Many of the garden tips come Mark and Ben Cullen's Toronto Star articles, that my mom clipped and gave to me.
The Cullen are famous Canadian gardeners. Their newspaper column is now call "Urban Growth." Their family once owned a large country garden centre in Markham called Cullen Barns. It was sold and re-developed into a large shopping centre, Pacific Mall, surrounded by townhouse complexes.
January
Note garden tasks for the year to come in your new calendar.
In late January, get beeswax and some candle wicks in time to make candles on February 2.
February (Vasaris)
Grate potatoes and make a pan of kugelis for dinner Feb. 1, Groundhog Day in North America, and candle-making day in Europe.
In pagan times, February marked the beginning of the spring-summer half of the year. February 2 is the "Day of Thunder," in reference to the thunder god Perkunas. The weather on this day (mild or harsh) will foretell a good or bad harvest, an early spring or stormy summer.
February 2 is the day to make hand-dipped or rolled beeswax candles to protect your household from natural disasters, lightning strikes, fire, illness and the forces of evil. Light one of these candles when there is a storm outside or when you need to clear negativity from your home.
Don't go outside to knock icicles off the house on February 2, doing so might cause summer storms to flatten your garden.
Because you're busy making candles, dinner on the night of February 2nd is the re-heated kugelis, bulviu plokstainis, prepared February 1st.
February 14 is Valentine's Day, a day when cut flowers are often given. Red roses for passion, Pink for affection, yellow for forever, white for pure intentions.
Carnations last longer than other cut flowers. White carnations mean innocence and purity in the language of flowers.
The flowers of February are the violet and the primrose, and a pot of one of these plants is a nice gift for anyone you care for who you know will care for the plants.
If you are given cut hydrangeas, smash the stems with a rubber mallet about two inches from the ends so the flowers absorb more water and last longer.
A solution for long-lasting cut flowers:
- 1 cup lemon-lime soda (not sugar free)
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp. household bleach
Garlic: Buy a whole bulb of organic garlic. Keep it in the fridge for 4-8 weeks. See March/April for further instructions.
Late February/March
Force Flowering Branches:
In very early spring, carefully prune out branches that are crossing from flowering bushes and trees: forsythia, pussy willow, crabapple, lilac, serviceberry, magnolia, willow, poplar. Cut branches at an angle, above a bud. Flower buds are larger and plumper than leaf buds. Put the cut branches in water indoors to force them into bloom.
Change the water every 2 days or add a little 3% hydrogen peroxide to the water.
Prune apple trees in late winter, late February or early March. Don't prune maple, birch or walnut trees in winter or they will bleed sap in spring.
Sort flower seeds that were collected from your garden in September/October and make planting plans.
Tomato Seeds:
When choosing seeds to plant:
- red tomatoes are more acidic
- yellow and orange tomatoes are sweet, fruity
- black tomatoes are savoury and smoky in flavour
- blue and purple tomatoes have more antioxidants, and are savoury, smoky.
- plant heirloom varieties (or hybrids that are open-pollinated) if you want to save seeds in the fall.
Determinate tomato varieties grow up to a few feet tall. These are dwarf plants that give you fewer tomatoes but are good in a short growing season as they ripen earlier. They are better for containers.
Indeterminate varieties will keep growing and producing for a better yield, but they need to be staked and supported and will grow best in the ground.
Also grow marigolds from seed or buy marigold seedlings. Plant marigolds around your tomatoes, they keep aphids away.
March
So many mists in March you see
So many frosts in May will be
If March is a foggy month, make sure not to plant your garden early in May.
Pot stored roots (dahlias, lilies, tuberous begonias) to start indoors.
Prune shrubs that bloom in late summer, in late March: Rose of Sharon and Hydrangea. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs like lilacs or bridal wreath spirea now.
St. Patrick's Day is March 17, and his symbol is the shamrock (not a 4-leaf clover).
Near the end of the month will be the Full Worm Moon, that is when beetle larvae begin to emerge from their winter hideouts. Don't start raking or cleaning up the garden now; give all the bugs time to emerge.
April
Wait! Don't clean up the yard yet... give beneficial insects and small creatures a better chance of survival. Don't mulch yet.
April 1 is All Fool's Day (April Fool's Day) when anyone can play a good-natured trick to fool you before noon, so be aware.
Daffodils you planted in the fall may be blooming. Place cut daffodils in a vase of their own. Daffodil sap shortens the vase life of other cut flowers. To combine with other blooms, soak the daffodil stems separately in cool water for 24 hours first.
Chives and other perennial herbs should start appearing now. The young, tender stems are the best for adding to spring salads. Encourage them all season long by cutting the green stems low to the soil as you use them, but let some chives flower for the bees. Bees love them, so don't plant chives near seating areas for guests. Aphids don't like chives, so plant them where you want to deter aphids.
Prune fruit trees with the exception of apple, which should have been done in late winter.
When the first new shoots appear, you can deadhead hydrangea blossoms that have been left on over the winter.
Cricket Control: early in April, go out one evening and check the lawn for mole cricket nymphs:
- Mix a solution of 2 Tbsp dish soap in a gallon of water.
- Distribute the solution over a 2-foot square of lawn.
- Young mole crickets will surface within a few minutes if they are present.
- Water the area to neutralize the soap, and then target the lawn for treatment.
- Apply lawn insecticide granules according to package directions to reduce damage to grass roots from tunneling OR
- Apply nematodes to the lawn in early spring. They will prey upon young crickets and reduce the population before females lay their eggs.
Turn on the water to the outside outlets if there is no longer danger of freezing.
Take out all window boxes and pots that were cleaned and stored in the fall. Use a stiff brush to clean out the inside of the containers in preparation for new planting.
Slugs and Snails become active in early spring. They thrive under mulch, so you may need to rake it away from hostas.
Protect hostas by putting out traps if necessary (other beneficial insects can also fall into these traps.) Dig in clean, empty short cans (like tuna fish cans) beside the plant so the rim of the can is at soil level. Pour in some light beer. Slugs and snails will drown in the beer. Clean these out regularly at an outdoor tap and change the beer. Wear gloves as the mucus from slugs and snails can carry bacteria and diseases like salmonella, and even a form of meningitis. People used to scatter copper pennies around hosta plants, but we no longer have these in Canada, but this is why you might find some when digging in your garden.
Soil:
If you soil test do it now and add needed supplements or add a layer of finished compost to the garden.
In my perennial garden, I pull out invasive weeds like goutweed and throw down a layer of natural bark mulch.
Get new potting soil. Old soil that was in the pots last year should be spread out on your garden. It's nutrient-depleted, or "finished" if it was used for growing plants in pots last year.
Put a piece of broken clay pottery over pot drainage holes before filling clean containers with new high-quality potting soil in preparation for planting later.
Stepping Stones: Add stepping stones to the lawn or garden while the soil is soft and easy to cut. If you have very little topsoil and a level, clay base, just lay the stones on the ground where you want them, and cut around the stone with a sharp blade (I use an old steak knife.) Lift the stone away, remove the cut-out grass with a straight shovel blade. Lay the stone back down. If you have deep, rich soil or a surface that isn't level:
- Cut out the sod as above.
- Stomp down the soil and level with a heavy roller if you have one.
- Put down stone dust (landscaping dust), rake it evenly.
- Sprinkle water over the stone dust.
- Lay down the stone and stand on it.
Earth Day is the 22nd of the month and it's usually a night that you help the Earth by sitting in the dark with the electricity off. Wrap yourself in a blanket if it's still chilly, go out into the garden, ligh one of the candles you made in February, and enjoy a small glass of wine (pour a libation into the ground for the spirit of the Earth if you're moved to do so.)
Nearing the end of April you've already done so much! Celebrate by wearing or giving something pretty and pink on the Full Pink Moon around the 23rd. Because after this moon, you have to do your taxes.
May
Gardens are not made/By sitting in the shade (Rudyard Kipling)
...unless you have a gardener, and even then, you should dig your hands into the earth and feel its energy. Prepare to make any bit of green space around you into a beautiful bit of "park" that will shelter and feed butterflies, songbirds and hummingbirds. Early May is the time to sow a flowering meadow, or transplant flowering perennials (as they come out of dormancy they will benefit from the moisture in the soil now.)
The "NoMowMay" movement was started to save native plants for endangered pollinators. If possible, don't mow your lawn until June and let the "weeds" flower first. Don't rush to clean up an existing garden, give beneficial insects the time to emerge from under fallen leaves and decomposing plant material. Don't mulch yet.
Put out some shallow dishes with pebbles and water to attract aphid-eating insects like parasitic wasps as well as pollinators to your garden. Parasitic wasps (big eaters of aphids) are attracted by herbs like alyssum, cilantro, dill and yarrow flowers and flowers in shades of purple, blue, yellow and white. If a carrot you left in the ground last year comes up, let it flower and go to seed.
Aphid Traps: Put out yellow sticky traps or vaseline-covered inverted yellow solo cup nailed to a stick to trap aphids that come out in early spring, suck the sap from vegetable plants and spread viruses. They will also drown in saucers of soapy water (soft soap mixed in water that's 2 fingers deep)
Compost: Add compost to the surface of the soil in the garden, don't dig it in. Earthworms should pull it down into the soil for you. They will be there if you've put mulched leaves on the garden in late fall.
Container Mix: Put last year's container dirt on your garden if you didn't in the fall. Get new mix for pots.
Container Planting:
Plants can be grown in containers and raised boxes as long as there is sufficient depth of soil for healthy root growth.
6" Deep: Lettuce, radishes (spring, summer and winter)
8" Deep: Cayenne and hot cherry peppers. One per pot, 2-4 gallons of dirt.
10" Deep but very wide: Squash
Bush cucumbers can be grown in pots 10" deep but use a 12" wide pot per plant. Use a 1 gallon pot for bush cucumbers and a 3 gallon pot for vine cucumbers.
12-18 Deep: Deep: Herbs: mint, parlsey, thyme, tarragon, turmeric. Corn, Strawberries, Potatoes, Ginger, Onions, spinach. Culinary herbs are the easiest, most rewarding plants in a sunny spot, even if only grown in containers. They have delicious scents (rub your fingers through the leaves to release the oils) are resistant to insects and disease, and many don't need as much water as other plants.
18-24" Deep: Pole beans, carrots, cucumbers, peas, peppers, turnips.
Herbs: rosemary, sage.
24 - 36" Deep: artichokes, beans, parsnips, pumpkin, rhubarb, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon.
Hang a Hummingbird Feeder: They move north early, so start putting out some nectar for them right now.
Ladybugs: Order ladybugs for your garden to eat aphids if you didn't notice many ladybugs last summer. Try not to get the orange biting "Mexican" ladybugs.
Lawn: When soil temperatures are consistently above 10C you can overseed, or plant grass seed directly into the turf, without tearing it or the soil up, so the new grass will have time to establish before hotter, drier weather later. In bare spots, add an inch of good quality topsoil, rake in the seed, water regularly till the grass is establishing itself well.
If fertilizer wasn't applied in the fall you can do this in early spring; use a good-quality, slow-release fertilizer.
Lawnmower: Sharpen the blade, change the oil, check and clean or possibly change the spark plug. If you have a small bit of lawn to cut, you may need to do this every 2-3 years instead of annually. If rechargeable, just sharpen the blade. Keep your lawn long, cut once a month starting in June.
Odd Numbers: Plant flowers and greenery of the same type in clusters of 3, 5, or 7 together.
Start Annual Flower Seeds Indoors: At the beginning of May, start zinnias, nasturtiums, cosmos, asters, snapdragons, and/or alyssum in a sunny window or under grow lights.
Choose the Right Flowers: The extra petals on double flowers are really pretty but these extra petals are also barriers to pollinators. Single flowers are best for wildlife. Check that nastirtium and Columbine varieties have pointed sacs (spurs) behind the flowers which are reservoirs for nectar, important for species like long-tongued bumble bees. Delphiniums and Larkspurs should also have spurs. Old-fashioned varieties of plants are usually best.
Roses: If rose stems were earthed up for winter protection, remove the extra soil from the base of the stems. Lightly rake rose fertilizer into the topsoil around roses in mid-to-late spring. When the ground is warm and moist add an organic mulch.
Strawberries: Remove straw mulch from the strawberry patch.
Plants you can put in the ground outside May 10- 24 (before the May 24 weekend):
- Carrots, onions, leeks, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale, peas, beets, Swiss chard. Root crops should be grown from seed but the others can be planted as starter plants from the garden centre. Pea seeds can be planted early, directly in the soil.
- Plant raspberries, strawberries, rhubarb, fruit-bearing shrubs.
- Always buy flowering plants with buds, not in full bloom.
- Potted pansies, ranunculus, violas, primulas, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips can take a bit of frost.
- Tender transplants and potted herbs can be put outside early but must be hardened off: introduce them to midday sun and cold evening temperatures by expanding their time outdoors by an hour or two each day. Bring them in at night. After 10 days of increasing exposure, you can plant them outside as long as temperatures are above freezing at night.
- Plant herb seeds in pots: oregano, thyme, rosemary and almost any other herb except basil (wait until after the 24th to plant basil outside.)
- Plant chives where you want to deter aphids.
- Plant mint in sun or part shade but keep it in pots if you don't want it to take over your garden.
- Most herbs should be in the sunniest part of the garden--herbs like sun, heat, dry conditions.
- Get your rows ready for planting vegetable crops like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage--these will need row covers (spun polyester that partically blocks the sun is perfect) for protection against too much sun and against moths and beetles before these insects can establish themselves. Row covers shouldn't touch the plants, insert flexible rods to form hoops over the rows and place the material over the hoops several feet above the plants.
- You can rake away dead grass and sow grass seed in bare spots now.
AFTER THE 24th, or when soil temperature is above 15 degrees C., plant:
- Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers, melons, corn
Cuttings: Cuttings taken in the fall for rooting, that have been growing in the window all winter, should be gradually hardened off. Leave the pots outdoors during sunny days until it's warm enough that they can be planted in the garden, when evening temperatures are above 10C.
Daffodils:
Deadhead after they flower but leave the stalks to die down to give energy to the bulbs so that they bloom again next year. If they look really sad, tie them up into a bundle with string, but don't cut the stems or leaves off or pull up the bulbs unless you want to buy all new bulbs and have to re-plant in the fall.
Mulching:After putting in your plants and working compost into the soil, overlap layers of wet newspaper around the plants, leaving a bare circular area around each stem to allow for stem growth and for rain to soak into the roots. Cover newspaper layers with mulch. The covered area will be relatively weed free and will give you space to work between your plants.
6 cm to 8 cm of good quality, natural (not dyed) bark mulch or straw will reduce eroision and weeds and retain mostiure during drier summer months and will break down over the season adding organic moisture to the soil.
Plant a Perennial Flower Garden
Once established, perennial flowers will give you beautiful summer blooms, and most have a sweet scent. There are now even scented varieties of noninvasive daylilie.
If a perennial doesn't thrive in a spot in the garden, re-plant with something more suited to the conditions there. Walk around your neighbourhood and see what works in your area. Forcing a plant to try to thrive in conditions it's not suited for doesn't work for long.
- Bee Balm (Monarda) blooms up to 6 weeks from July to early fall in a sunny, well-drained spot. Attracts butterflies and bees. Insect and disease resistant. Spray any aphids off with a stiff stream of water from the hose. Bee balm will usually spread, but my bee balm died out in the backyard because the ground is too wet there in the spring and the growing trees brought increased shade.
- Columbine: A plant with pretty white flowers and pretty leaves, for a shady spot. I had a little side garden beside the fence, between my neighbour's house and mine. The garden was destroyed when my neighbour tore down her house for a rebuild, used that space for backyard access, and eventually replaced the old fence, pouring gravel on what used to be a shade garden on my side. The one plant that came back through the gravel was a columbine. Years later, it is still flowering through the stones. A new one popped up through a crack in the path nearby. I didn't have the heart to pull it out.
- Daylily: "Ditch lilies", the orange daylilies that grow with no watering and little care, are now considered invasive because they will spread and can block the flow of water in ditches. My orange daylilies, descended from my great-grandmother's cottage garden, require no watering, grow in full to partial sun, and spread everywhere, including to my neighbour's primarily paved backyard, where little else seems to flourish. One daylily planted will eventually become a thick clump. My mom threw a pile of bare daylily roots into a corner of a yard after thinning the clumps in her garden. These roots established themselves and bloomed. If not thinned, they can take over your garden. When they spread, they can fill in ditches and are considered nuisance plants. The soil around my great-grandmother's cottage is rock-hard with overcrowded daylily roots. So, a few years after planting, dig them up in the fall, divide them and move the divisions or share with a neighbour. I've recently planted some pale yellow daylilies. The hybrids don't spread like the old orange variety, but grow into large clumps. Unfortunately, my hybrid daylilies haven't thrived in my backyard," while the orange daylilies are still around..
- Fragrant Returns Daylily: The Cullens recommend a yellow daylily, Fragrant Returns, for its scent. (Most daylilies are unscented.) It grows to 50 cm, good to zone 3 (Winnipeg and Regina), blooms early summer to mid-fall and is winter-hardy.
- Delphiniums: all are fragrant, and grow 1 to 2 metres tall. These last for 2-3 years, so replant when they disappear in your garden. I no longer plant them because they need a sunny spot.
- Geraniums: I have fragrant pink-flowered perennial geraniums that don't mind the wet conditions in my garden in the spring, are fine in dry hot summers, and have a watermelon-like scent. They spread under the trees in the shade. I planted cuttings in the cemetery where they thrive without care. I also planted some in containers and put them in a sheltered spot beside a fence in the winter. The container-bound geraniums re-appear in the spring.
- Hostas: In the neighborhood where I grew up, most people planted a ring of hostas around their trees. Sixty years later, my mom's hostas are still thriving around her birch tree. These hostas have purple flowers in mid-summer, which have never attracted hummingbirds, but the Cullens say all hostas do. Hostas flower and the flowers aren't usually fragrant, with the exception of these varieties: Fragrant Bouquet (yellow-green leaves), Aphrodite (white flowers), Guacamole (light-green foliage, white flowers). Although I've never done this, you can cut the flowers to bring indoors. Hostas do best in part-sun to shade. I planted hostas and sedum around my swimming pool. A landscaper advised I not plant the hostas as the pavement surrounding the pool would get too hot for them, but they do beautifully every year, as there's shade from bushes and a 6 foot fence.
- Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia): The Russian Sage by my front door have purple flowers which last up to 8 weeks, mature at about a metre high, tolerate drought and heat, attract butterflies (and supposedly hummingbirds though I've never seen any near the sage), and they're fragrant. Mine are confined in a tiny space next to the wall of my house, beside a spindly Rosa Rugosa and squeezed in behind a yew. If you give them space, Russian Sage plants will spread. Plant in full sun and you'll eventually have a few square metres of blooming purplish-blue Russian Sage. My plant hasn't been able to spread more than a foot.
- Sage: "With sage in a garden, one should not die." Sage planted near a doorway brings health and protection and it's most lucky if someone else plants sage (or rue) in your garden as a gift for you. Sage has healing properties, and is used to flavour meat, stuffing and bean stews. An established plant (up to 20-30 cm high grown in sun) will take long periods of drought. Sage can be hung to dry and tied with twine in bundles. Light the end to produce smoke to purify a space and cleanse it of lingering negative energy.
- Phlox (Phlox Paniculata):
I love the fragrance of phlox, it's the scent of my childhood summers. My great-grandmother planted phlox around her country cottage and sleeping there, with the head of my bed next to the open screened window, I'd wake to the scent of phlox drifting in the window.
I planted phlox in my backyard by the fence but it's struggling, overshadowed by now-mature trees. Phlox in the sun grow to about 70 centimetres tall and are hardy to zone 4. Do not water their leaves or they can get white fungus.
- Coneflower (Echinacea)
- Meadow Rue
The flowers are small and yellow and have a distinct scent which repels some insects and some dogs, but not Willy, the friendly golden lab from across the street, who liked to lift his leg on the rue. The rue has survived, unfortunately Willy died of cancer, his owners moved, and their home was torn down and replaced.
I planted rue around a Sakura cherry tree with a trunk wound caused by sun scald. If I'd known, I would have wrapped the trunk for the winter with kraft paper or burlap to prevent this. In the spring, the crack in the trunk was infested by ants. The tree was also attacked by Asian Beetle. The beetles are now leaving it alone and the ants have gone elsewhere. Although an arborist advised we cut the tree down, the wound healed and the tree has grown.
Stake and Tie Tomatoes:
- Plant Dahlias, Canna Lilies, Tuberous Begonias started in pots indoors, outside.
Plant Bushes:
Sixty years later, my mom says she would only plant bushes, no trees, if she were starting her garden again. Her lilac bushes are still thriving, while the apple trees in her backyard died. The huge catalpa on the front lawn died and had to be professionally removed. This fall, the birch that shaded the backyard became a pile of branches that's waiting to be burned. It's hard to say goodbye to trees you planted long ago, and the cost involved in pruning or removing mature trees when they die can be hard to bear when you're on a pension.
On a small property, flowering bushes that can be easily pruned, like forsythia and lilacs, will give some privacy and shade.
You can plant bush roots in early May but forced bushes (they have pale green growth) have to be hardened to outside weather before planting, so best not to plant these until after May 24th.
If I lived in the south, I'd have a Shrimp Plant. They grow into the size of a small tree and hummingbirds visit their red shrimp-like flowers. I had two, about 4 feet tall in pots, but let them die outside one fall after two winters of bringing them indoors, where they were always shedding their leaves and were messy to take care of indoors on hardwood floors. The next summer, I was sorry. I missed looking out my kitchen window and seeing a green hummingbird visit the shrimp plant.
Planting Large Potted Shrubs and Trees
- Roll the pot along the ground to loosen the roots before trying to remove a large plant from a pot.
- If plants are root-bound (the roots have grown in tightly bound circles inside the pot) loosen and unwrap them. Otherwise, just rough up the roots to untangle them with the dull edge of a knife.
- Dig a hole 2 times as deep and wide as the pot. Even if you get a tree you get for a dollar should be dug a hundred-dollar hole.
- Sprinkle in compost and time-release fertilizer.
- Water the hole generously. Fill the hole with water, then wait until the water sinks into the earth.
- Then set the plant inside the damp hole.
- Water around the plant again.
- Then backfill--put the dirt back around it and firm the soil. Stomp on it with your feet if it's a large hole.
- Plants should be set in the garden at ground level, with the exception of certain vegetable plants that you plant in "hills".
Pruning: Prune out dead wood in early spring before trees and shrubs put too much energy into new growth. Shape up trees, shrubs and evergreens to create a strong dominant leader branch and to minimize crossing or rubbing of branches. Prune repeat-flowering climbers, bush shrub and miniature roses in mid-spring. Don't prune ramblers and weeping standards.
Tomatoes:
- Follow seed packet or planting instructions for the variety: spacing is important and so is sun exposure. Tomatoes need 6-8 hours of sun. Leave 2' between plants.
- When planting in pots: plant only 1 tomato per container and set the containers in the sun.
- Always water tomatoes from the bottom (don't spray the leaves).
- Plant a clay pot with a hole in the bottom beside the tomato plant in your garden and pour the water into it so the water soaks gradually into the soil.
- Good tomatoes need a consistent source of water, but over-watering reduces the flavour of the fruit. Tomatoes planted in the ground and mulched with straw can be watered every 2-3 days in the spring but plants will need more water when the weather gets hot. Try to keep the soil moist (but not wet) at the roots (stick your finger right down into the soil to test).
- Prune lower branches.
- Use potting soil with fertilizer added or add tomato fertilizer to your soil: follow directions on the package. Adding too much nitrogen to the soil will reduce the flavour of the fruit. Home-made fertilizer ideas: mix a few Tbsp molasses to a gallon of water and pour on the soil (it's high in potassium).
Trees, Shrubs, Evergreens and Roses: Best time to plant is early fall but spring is the second-best time to plant woody plants. Dig planting holes first and add a lot of triple mix before planting. For flowers, try magnolias, rhododendron, double flowering almond, azaleas.
Tulips
Let the foliage die down naturally after they flower. Don't remove the stems or leaves until they basically fall into your hands on their own. Leave watering tulips to the rain clouds. If you soak the ground where tulip bulbs are planted in the soil, during the summer, they could rot. So after they die down, put some markers in the garden to remind yourself where they are, and don't water there.
Lawn
If what you want is a grass lawn, not a mixed-lawn that is better for pollinators, you can apply a good fertilizer with slow-release nitrogen for thicker grass that squeezes out weeds (don't use weed-killer.)
Cut your lawn with a mulching mower when it reaches 6 to 8 centimetres height.
Zinnias: Plant zinnia seeds directly in the ground or planters in late May.
June (Birzelis)
June is the month of brides, and the Bridal Wreath Spirea will bloom before my wedding anniversary, at the time of the summer solstice and the Full Strawberry Moon around June 21-22.
Crickets:
- If you had to treat the lawn for crickets in early spring, apply more intensive lawn treatment sprays and granular insecticides at the beginning of the summer season to eliminate the remaining cricket population. I have never done this and have survived the crickets that like to sit on my driveway in the summer, even though I have been smacked in the head by a few crickets when I'm using the weed whacker to trim greenery from the interlocking bricks.
Remove spent flowers (including flowers in hanging containers and patio pots) before they go to seed so that the plants put their energy into producing more flowers later this season.
Flowers that particularly respond to deadheading and will flower again include: shasta daisy, columbine, foxglove, petunias, geraniums, marigolds.
Fertilize
Plants with yellowing leaves or stunted growth should be fertilized now.
This is the best time of year to add a season-long fertilizer to soil surfaces or to spread a 5-7 cm layer of finished compost over the root zone.
Plants in containers need a slow-release fertilizer that delivers a mild solution to the root zone with every watering. Remember your houseplants too.
Fruit Tree Disease Control
The Cullens recommend a combination of a product called End All and garden sulphur to help slow damage from insects and disease. They say don't worry about slightly blemished fruit.
Garlic:
- Garlic now sends up a scape, a stalk from the centre of the plant, that's thicker than the leaves. From this, a flower grows that will seed. These are edible but you don't want the plant to flower if you want all the plant's energy to go into growing large bulbs.
- When the centre stalk grows up above the rest of the plant and begins to curl or spiral upward into a pigtail, cut the stalk down as far as you can without cutting any leaves.
- Eat the pigtail scapes.
- Not all scapes will grow at the same time, so have a look at your garlic every week through July until all the scapes have been cut.
Grass
Raise the height of your lawn mower blade.
Grass blades shouldbe between 7-10 cm high.
Mow less often as temperatures rise and less rain falls.
Don't fertilize grass during a drought or prolonged period of heat.
Hummingbirds
To attract hummingbirds, plant lily-shaped red flowers, like the Canada Lily which is primarily pollinated by hummingbirds. Or import a potted shrimp plant or a potted red-bloomed hibiscus tree to your yard (shrimp plants and hibiscus won't survive the winter outdoors here.)
Japanese (Asian) Beetle Control
Hang a trap in a tree or on a fence that will attract beetles (which will fall into the trap).
These will start to smell foul if you don't empty it every couple of weeks.
Pick the beetles off your tree or plant and drop them in a bucket of soapy water to drown.
Mulch
Mulch the garden in early June where needed.
Prune
In early June, prune sedum if they are leggy. The result will be a sturdier plant, though the flowers will be smaller in the fall this year.
After flowering shrubs have finished flowering, in late June and July, it is a good time to prune a cedar hedge, lilac bush, forsythia, juniper, Japanese maple...almost all evergreens and shrubs. Prune lilacs within two weeks of their flowers fading, cutting the oldest thickest stalk or stalks down to the ground, but never more than 1/3 of the plant.
Sow Fast-Growing Seeds
If you haven't yet, plant fast-growing seeds like bush beans, radishes, carrots and beets. It's not too late.
Flower seeds to sow directly in soil:
Calendula (pot marigold): for flowers in 6-8 weeks, 20-30 cm tall. Cut the stem deeply at first to encourage more flowers.
Cosmos: 8 weeks to flower, needs lots of sun, 20-30 cm tall, prolific so cut often.
Sunflowers: for blooms in 8 weeks. Sunny spot.
Climbing roses, clematis, anything that grows up and needs support, needs to be tied to a stake or trellis or fence now.
Staking: Put in tomato cages or spiral stakes when planting. Prune out any suckers for best fruit production. Use soft ties to fasten stems to supports, or twist the main stem of the plant around a spiral stake.
Watering: Water from the bottom and don't water the leaves.
Water every few days very deeply if your tomatoes are planted in the ground.
It's okay for the plants in the ground to have a dry day and a bit of stress.
Tomatoes in containers are better watered regularly, in the early morning, from the bottom.
Cracking fruit: you're giving your plants too much water too fast, after giving them too little water.
When fruits start to develop watch for blossom end rot, brown spots appearing on the bottom of the fruit. This may indicate over-watering (give a moderate amount) and/or irregular watering (water in the early morning when needed) and/or lack of calcium in the soil. Try grinding up some calcium tablets and adding them to the plant water
Plants stripped of leaves: Check for tomato horn worm infestation.
Water the Garden
- Water only where and when it's needed. Water less frequently but more deeply.
- Flowering plants growing in the ground should be watered only once a week for an hour or two (that includes the time it rains.) Flowers in pots or hanging baskets may have to be watered every morning or even twice a day in the hottest days of summer.
- Allow the soil to dry about 6 cm deep between watering to encourage deeper roots and drought-resistant plants.
Pollinate Squash Flowers
Learn how to identify male and female squash flowers, with advice from Toronto master gardener Sonia Day: Male flowers "have one lone 'spike' sticking up" while female flowers have "a sort of cross-shaped thingy" instead. Female flowers can be also "broader and bossier-looking than the males." Male flowers always appear first, "They start coming early in the season, once the leafy part of the plant has got established. They have slim stems and often you see loads of them." The female flowers "materialize later--bigger, more beautiful, on stronger stems, but usually less numerous."
A rainy summer and lack of bees may leave your squash blossoms unpollinated and your squash (zucchini) plant yield will be disappointing. In her article "The Real Dirt" for the Toronto Star, Sonia Day wrote that you can pollinate female squash blossoms yourself using a children's paint brush:
Go out in the early morning when there are newly opened flowers on the plant. Dip the brush into the centre of a male flower. Check the end to see that you've picked up pollen (it's yellow, sticky and tinier than grains of rice). Then "paint" this substance gently on the protuberance at the heart of a female flower.
July (Liepa)
Cut back the milkweed in the first week of July! No later.
Water the Garden
- A recently planted garden needs more water in the heat of July than it will in August because it's developing new, young roots. (As plant roots reach deeper the need for surface water lessens.)
- Established perennials, planted last year or earlier, seldom need watering.
- Don't water an established lawn during the summer, let it go dormant during drought and it will turn green again when rain returns.
- If possible, provide water for birds too. Clean the birdbath frequently and change the water. Birds like the splash of a fountain, if you can provide one.
Cherries
Pick cherries as they ripen. Rotten cherries left on the tree will infest other ripening fruit and reduce yield. Unless you have a net on a cherry tree the birds will probably pick them all for you.
Deadhead Flowers
Use your fingers to pinch off the finished flowers of annuals that go to seed (geraniums, marigold and zinnias) so that the plants will flower again. If you let them go to seed, they won't.
Remove finished blossoms from perennials like peonies and roses to encourage more flowers later.
Some lilacs will also re-flower but be careful because new buds form under the old--don't take these off. If you don't know if the lilac re-flowers, best to leave the flower heads unpruned.
Delphiniums
Cut flowers now to bring indoors and they will rebloom.
Fruit Trees
Garden expert Mark Cullen says apples, pears and other fruit trees need help keeping fungal disease and insects away. He advises spraying fruit trees with "End-All" and Garden Sulphur every two weeks during the summer.
Milkweed
Milkweed is the "butterfly plant" and the only plant on which Monarch Butterflies will lay their eggs. Loss of this habitat has meant declining numbers of monarch butterflies. Naturalists say these beautiful pollinators are under threat of extinction. To help them, plant milkweed in a sunny but sheltered spot on your property.
Milkweed popped up in my yard when I tossed a packet of native seeds in a spot where grass wasn't growing, near the curb. They will thrive in poor soil next to roadsides but this isn't the best spot for them, as emerging butterflies can be killed by passing cars, though I haven't seen any butterfly roadkill. My next-door neighbour (who is otherwise a very nice man) started chopping down the milkweed when he bought a new low-slung Tesla and the butterfly garden blocked his view exiting his driveway.
The flowers are tall, pink, large and very fragrant. If the flowers aren't pink but whitish-green, you have Dogbane, not Milkweed. Milkweed has a lovely, powerful scent, like a lady wearing too much perfume. The scent will be carried on the breeze, attracting butterflies to gather nectar. When they are finished blooming, in the first week of July, cut them down so new flowers will grow, because Monarchs prefer to lay their eggs on young plants. This also makes the neighbour with the Tesla happy.
After the second week of July is too late to cut back milkweed, because Monarchs begin their egg-laying then. Do not cut back Milkweed again until late fall.
New Potatoes
Harvest "new potatoes" 2-3 weeks after flowers have stopped. Delicious boiled now (the skin is tender and they are sweet) but they don't keep as well as as mature potatoes.
Prune
July is the time to prune spring-blooming shrubs like lilac and spirea and forsythia.
Cut new growth to keep the plant in control and well-shaped.
Thick, mature shrubs should be pruned in the interior. Remove up to one-third of the growth with sharp hand pruners to encourage new growth on the old parts of the plant.
Wait for late-flowering shrubs to bloom first, before pruning back.
Hardwood shade trees (maples, birch etc.) should be pruned now while in full leaf.
Pruning later, while trees are dormant, can cause excessive bleeding of sap that can harm the tree.
Prune to thin and give a desirable shape, using a sharp pruning saw.
Prune evergreen trees like spruce, pine, cedar hedges, boxwood, and junipers.
Raspberries
- Pick ripe raspberries right away. If left on the plant they rot and infest the rest of the ripening fruits, reducing yield. My parents were right in insisting that the fruit be picked daily as they ripened, and even froze raspberries on baking sheets in the freezer before storing in plastic bags if they weren't eaten right away.
- Prune July-bearing raspberries right after picking fruit, as these plants will bear fruit on new wood next season.
Rhubarb
Stop harvesting rhubarb stalks when they become thin. Leaving the leaves now will boost the root structure so you'll get a good crop next year.
Sow Seeds
Plant more seeds for late-season crops: leaf lettuce, radish, beets, broccoli, carrots, onions and peas.
Strawberries
- Remove the straw or mulch that's kept the fruit off the ground and compost it.
- Cut off old leaves, leave only the new leaves and the plants' crowns open to the sun. This lets the plant fill out and produce more berries next year.
- Put down a layer of compost, 5-7 cm, and remove any nets that have protected plants.
Tomato Plants
- Pinch off suckers growing between the main stem and lateral branch. Give them a quick pinch at the base of their thin stems with your fingers.
- WILT & SPOTS: When you plant, you need to leave space between them, 24" apart for large varieties. Add more stakes and tie up stems where needed to improve airflow. This prevents fungus and increases tomato crop. Good material for stake ties: cut-up pantyhose legs, old hockey skate laces, foam-covered wire. My grandpa used strips of old cotton sheets and dishcloths. Prune wilted and spotted leaves.
- LEAF CURL means the plants are stressed. Water in the early morning. Prune to two main vines.
- PICKING: Harvest ripe fruit in the afternoon at the hottest part of the day. Don't refrigerate picked tomtaoes for best flavour.
- Cut off the stems, the curly tendrils of greenery that grow up from the bulb planted in the soil, but be careful not to cut the leaves. Trimming a single leaf can decrease the bulb yield by 18 percent.
- If you let the scapes grow they will flower and then you'll harvest smaller garlic bulbs in late August.
- Use the scapes like green onions in cooking. Cook until soft. These are delicious grilled on the BBQ and seasoned with salt and pepper.
Early to mid- August
Clean garden cutting tools (pruners, shears) with a solution of 90% water to 10% bleach between pruning sessions to avoid spreading diseases between plants.
Dill: If you want more dill in your garden, let some go to seed. The seed can also be used in salad dressing. Use the feathery dill leaves in salads and soup
Water plants in containers regularly, but even in a heat wave, plants in your garden soil don't need to be watered more than once a week. Watering a garden less encourages deeper root growth and drought resistant plants.
When watering, leave the sprinklers on for as long as it takes for the water to seep 6 centimetres deep. If you have sprinklers on a timer to water in the early morning, get up and test to see how long you need to set the timer for.
Fertilize all perennial garden plants now (and not again this season.)
Fertilize annuals (petunias, tomatoes) again now and again in early September.
Prune back spent perennial flower blossoms (daisies, monarda, veronica, hollyhock). Remove spent flowers on roses, butterfly bush and weigelia to encourage one more set of blossoms this fall. Removing spent flowers urges the plant to create more flowers instead of going to seed; more flowers will benefit the bees.
A couple weeks after raspberries finish fruiting, (about mid-August), prune about 1/3 of the raspberry cane's current height. Remove dead canes to the root. Don't prune fall fruiting raspberries now.
Set the lawnmower on high and run it over the strawberry patch to prune it.
Cut flowers to enjoy indoors in vases early in the morning (natural sugars in the plant are highest).
Plunge cut stems immediately in a bucket of water (take it outside with you) and re-cut to suit the vase when indoors, using fresh water. Compost cut stems.
Change vase water daily.
Harvest vegetables as they ripen.
Late August/September Harvest Time
In late August, plant lettuce, spinach, kale (greens), radishes, beets, carrots, peas, turnips for a late harvest. If first frost is Nov 1 (in Toronto) don't plant later than Sept. 10 for plants that mature in 50 days.
Late August: Prune cedar hedges and hardwood trees like oak and beech. Prune trees or evergreens to where a minor stem meets the main stem or trunk of the plant. Prune minor branches back to the base of the branch you wish to remove. If the stem is thick and heavy, get this done professionally.
Prune certain shrubs: dogwood, purple sandcherry, lilacs, burning bush (all spring and early-summer flowering woody shrubs.) Don't prune hydrangea or Rose of Sharon now.
Chives: Plant chives in early September in a spot where you'll have 5 hours of sun or more. Divide and replant existing chives every 3-5 years. They transplant well. Bees love chive flowers.
Cyclamen: In late summer or early fall, plant hardy cyclamen bulbs around trees in dappled shade.
Garlic:
For best results use nursery grown "seed" garlic. But you can try growing organic garlic from the grocery store. Gently break apart a bulb into individual cloves.
Garlic likes sandy soil so in clay soils dig in some sharp builder's sand.
Make a trench about 6 cm deep. Plant the cloves, pointy side up, about 15 -20 cm or at least 6 inches apart.
Rows of garlic should be 50 cm apart, leave at least 12".
Cover planted garlic with soil and then 2-4 cm finished compost. The tips should be just below the surface.
Water only if the weather is dry.
If it's a warm fall, in a month green shoots might come up; cover with 30 cm of straw mulch before winter.
Hydrangeas & Flowering Shrubs
Don't prune hydrangeas now and don't deadhead them or other flowering shrubs. Leave faded blooms on the plant to protect new flower blooms from damage over the winter. Same for other flowering shrubs too.
Mint
Cut stalks now near the bottom of the stem and dry by hanging upside down in a dry room for 10-14 days.
Bees love all mint while in flower so leave some for the bees.
Oregano
Preserve oregano by drying. Cut stems 2 cm from the bottom, preferably before flowers open. Hang in a warm, shaded place for about 2 weeks. Use dried oregano in Italian cooking.
Perennial Flowers
Don't pick off (deadhead) the spent blooms now, or pull up the stalks.
Attract birds to a garden by leaving perennials standing for the winter.
Potatoes
- After foliage dies back, wait two weeks then cut the leaves off.
- Wait 10-15 days after cutting off foliage to allow potato skins to toughen up before digging.
- Don't water much during this time or the potato crop might start to rot or develop scab.
Rhubarb
In early fall, add a 5-7 cm layer of compost or rotted manure to the soil around rhubarb plants.
Sage
In the plant's first year, harvest just a few leaves. You can take more as the greenery matures each season. An established plant will be 20-30 cm high, planted in a sunny spot.
Thyme
Use fresh or harvest leaves by hanging to dry in small bunches. Add dried thyme to turkey stuffing and soups.
Transplanting
If you think you might move in the spring, consider transplanting some of your perennials to a friend or relative's garden now. In-ground plantings are considered part of the property and are included as part of the sale, unless you specifically exclude them in your sale contract. My mother's garden harboured some of my favourite perennial plants from my first house before I moved to this one decades ago.
September/October
Plant snowdrop bulbs now and see the first flowers of the spring in your own garden.
Plant daffodils (the Old English word for daffodil meant "that which comes early") now. You can be more sure to see them in the spring than any tulip bulbs, because daffodils are deer-resistant and rodent-proof.
Clean up any diseased plant matter, throw this in the trash don't put it out for compost.
Harvest apples. Apples release ethylene gas that shortens the storage life of other crops so store them separately from potatoes and other vegetables. If you go picking at an orchard for baking pies, the best baking apples are Braeburn, Northern Spy, Granny Smith. You want a firm-fleshed apple that won't turn to sauce when baked. An apple that keeps a long time at home in cold storage is called York Imperial, if you can find it.
Sweet potatoes should be cured in a hot room (95 degrees F) both day and night for 5 days according to The Farmer's Almanac.
Dry and prepare cooking, tea and potion herbs (see the Garden Page for the fun Love Potion #9 for example.)
Dig and Divide Flowering Perennials
Roots start to store natural sugars to help the plant survive winter. Dig and divide and replant now, the divisions will put down new roots in the new location.
Dividing Bearded Iris, Hosta, Day Lilies, Acantha, Peonies
Dig the entire established plant out of the ground. Cut it in quarters. If it's large enough, cut into eighths. Plant the divisions in new triple mix and water thoroughly.
Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Shasta Daisy, Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan), Monarda (Bee Balm), Baptisia and Turtlehead
Thesee roots knit together in a thick layer beneath the soil's surface. Use a sharp shovel or spade and carve off the size of root mass you wish to remove.
Leaves
Use a mulcher mower and mulch the leaves that fall on your lawn, leave them on the grass. Earthworms will put them down into the earth for food and turn them into fertilizer.
Leave fallen leaves on your garden over the winter.
Mulching Trees: Don't pile up leaves or grass clippings against the base of a tree. A tree base must be left bare, so the flare of the trunk above the roots is exposed. If the flare of the tree is covered, the tree will rot and eventually die.
SEED HARVEST: Seeds are ready for harvest when you see birds pecking at a finished flower or seed pod. Leave some for the birds too. Collect: perennial coneflower, rudbeckia, poppies, sweet peas and hollyhocks. Annuals: sunflowers, nasturtiums, pot marigolds, zinnias, snapdragons.
Collect the seed from non-hybrid, open-pollinated vegetables. Peas don't cross-pollinate and are easy to save.
Cut off a finished flower head with scissors. dry the seed pod in the sun for a few days. The seed casing will open as the pod dries. Shake the pod above an envelope and the seeds will fall in. If the casing doesn't let the seed go, open with fingers or a sharp knife. Label the envelope with the name of the plant and store the envelopes in a box or in a sealed Mason jar over winter, in a cool, dark place.
Acorns, chestnuts and seeds from other woody trees and shrubs can be gathered, placed in the sun for a week or two, and stored over the winter in a cool dark place. Propogate in the spring to grow a tree from seed.
WILD FLOWER SEED BOMBS
Mix 500 grams soil and 500 grams plain flour together in a mixing bowl.
Slowly add 200 ml water, work it in with your hands until sticky and dough-like.
Roll into golf balls.
Fill a tray with collected seeds (buttercup, camomile, knapweed, lady's bedstraw, red clover, wild thyme) and roll the wet and sticky mud balls around until covered in seed.
Leave to dry for a day or two.
Store in a dry place.
In the spring, toss wherever you'd like these seeds to grow.
Pumpkins:
After carving a jack-o-lantern, seal the cuts with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and it will last longer. Spraying the pumpkin inside with bathroom cleaner to kill bacteria might keep the pumpkin from rotting too quickly but doing these things will make your pumpkin not good for compost.
Just keep it out of the sun in a cool place if possible.
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October
Harvest Seeds when they are brown and dry. If in doubt, leave seeds to dry out on a piece of paper towel. Store dry seeds in labelled paper envelopes and sealed containers. See specific information in the garden section of this site.
Bring Potted Plants Inside
- Inspect potted plants for insects. Spray with insecticidal soap, concentrating on underside of leaves or wipe down each leaf with a cloth pre-moistened with insecticidal soap.
- Repot plants in fresh soil to get rid of soil-borne pests like fungus gnats. Clean the roots. Unbind roots and plant in a clean, slightly larger pot. Fertilize with 20-20-20 and water as the soil becomes dry about 3-4 cm deep.
- Plants will yellow and lose some leaves in 1st few weeks of being indoors.
- Place tropical plants in sunny south or west-facing windows.
Take Cuttings of Geraniums, Impatiens, Coleus, Begonias
- Mix soil 50/50 with sharp sand
- Make a 4" or 10 cm long cutting of a stem that's healthy but hasn't flowered, cutting just below a node (a small bump where a leaf or root can grow from the stem). The bottom cut should be angled where the new roots will grow and the top cut should be straight across.
- Remove the lower leaves about halfway up the stem and dip the bottom half in a rooting hormone to stimulate root growth.
- Insert the cuttings into the soil mixture up to 2.5 cm (one inch) deep, ensuring that at least one node is below the surface of the soil but none of the leaves have contact with it.
- Water thoroughly and cover with a clear plastic bag that is supported to keep it from touching the leaves, or with a clear plastic container (to maintain humidity and create a greenhouse-like condition. Open the cover or lid once a day for several hours for ventilation and to prevent fungal disease.
- Cuttings should root in 7-10 days (will resist when gently tugged.) Once rooted, provide gradually more ventilation and sunlight by moving into a sunny window for the winter.
- Fertilize every two weeks.
Put down a layer of wet newspaper and cover with an old blanket or rags. This will kill the grass, so you won't have to break sod in the spring.
Water
Thoroughly water trees, shrubs and evergreens at the root zone, especially plants near the house that might not get as much water because the roots are under soffits and eaves.
Bird Feeders
Set up a clean bird feeder now so they'll know to come to you when it's winter and food is scarce.
Have a spare on hand because feeders should be cleaned and dried every two weeks.
Provide fresh seed.
Note: In areas where rodents are a problem consider using the more expensive seed that is hulled so there is no shell litter, clean underneath the feeder daily, put out a small amount of seed daily, or not have a feeder at all. I didn't put out seed in the winter of 2024/25 because knee problems made it hard for me in the snow, and because last year the feeder attracted rodents. It is illegal in Toronto to feed squirrels and raccoons, they are always trying to tip the feeder.
Though I was sad for the birds, I didn't want to attract rats to my property (and along with raccoons, they are a problem in Toronto.)
After Christmas, though, I hung a birdseed bell for some hungry Cardinals.
Fertilizer
Spread compost over the garden, about 8 to 10 cm thick. Don't dig it in, leave that for the earthworms.
Fertilizer
Spread compost over the garden, about 8 to 10 cm thick. Don't dig it in, leave that for the earthworms.
Mulch leaves on the lawn with the lawn mower, leave them there to break down and feed the lawn. It's fine to leave whole leaves around trees and in the garden, but because mine is quite wet, I like to mulch the larger leaves like maple. I use a rake or broom and shovel on the patio and deck to scoop them into an old garbage can, mulch the with weed whacker, put leaf mulch back on the garden.
Do not clean up small sticks and other natural debris.
The mulch will help keep soil from eroding during fall rains and the spring snow melt. Try to have 8 to 10 cm of mulch on top of your compost layer. And if you don't have a compost layer, don't worry, the decomposing leaves will create compost over time.
If your soil is poor, Toronto Master Gardeners recommend you amend it with organic matter (compost, leaf mould or healthy plant debris laid on the soil surface, not dug in. Although some gardeners recommend using fertilizers such as bone meal along with compost before adding mulch, the Master Gardeners say fertilizers may disrupt the fungi in the soil, so compost and leaf mould is preferable. They also recommend a mulch of leaf litter or wood chips to prevent soil erosion and compaction and to aid moisture retention.
Dig as little as possible and never dig when the soil is wet. Avoid walking in the garden, which compacts the soil.
- Scatter pine or spruce needles around a blueberry bush to make the soil more acidic.
If you have native honeysuckle you can add lime to make the soil more alkaline. If you have invasive, non-native honeysuckle, cut it down.
If you have a bare patch of soil, you can plant clover or ryegrass (winter cover) to protect the soil and till the clover into the soil in the spring.
Hostas and Perennials
I cut leaves off hostas that get slimy after they're frozen, but leave other perennials standing (provides protection for small wildlife over winter and protect beneficial bacteria in the soil.)
Roots to dig up: dahlias, canna lilies, tuberous begonias. Dry in a sunny window. Store in a cool dry place over the winter.
Milkweed: In late October or early November, after the seeds in the seed pods have matured, cut the stalks back, leaving at least 6 inches to provide habitat for insects through the winter and to mark the milkweed patch. Wear gloves and don't touch your eyes because milkweed sap can cause skin and eye irritation. In spring, some birds like orioles will strip the stalk fibres when making nests.
Prune Maple, Birch and Walnut Trees: These trees should be pruned just after the leaves drop in the fall. Winter pruning can cause too much sap loss in spring.
Early November
Get garden chores done before the Full Beaver Moon (around mid-month) when there will likely be a frost.
Store all your garden tools in a dry spot (a damp garden shed isn't the best place.) Before you put them away, clean them. Paint the handles bright red so you don't lose any in the garden next year. Oil blades and metal parts.
This is the time to apply a fertiliser with 12 percent slow-release nitrogen (this is the first number in the three-number analysis on the bag) to a grass lawn.
Plant tulip bulbs in a well-drained spot if you haven't yet--this can be done as late as you're able to dig in the soil, so if you see bulbs on sale you can take a chance on them.
Put your lawn mower at the highest wheel setting and run over big leaves on the lawn again to mulch, then put the leaves on the garden or leave them on the lawn. If you have a gas lawnmower, run the mower until the gas is empty. Before the first snowfall, clean the mower and store it away for winter.
Empty compost onto the garden and start a new compost bin if you have one or make a pile in a corner of the yard: fallen leaves (brown material) plus green kitchen scraps or lawn clippings (green material) in a ratio of 10 parts leaves to 10 parts green material. Get a big bag of dirt if you plan to add green kitchen scraps over the winter because to keep rodents away, you'll have to sprinkle a layer of fresh dirt on top every time you add kitchen scraps. The bag of dirt will have to be kept where it won't freeze. I no longer compost my own kitchen scraps but donate them to the green bin for the city to compost.
Mulch a strawberry patch or any strawberry plants with straw.
Protect Trees and Bushes
Wrap columnar cedars and upright junipers (junipers with branches that grow upward) with 2 layers of natural burlap, secured with string, to protect from ice, snow, drying wind and salt, especially if near roads.
Wrap the trunks of young trees or tender trees like Japanese Cherry with burlap or even brown Kraft paper tied with twine to protect the trunk from splitting due to sun scald.
Salt drift (watery mist from road spray) can burn foliage. Protect cedar hedges near roads with a barrier of 2 layers of burlap secured to wooden stakes.
Dry winter air can desiccate the foliage of rhododendrons, yews, magnolia and holly. One application of Wilt Pruf sprayed on the foliage while temperatures are above freezing will apparently protect these plants all winter. I've never used it but my holly is planted along the driveway and against a tall cedar hedge and gets a lot of snow shovelled against it.
Young fruit trees with trunks less than 8 cm in diameter are food to rabbits, mice and field rodents mid-winter. Wrap a plastic spiral around the lower portion of the trunk to protect the bark. I've read that rabbits will also eat young Rose of Sharon shrubs but have never seen this myself.
December
At the new moon around the 1st of the month, carefully cut a small branch of a hawthorn or cherry tree and put it in water. Change the water every couple of days. If the branch blooms by Christmas, a wish will come true.
Save the ashes from a winter wood fire to spread around berry bushes and fruit trees in the spring.
At the winter solstice (around the 21st) go Christmas tree cutting if you are decorating a live Christmas tree. Cut evergreen and holly branches to decorate the house, as a reminder of life everlasting and a celebration of hope at a dark and cold time of year. To keep them from dripping everywhere, spray all the leaves with Wilt-Pruf and let this dry before you bring them in the house.
Don't trash fallen pine or spruce needles, scatter them around blueberry bushes or any acidic-soil loving outdoor plant.
Buy someone who loves flowers (yourself?) a potted amaryllis bulb for Christmas. It should bloom by February.
