Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety'... with a Christmas wreath on the gate

Red-leaved Geranium 'Bevan's Variety' and browned hydrangea blooms by the fence.

I am enamored of how the line of Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' along our fence turned red after I hung our Christmas wreath on the back gate.

This beautiful geranium has long-lasting fall color, but it is usually not visible in December since there is often a foot of snow covering everything. (See it here last year in the snow.) With its bloom in May, its terrific foliage the rest of the year and its easy rhizome propagation, it is definitely a winning geranium. It is also useful as a ground cover, even in dry shade areas.

It is also mounded in one of the squares by our sidewalk at the back of the house.

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' in autumn color with the strappy fall Muscari foliage

I love how the red bow calls to this geranium through the gate.

Adds a festive spirit! ... even with no snow.

The All-Weather Gardener

One cold late-autumn day recently, I stayed inside to do the wife-task of ironing collared shirts for my husband, which I actually enjoy, sometimes. I like to put on music and make it a kind of meditative time; one of the few times that I allow myself to slow down and be reflective while still in my house full of kids & chores.
 
The pile has over a dozen shirts that I have saved up (and ignored) until I must do this task. I heat up the iron, turn on the music and let the Lord start to iron out the wrinkles in my heart.

I draw my curtains back so that I can look out onto the Shade Path while I work...

The song on loop is one of my new favorites, Matt Maher's song Garden because it is quiet - which I need while my two girls rest and my baby sleeps. It is also peaceful and reminds me of the Lord's presence with me...

And you walk with me

You never leave

You're making my heart a garden

As I start to relax, I begin to let down from my long day.  Being the mother of three small children can be exhausting!  I give and give, and try to give some more though part of me howls in resentment.  I am worn from their needs and requests, but also from the battle within - with my own selfishness.

I am faced in this quiet moment with my shortcomings... all that I do not do... and all that I do, that I hate.





And I look out at that cold, almost frozen garden...

Everything green is dying down. What's left looks broken, brown, shabby...
on its way into the dormant season...
the cold, frozen, dead-looking season...

 ...Like my heart

looks and feels.

Our Shade Path is very near to the sidewalk and the road; our home situated on a fairly busy street.  Many, many times in this fall planting season I have been out gardening in the cold afternoon, sometimes in the rain with water dripping down my hood, sometimes with fingers mostly frozen.

And they pass me by.

The cars driving home from work... the kids walking home from school.  And I feel the weight of curious, incredulous eyes as they see me out there in that nasty weather. I think to myself, "They must think I am crazy."

And what am I doing?  I am perfecting my garden.
That brown mess.   Beloved mess.  I am out there because I love it!
I love admiring what is there, even in this harsh season.


I am tweaking the beauty that will exist next year... moving seedlings... planting hundreds of bulbs.
The beauty is hidden, dormant; it cannot be seen by normal vision right now.

Only through faith can I see it already full of flowers... new growth... new color combinations... new heights of beauty. 

And you walk with me

You never leave

You're making my heart a garden

...the chorus sings on and I am suddenly struck: I am a garden!

I am brown and broken, yet loved by my Gardener. 

He tends me in the most caring way,

looking happily at the new growth here and shuffling more bulbs there...  

and He is making my heart beautiful.

Like me, He is an all-weather gardener... enjoying me right where I am, and patiently working into me the beauty that is to come.

Do you know what it is to be loved, even when you are unlovable?

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:8

~~~

A video worth watching for its amazing BBC botanical time-lapse footage, 

as well as to hear Matt's song, Garden.  

Quick Winter storage for your homeless Plants: Fall Gardening Task #8

Did you buy those extra bargains at the end-of-year plant sales only to get home and not know where to put them?

Do you have more plant cuttings potted up than you have space for in your garden beds?

A potted perennial in the open winter air will get much colder than your other plants in the ground.  So, if you are not sure where to plant it this moment, then an alternate plan is in order. (A side note: A good rule of thumb when buying plants for pots meant to stay outside all winter is to buy plants/shrubs that can handle one or even two hardiness zones colder than where you live.)

One option for your homeless perennials is to "heel in" your plants for the winter months. I believe it is called this because you are burying the pots just a few inches deep, up to their "heels".

First, I like to chose a location with a little bit of shelter (ie. a nearby bush, a fence or wall) but it needs not to be covered completely because you want your plant to be watered by the rain and snow.

My chosen spot: near the fence and lilac bush where they can cozy in for the winter.

 Next, dig a pot-sized hole to 2 or 3 inches deep. Deeper will give them more warmth, so if they are your prized cuttings from your grandmother's rose bush, dig a little more. "Plant" your pots, filling soil back around their edges. If I have more than one pot, I plant them snug next to one another. Some gardeners dig a trench, which would be much quicker for a large number of pots.

Geranium 'Rozanne' and a heuchra planted three inches deep in their pots.

Then, tuck some leaves or other mulching material around your pots to give some more insulation. It is a good idea to do this for all young perennials for their first winter, even those planted properly.

Night, night pretty plants. Cozy wishes for the winter!

In our cold climate, even some of my larger pots with hardy trees and bushes will be safer with a bit of cover. I just potted up a small Japanese maple tree this summer that I would like to ensure makes it thorough the winter. So I buried it a bit and tucked it on the other side of the lilac.

Potted baby tree heeled in for the winter

Fall Gardening Tasks Series:

#1 Planting Lavender in wet climates

#2 New perennials for fall planting

#3 Thin Perennial Seedlings

#4 Bring in the tender plants (more whimsy than informative)

#5 Mowing leaves into Turf 

# 6 Planting Spring Bulbs

# 7 Edging and Removing Turf

Edging and Removing Turf for more Garden: Fall Gardening Task #7

Adding another foot on the front of the Hill Garden

I did one of my very favorite and hardest gardening tasks in November:  
tearing out sod to create more garden.
I staked a cord at the point of Cherry Corner and unraveled it down the front of the garden. I like to step back and look it over, and readjust to fit where I want the garden to meet the grass. Then I cut with my flat spade as close to the line as possible, always checking to make sure it is still straight. Winding the string back up, I move on to the hard work of prying up the turf which is made much easier after a day of rain to soften it. I like to use the pieces flipped over to make more garden beds, throw it on the compost pile (which has very limited space in our town lot), or in this case, gift it to my garden-making friends to make their own gardens (thanks Angela!).

A wheel barrow and industrial garbage bags were necessary this time around

I planted more creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) all along the front edge of the gardens because it makes a nice low-growing edging plant, is evergreen through our zone 5 winters, is covered in purple flowers in May, and matures quickly.  All of the creeping phlox on our property is the same color because it has all been divided from one plant that started as a tiny piece in a four-inch pot from my nursery working days. I am most happy about adding the extra space to the Hill garden because the silvery lamb's ears (Stachys byzantine) have taken over this year, so the balance will be restored (temporarily) by adding more room for phlox.

Planted up before the last leaves fell

The biggest reasons for the extra fall-season labor are because I enjoy a nice clean garden edge for the winter months, and because it gives the plants a head start on their root growth before next season.

Fall Gardening Tasks Series:

#1 Planting Lavender in wet climates

#2 New perennials for fall planting

#3 Thin Perennial Seedlings

#4 Bring in the tender plants (more whimsy than informative)

#5 Mowing leaves into Turf 

# 6 Planting Spring Bulbs