Time flies. Sorry I didn’t get a post done earlier in the month. November was typical – warm one day, cold and frosty the next. There’s always so much work to be done in the garden this time of year. Its not all that enjoyable putting the garden to bed. The plus side is that after its done, I get to rest for awhile.

I cut back the dahlias after a frost, dug them and dried them before putting them to bed for the winter in the basement.

The meadow got its annual haircut.

The never ending battle with the squirrels continues, but they are entertaining and very resourceful.

The Brugmansia put out a late flush of bloom. We dragged it into the garage so it wouldn’t freeze. I need to cut it way back before I can get it into the basement for winter dormancy, but it was so pretty I couldn’t bear to trim it yet. This photo is from a couple weeks ago but a few buds still popped this morning.

This Bradford Pear has been severely leaning since it was hit by a broken maple branch during a windstorm a few years ago. We were afraid it would eventually pull right out of the ground in the winter wind storms and crush everything in its path. We decided to lop the top off and see if we could salvage some of it.

It looks pretty bad right now, but hopefully it will fill out in the spring and still provide a bit of shade for the plants that are growing beneath it.

Frosty mornings are always pretty

Lambs ears with a coating of hoarfrost

And finally, my garden nymph watches over the garden until spring. We have plans for next year of course. I hope to create a crevice garden in the front bed by the driveway using stones from a kind neighbor. Some plants need to be moved to different areas of the garden where they can expand. I plan to expand the dahlia section. Stay tuned
Dahlias look great! I just packaged mine today, which I would not bother with in my own garden. Technically, they can overwinter in the ground here. I only dug mine at home to divide them. Unfortunately though, ours at work did not generate much to dig up. They are the ‘annual’ sort anyway, which most people discard rather than sustain. I stored what I found, so will see how they do next year.
These are pretty special. They were originally grown by my parents in 1960 – My family has kept them going ever since
Wow, that is impressive. I like to brag about my Iris pallida that my ancestors grew shortly after Oklahoma became a state, but I only got it in about 1972.
Well that’s worth bragging about!