A Gardening Life – November 17
At this time of year I often get the following comments and questions: “Can I cut my perennials all the way down in the fall?” “Do I have to clear out the flower garden before winter?” and “Have you finished putting your garden to bed?”
These were running through my mind as I took advantage of a late autumn gift day yesterday. Although I’d planned to be writing most of the afternoon, I had to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend time clearing out my flower gardens. The truth is, there isn’t just one answer to those questions. There are reasons to clean out a garden now, or “put it to bed” as many say, and equally valid arguments for not clearing things out. Pros and cons for both methods are listed below the photograph in “Sharing the Wealth.”
Yes, you can cut your herbaceous perennials down down now. “Herbaceous perennials” means the ones that will die back to the ground in the winter anyway. This doesn’t include woody plants such as lavender, or those that are evergreen and spring-flowering such as creeping phlox or candytuft. I cut the remaining perennials in my garden down yesterday. As I worked I was thinking about the person who asked if I was done putting my garden to bed, and what went through my mind was that one of the freeing things about gardening is realizing that there are few rules. A garden teaches us to never say never…often things survive against all odds.

There are a few annual Nicotiana leaves left in this garden that wraps around my deck, and some daylily and spiderwort foliage. But most of the annuals have been pulled out or cut down, and the perennials cut down to two inch stubs.
Sharing The Wealth
Reasons to Clear Your Gardens in the Fall and Reasons to Wait Until Spring.
Clear spent annuals and cut down perennials because:
Leave spent annuals and perennials in the garden until spring because:

"I've heard that there are often cocktails served on this deck..."
C.L.: Garden clean up is what it is. I leave some to be done in the spring and some I do now and then there are areas that I pay no attention to. Mother Nature has a way of taking care of her self.
Have a wonderful evening,
John
I love Turkeys in the Garden
Me too, John! Wild turkeys are endlessly entertaining….and we don’t have to buy seed or build a build a coop for them. 🙂
A wonderful liberating post. The only think I make myself do is lift my dahlias. I’ve done a full fall clean up and a minor fall clean up depending on weather and my mood… I do like to have my greenhouse in order and ready for spring work and that is checked off the list! Whew! All garden stakes and trellises have been pulled and are stored away along with potted herbs and geraniums inside the greenhouse. Now, getting the chickens ready for winter is a whole nuther matter…
Have a great weekend!
Deb