It has been warm still in the Pacific Northwest, last week still in the upper sixties and warm at night too. Two days of light frost had no effect on the garden except the tomatoes. Leaves are still on trees and things are not completely dormant yet. But Winter is coming and winter is the best time to work on the bigger projects in the garden.
My list this winter includes removing dead and dying alder trees, rebuilding the larger shed at the top of the property, and moving the big greenhouse and getting it ready for moving plants inside. The koi pond needs some re-plumbing work and a more UV filters installed to keep algae down next year. The stone is waiting to be installed on it with more stone ready to be installed on the greenhouse foundation.
Wow, that seems like a lot!
OH yeah, and get the winter Veg garden better hoops for protection, moving some plants that need more room, put in a pump to pump water out of the stream for irrigation next year, and create a new bed for screening from upper neighbors.
Looks like a busy winter.
This week I had 6 trees downed next to the driveway. They were mostly dead with very little branching left and few leaves. After every windstorm the ground was littered with debris and big limbs. The stream runs through this area and was constantly clogged with debris. It is much more open now and ready for some trees. A craving for Katsura trees was satisfied this year in the upper pond garden but the craving for an October Glory Maple could be satisfied here. Look for an upcoming post on trees.
Inside projects include a new mosaic water dish for birds, labels for new plants that went in this year with only nursery tags. These usually get lost quickly in my garden so I use a galvanized metal tag in the ground with a plastic tape on it from a label maker. Both the botanical and common name go on it along with date of planting and nursery where it was purchased. Many times when writing a blog post, taking pictures, or looking for a specific plant for a customer the tag is so vital. Even though I have a garden journal that has all the same information it is by date so I have to remember when I planted it in to narrow down the many pages to find the information.
Mulch is also needed in several areas to combat weeds. This is the best time to do a big garden clean up, weeding and mulching for the year. Some plants will need extra protection that mulch can help with. Agapanthus, crinum, and leonitis are such plants in my garden.
What do you have on your winter projects list?
