Though November fills our thoughts with wonderful turkey dinners and great family times, at Pahl’s we are already in the busy Christmas mode. Our decorative evergreens are arriving, the market looks like a Christmas wonderland, we begin the sprucetip workshops, and the production of our custom line of Christmas pots is in full swing. The change in our world is a big one. We also look forward to closing the big front doors of the market and turning on the heat. It gets cozy and festive for all who enter our store and greenhouse.
In Christmas production we have some great things planned for this year. We design and create 5 unique different spruce tip pots for you to have by your front door. The production crew will be working in one of our greenhouses where there is no heat. The temperature will be very pleasant as long as we see the sun a few hours each day. We want it cool enough to keep our greens fresh and warm enough so our fingers don’t freeze! Amid festive Holiday music and the snipping of pruners we will create beautiful arrangements. We will also have lovely custom wreaths, swags, hanging baskets, and centerpieces that we hope you will enjoy. It’s an exciting time for all of us and a great change in the tasks of a busy greenhouse and market.
I always try to give you a few tips on caring for your own landscape. Hopefully most of your garden cleanup will be done by November, but it is never too late to finish up a few of the chores when you have time. There are two different views on how important it is to clean up your perennials. If you had any fungal problems this year, and most of us did, be sure to clean up those plants. Remove the dead foliage after a freeze and dispose of it. I leave things standing that looked healthy all through the summer for two reasons. I think the birds love the seed heads and the perching places. I also think that as leaves fall off trees and it begins to snow, both will catch in the perennial foliage help to give the plants extra winter protection. Other than the clean-up, the most important thing you can do is to give your trees and shrubs good moisture until the ground freezes. Evergreens took a big hit with winter burn last year and the more moisture they have available for them the better they will be protected from winter burn this year. If you have Alberta spruce or other evergreens that are more susceptible to winter burn you may want to wrap those in burlap as well as give them extra moisture. I also suggest that you may want to take a good look at your trees after the leaves fall and they are dormant. Dormant pruning on most trees and shrubs, other that Spring blooming plants, is easy when you can see the structure of the plant without the foliage.
Now, I guess it’s all right to think about the turkey, the dressing, the potatoes and gravy, the sweet potatoes, the pumpkin and apple pie. Our November chore discussion is done and let the feast begin. Happy November!
0 Comments