Man, it’s cold.
I’ve always known I’m a fair weather gardener, but I think the situation is getting worse. There’s a base level of winter/early spring work that I absolutely must have done before I go away on our next tour (New Naturalism, in very late August), and at this rate of sunny, benign days, I don’t have a hope. I’m going to have to brave the weather at some stage, and soon.
The strange thing is that I know that some of the most engaging moments – of the richest experiences of silence and solitude, the chasing of which has always been one of the main motivations of my gardening – occur at times when I’m braced against the conditions. I don’t know if it’s linked to the positive self-talk necessary to start the process (‘come on, man, you can do this! You’re more than a match for this lame Southern Hemisphere attempt at cold’), or if there’s something inherently internalising about the physical and psychological posture you assume when braced against hostility. But knuckling down to these jobs during rotten weather is nearly always more rewarding than you think it’s going to be be.
What I’ll be doing if I can brave the cold, and why now?
It’s time I started cutting back the perennials, and mulching around them. I’d normally leave this as late as horticulturally possible, which would be more like September, for me, in order to leave seed heads for birds, dead stems for insects, and all the wonderful structure and texture of last-summer’s biomass for my visual pleasure (which peaks in a heavy frost – as above). In slightly more mild areas, you’d likely have to get around to it in August. The timing is primarily about making sure last year’s stems are removed before fresh spring growth starts to get in the way of the process, and slows it down too much. This moment is earlier in some plants than others. Sedums, of which I have a lot, are notoriously early to kick into growth.
Then I’ll be mulching around them, entirely for weed control. If I had more time for weeding later in the season, I possibly wouldn’t bother with the mulch, but I don’t, so mulching it is, with its unfortunate side-effect of suppressing welcome self-sowers, like poppies, Orlaya and Ammi. But I’ll deliberately leave unmulched areas where there’s room for those.
When do you do your major perennial cutback, and why? Add your reply to the bottom of this post – we’d love your contributions.
Coming up
I was so excited to see that Ed Snodgrass, from the US, is speaking in Melbourne at 6pm on August 15th as a fund raiser for Global Gardens of Peace. I’m going to get my ticket now before it sells out. Check out the details here.
Our Sicily and Sardinia tour for April/May next year is already half sold out. If you’re considering coming with us, consider fast! Details here.
Have a great week!
Michael
Love it Michael, thanks for sharing!! I can absolutely relate. I usually leave the perennial cut back as late as possible too! I know it’s not something gardeners talk about a lot, but another go too for me is to use an organic spray which helps to get the upper hand on weeds if the space is too large or time doesn’t permit for mulch. Cheers mate Brent
Yeah, I’m with you on that Brent. I have many spaces too large, and time never permits!
We cut down the perennials any time from autumn to late winter – early, generally, because it all gets rather soggy. But the mulch is the cut down perennials, left on the spot.
So you just live with the sacrifice of the skeletal winter thing? I guess you have little choice. Long-term saturated soil isn’t something we have to factor in in Australia, of course, and I guess you could stay wet well into spring. Well, right through the year, come to think about it.
I cut back most perennials toward the end of autumn if it is cool enough. I need to in order to make room for all the plants that grow like crazy in winter. Yes that is what happens in a Mediterranean garden in Perth. It is behind a wall so the garden temperature never drops below 5 degrees and euphorbias and succulents in particular do so well in winter – summer dormant of course!
I love hearing that Margot – the reasoning behind these processes in other climates. It hadn’t occurred to me until now that the amount of winter growth you have from other things would enforce an early cut back.
The usual trigger for the perennial cutback is when the sedums signal they’re done-the point where rich rusty brown becomes a slimy shamozzle. This year, the cut back has begun earlier, to fit in with an August holiday. I’m combining cutting back with potting up favourite perennials in preparation for our next garden making. The work of cutting back is offering an opportunity to reflect on lessons learnt from taking a paddock and seeing it evolve into a garden. Such a wonderful adventure.
I love the idea of these ‘indicator species’ ie I know it’s time to cut back the ….. when the …. comes into bloom etc. But like you, I won’t be waiting, this year, for the optimum time. It’s gotta be done while I have the time!
I never cut back the naturalistic garden until late July in North Canterbury New Zealand for the same reasons as you Michael It is good to leave all the seeds for the birds but most important is the wonderful feathery grasses look so amazing at this time of the year!
So why do you choose not to leave it later still, Penny? If my travel schedule allowed, I’d probably leave it until early September. Do you get early regrowth, or is it just that you get busy with other things as spring approaches?
我们在中国成都，我们这里的冬季最低-3℃不是特别寒冷，但是夏季的高温达到38℃，湿度常常是90%以上，今年7月下了一个月的雨，让我们这边的植物死了很多，混合种植的自然主义挑战很大，我很想知道你们在应对高温高湿积水的情况有哪些措施应对，我们在成都做的试验田项目5-6/㎡密度，也不算很密，后期的植物积水，烂根，还有特别难防止的白绢病，很是头痛，很期待老师能讲解一些高温高湿植物的选择和养护方面的知识。