Garden Work For November

By Keith Markensen

In its way November is received with the same welcome as the first Spring months. With the last of the chores completed and the garden put to bed, we look forward to a rest and letting up that follows the growing cycle. In matters of gardening our attention is turned to our house plants and greenhouse and to the easy chair in which we sit to enjoy these verdant and pleasure-giving friends.

In many parts of the country November brings the first hard frosts that signal the time to mulch plants for Winter protection. Actually, the purpose of the blanket is not to keep the ground warm, but to keep the cold in, as it is the thawing and heaving which causes injury to the roots. A good rule to remember is to cover when the ground is frozen an inch or two.

Our beloved roses always need special attention, and in mounding them with soil and covering them with marsh hay, straw or leaves, it is important to avoid leaving a depression where the water might collect. This may injure the small roots which are near the surface. Although pruning is listed in the Spring calendar, it is advisable to head back tall stalks which might whip around in the wind. Weak and dead wood may also be cleaned out at this time. NOW that their leaves have fallen, trees may be trimmed or pruned on through the Winter months. The removal of old, weak and diseased branches and parts is the first object. If pruning to lighten heavy growth or branches that interfere with the garden or house, consider as much as possible the natural shape of the tree in question. When pruning, however, such trees as maples, birches and walnuts, which bleed when they are dormant, should be operated on during the Summer months.

While the weather still permits, capture every opportunity to repair or construct fences, garden furniture, trellises, lattices and window boxes. Warm, sunny days are meant to tempt you out-of-doors to build walks or terraces or fireplaces or to paint fences or other wooden ornaments that remain out all the time. The sudden onrush of a million chores in the Spring usually designates these "incidentals" to the Autumn once again.

As freezias need three months to come into flower, pot large-sized bulbs in fertile, porous soil, and keep in a cool place until growth starts. Then provide a cool, sunny window where the night temperature is around 40-50. Feed when buds begin to show, and at all times be careful not to overwater.

House plants should be reviving from their shock of migration from garden to house plant. If they have been given the proper soil and if fed during the Summer, they should need only regular watering now. In fact, November and December are the months when most all of them are more or less at rest, so that a minimum of watering and cool temperatures are the chief needs. The importance of this rest cannot be emphasized enough; perhaps we may understand it better if we realize it is nature's way. When the days begin to lengthen and show marked increase, they start once again to awaken and respond to the added light by growing and blooming.

Newly-planted shrubs and evergreens, especially in the foundation planting, should be soaked thoroughly when the weather permits. Insufficient water at this time is the chief cause for their failure to pull through the Winter - and not the cold itself. With evergreens, rhododendrons and other broad-leaved types this is particularly essential, as they transpire water through their leaves during the Winter. Windburn is nothing more than the excessive giving off of water on bright and windy, sunny days.

Fields and woods and gardens are still full of interesting and attractive twigs, leaves, berries, seeds and dried flower heads that lend themselves to arrangements that will enliven many a table or drab corner. It is amazing what can be done with only a handful of material, and how many times it can be done over to create varying effects to suit other needs. Begin to work now on something special for Thanksgiving, for which the rich yellows, rusts, oranges, bronzes and browns should be your color scheme.

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