Wayfair asked me to write a post on winterizing the garden and I was like, huh? I had to research how winterizing was done because where I live, that pretty much amounts to putting on a windbreaker when you go out to get the mail. Occasionally we get an inch or two of rain, causing everyone to toss their hands up in a panic and crawl the city streets at 15 mph to avoid the dangerous puddles.
After consulting quite a few books, some of which I actually own, I managed to come up with a winter plan that will (hopefully) please most New England gardeners. Just for fun, I shared what my garden books recommend southern California gardeners to prepare for winter. You can read the post here. Don’t laugh.
p.s. What does Carl Larsson’s painting The Skier have to do with this post? Nothing! I just love how his work exudes peace and happiness. Did you know that he had a traumatic childhood, and that much of his work reflects the desire to give his children something different? They “became the most immediate and lasting part of my life’s work. For these pictures are of course a very genuine expression of my personality, of my deepest feelings, of all my limitless love for my wife and children.” [source]
I love this painting! Since moving to the “banana belt” of Canada four years ago, we’ve been so disappointed by the winters: not very much snow, warm days where the little we got would melt… But last year was the best – we got a ton of snow (which stayed) and we finally got the opportunity to get back to some serious cross country skiing. There were several days that my older two kids strapped on skis on our driveway, skied down the street, and made their way to the park to do their loops. It was wonderful, although I’m fairly certain – based on all the complaining everyone else was doing – that we were the only ones enjoying it.
As to winterizing a garden… Part of the reason we like snow so much is that it covers up a multitude of sins – it’s amazing how much more peaceful it is to look out over a blanket of white vs looking out over a weed-infested lawn ;)
I live in Phoenix and I enjoyed your contrast between the two areas of the country. My facebook friends from back east are showing pictures of fall leaves and cleaning up the yard. I show pictures of all the plants I bought at the nursery.