Several years ago there was a bestseller that was all the rage. Marie Kondo wrote a small, but to many an inspirational book titled “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” Millions of people worldwide were holding possessions in their hands to see if it gave them joy. If not, out with it to the trash or recycling, or a charity shop. Can this magic work on our gardens? Do we need to be out there seeing what gives us joy or what plant is beyond saving?
I think that winter is a good time to tidy up the garden. It is not humid and there are no bugs. To be honest, I can be both a little messy and a little tidy when it comes to my garden. I am certainly on the tidy side when it comes to weeds. I want them gone big time. Weeds like chamber bitter, a warm weather weed, and hairy bitter cress, a cool weather weed, have hundreds of seeds so it is best to pull them before they spread those seeds far and wide. I actually find weeding fairly therapeutic and also good for the waistline.
If there is something that is really dead and it jumps out at me as looking horrible, I will cut it back or pull it out if it is really a goner. I recently cut down my goldenrod because it was dropping over flowering asters and covering them from sight. Perennial Salvia gets very tired looking by autumn, but there is new growth at the bottom of the stalks so I remove the old growth and hope that there is not a hard freeze to damage the new growth. Even if it does, the new foliage seems to bounce back.
Annuals such as zinnias, can be pulled out. I cut off the spent flowers and drop them on the ground to see if they will reseed and I usually do get lots of volunteers the following year. Cosmos, Zinnias, Borage, and Orlaya all seem to reseed very well.
Now for the messy part of my gardening. If any plant, annual or perennial, has seed heads, I leave those for the birds. I do not cut down coneflowers until the spring when they are coming back with new growth. I also do not cut down ornamental grasses such Muhly grass, fountain grass, or switch grass. I leave as much for winter hibernating insects as I can. I used to cut Muhly grass down at the end of February, but I do not think that I will do that again. It does not need to be scalped in order for it to bloom again next October and it is not a messy grass. If the grass breaks off and blows around, then I am likely to tidy it up.
When the weather is cooler, it is a good time to prune any broken or dead branches from shrubs. The rule of thumb is to prune flowering shrubs right after they bloom to avoid cutting off next year’s flower buds so do not prune azaleas, gardenias, or other spring bloomers in the autumn or winter. Do not prune live growth on any shrub in the late fall because you do not want to damage the plant if we get a freeze. You can prune off dead branches and crossing branches that rub against each other any time of the year.
It is also a good time to rake out any leaves, pine straw, or debris that has collected around the base of your shrubs and plants. The trunk or stem should not be covered and the area around it kept clear so that the roots can receive moisture and breathe.
So tidy or messy – it is your choice. You do not have to place your hands on a shrub to see if it brings you joy. Just take a gander out of your window and see what looks good or bad to you. But remember to leave habitat for our birds and other critters who need shelter and food during the coldest time of the year.
