmas cactus started last year is ready for gift giving this year to family and friends.
Here is my December check list:
Perennials: Divide and replant perennials'
Tubers: Check dahlias and begonia tubers and glad corms and remove diseased ones.
Annuals: Start ordering flower seeds
Vegetables, Fruit & herbs: Plant fruit trees and bushes
Mulch herb bushes against cold
Ventilate greenhouse in mild weather
Bulbs: still not too late to plant daffodils, tulips and lily bulbs
Trees & Shrubs: Continue to plant new trees and shrubs on good weather days.
Lightly prune holly and evergreens using cuttings for wreaths and decorations
Lawns: Keep lawn free of leaves.
Avoid walking on frozen or over-wet grass
