I'm madly leaf mulching all my garden beds too, but the sporadic rainfall is making it hard to mulch mow our lawn, which we usually have done at least twice by now. Every time my husband gets out the mower the rain starts up.

I'm also trying to ground plant bulbs that have spent the past few years in big pots. Most are not supposed to be hardy in my zone, but I've found that if I nestle them close to the front steps, rock walls, or other "sheltering" structures, they do manage to survive our winter. Basically I'm just tired of lugging huge pots in & out twice a year.... :)

I pulled up and brought in my gladiola corms yesterday, and pulled the dead foliage from the outdoor planters. Snow tires are on and air conditioner covered, so I guess we're ready. This sight greeted me this morning, and it's still falling.

sped -

Snow already! I can't be far behind. I have some tropicals in the garage (cymbidium orchids and a strelitzia) that need to be brought into the sun room today. Yesterday I took my agapanthus out of it's pot (had to smash the pot!) and planted it in the ground. It's on its own now.............

I will cover my gardenia with leaves and place a large plastic tub with a rock over it. It will have to do.

Calla lily and canna plants still do not have frozen foliage, but I'll have to chop it off soon and dig the bulbs and rhizomes. As for the two ismene clumps, I will dig them too, but they'll have to be left to dry for the winter. I normally plant them in a pot before frost and let them continue to grow in the sun room, but they've never bloomed in eight years, so I might just toss them in the spring if they don't survive the drying.

It's kind of sad seeing myself having to let go of gardening a little at a time. It's always been one of my great joys. I just can't do all the things I used to do anymore, so I've had to throw away some of my tropical plants, and leave some semi-hardy others to fend for themselves in the ground now. I did plant a new iris this past spring ("Firebreather") and it was spectacular! I also planted a new oriental poppy, and it's looking good. I hope we have a mild winter, but who knows?

I'm still madly planting things from my pot ghetto after being sick for 5 weeks in October after being gone for a couple of weeks in September. I may end up heeling some things into the veggie garden for planting next spring. I've planted a bunch of things over the last two weeks, but I still have a number of pots.

Y'all need to remind me to not order any new plants this winter since I really need to get everything I have now planted.

I am spending today gathering materials for winter buckets - stump sprouts from red maples in particular to add some brightness to the winter greens.

I have 50 tulip bulbs to plant, leaves to rake and a veggie garden to clear out and leaf-mulch.

As for snow, I'm happy to see it in Vermont and avoid it here as much as possible! We've rented a condo in Killington for skiing this year and I'm hoping for a good season :) Skiing is the only thing I look forward to in winter.

...and 4 small pots of heuchera Caramel and 3 bigger pots of a deep red one on sale for $1 and $3 respectively. Think I better heal them in the raised beds. At least I can sit on the edge of the bed and dig. No bulbs this year. My brain wore out.

We woke to a dusting of snow this morning . . .

Cutting down ornamental grasses is one thing left to do. Otherwise, the stems blow all over the yard in the winter winds. That will have to wait for a warm day.

My perennials are being left "as is" until spring.

No bulbs for me either this year, Marie. Just wasn't in the mood.

We put the holiday lights on our pine down by the river a few days ago when the weather was warm ... wouldn't want to do that now!

Like you, Bill, I get great joy from working in the gardens. but I actually don't mind putting the gardens to bed. Judging by today's temperature, we are sliding into winter here along the southern CT coast!

It crashed into us today; 25 degrees colder than a few days last week. Still need to scout the yard for stray pots and tools, look in toolshed while it's daylight for suitable amaryllis pots because I have 6 big ones ready to go.

Now that it is really cold, what left that's probably too late to do?

Im looking at those 6 cheap heuchera and thinking I really don't want to put my hands in the cold soil. Think I'll stick them in shed and hope.

I managed to make some soil mix and plant my 5 amaryllis bulbs.

The leaf chopping continues. I chopped enough to mulch the two front beds.

The bagged pine straw from the compost center is waiting for distribution in the woodland garden. Ought to get it down before it snows.

Still have to pick up plastic pots that ended up in odd places like bushes, under the shed etc

Ah, Marie! You've almost reached the end of gardening for this year. For me, it's when the first snow covers everything that I haven't finished and I finally say goodbye until next spring.

Not so, Moliep. There's lots of misplaced objects and we never get to all the leaves. I'm taking the .philosophy of "leave leaves in place" very seriously. Unfortunately, they are all maple and make a dense wet mat. Very few perennials can penetrate them in spring so those, at least, need to be raked up sooner or later.

Yes, I remember those maple leaves from my former home. They do create wet mats that need to be removed, so I understand the big job you have ahead.

We have no large trees in our very small yard, just tall oaks across the street. Some of those oak leaves that blow into our yard get raked under my rhododendrons and azaleas. The ones on the lawn are mulch-mowed and recycled into the grass. We also have very strong winds blowing across the back yard, and these help disperse any leaves from our river birch or cinnamon bark maple that fall there and aren't mulched into the lawn.

I spent Thanksgiving weekend experimenting with ways to protect saplings. (Used some dollar store mesh waste baskets and garden stakes). Also put buckets of water with holes in them near newly planted evergreens...to let them drink between the drought and the time when the soil freezes. Took a pruning saw to some vines.

Me too, Marie! Wonderful that I could pause in my watering efforts, but I'm getting ready to start again soon; next week looks pretty dry in the forecast, & this Upper Cape soil seems unable to hold onto moisture for long.....

Those last 5 small heuchera are still staring at me,accusingly

Marie, if I were you I would just heal them in, still in their pots and deal with them in the spring. Didn't you say you had a few downed leaves to surround the pots or even just dump them into small holes for the time being?

I actually planted a few last plants on Sunday, Dec. 4, knowing that we were supposed to get snow on Monday and dug up the last of the leeks for storage in the cold cellar. I cleaned up miscellaneous tools, pots, etc. on Tuesday, so I think I am about as ready for winter's arrival as I am likely to be.

DH went skiing today a bit north of here in the Whites, so I think winter has arrived.

1. Wrap up the fig tree 2. Lay down straw and leaf litter mulch 3. Rake the yard into the garden beds RELIGIOUSLY until the snow settles the litter into the beds. 4. Wait and prosper next Spring.

Took advantage of pretty nice day yesterday, covered my "Frostproof" gardenia, emptied and covered the birdbath, and covered the grill. Moved the last of the patio furniture into the garage. I was also having a fairly food day health-wise, so I figured it was the day to get things done. Just in time, too, because today it's just getting colder and colder..................near record cold possible tonight here in Providence. On the bright side, about a week from today the days will begin to get longer!

Ugh. I got nothing done and now it's too cold to do anything. I got sucked into accepting a board position of a non-profit and this is our busiest time of the year. Oh well! There's always next year...

Sunday n the 50's here around Boston. What will you try to finish up?

First, cut conifer branches while it's warm and daylight. Usually I'm out in the dark with a flashlight freezing but not wearing gloves (difficult to use clippers with gloves) .

second: throw the heucheras in the tool shed for the winter. But check the raised beds first with the hope that they aren't frozen solid; throw the heuchera in, mulch well and forget until spring.

I meant to harvest the Russian red kale before this, but went out and harvested it today. It is still in good shape and is sweet and fresh tasting. I chopped up enough for a gallon zipper bag and throw a handful when making soup over the winter.

Also should have dug up the Salvia 'Black & Blue' before the temps went down to 1F. I usually dig it up every fall to overwinter in the garage. It's probably too
late now, the tubers will be mush.

The Craftsman 100 foot black rubber hose is still outside, got to bring that in. It is a really durable hose though.

Got a new roof and gutters on the house in October. This was the most $$ I've spent on a single project on this house. I had pretty bad ice dam damage back in winter 2015, but now there shouldn't be any more leaks. Yippee!

My gardening is done for the year. The cold weather with little snow last weekend froze the ground well, and then with snow on top of that yesterday, freezing rain today, and cold again tomorrow, I expect that I won't be able to find, let alone be able to sink a shovel into any part of the garden until spring. I've begun housecleaning and woodturning.

Terrene, I'm trying to reduce (to 0!) the number of things I have to dig up and overwinter. My memory can't keep track of them all now, plus I'm running out of room in the garage!

Bit by bit, I've been permanently settling all my many gladiola bulbs very close to the house foundation in 'warmer' sheltered spots--I've lost some, & a few send up nothing but leaves now, yet some still bloom nicely. Same with other species that aren't supposed to survive our winters.... They just have to take their chances, because I don't have the time or mental will to keep track of them any more....

Barrett, I hear ya on the lower maintenance gardening. One reason I don't do dahlias or the like, because you have to dig up the tubers every winter. They are gorgeous, but the effort is not worth it to me. I make an exception with Salvia Black & Blue because the hummers go crazy over it, and the plants I dig up each year get larger than the nursery specimens you can buy in the Spring. I do have one Salvia B&B and a few glads that are close to the house foundation. Those will probably be okay.

There are only a few pots in the garage this year, much less than previous years. I just brought in the Magnolia grandiflora that I started from seed 3 or 4 years ago, and it's now about 2 feet tall (still in a pot). The seed was from a tree at the Arnold Arboretum, so it is from a hardy strain. But probably not hardy enough to overwinter here outside, esp in a pot.