Gardening in Mississauga, Ontario
November has come and gone with the leaves mulched for the Woodland garden. One of the best tools for this job is a leaf mulcher I bought from Canadian Tire which can compress the volume by 12 times making a fine, tidy covering for the beds. Oak leaves, walnut, maple all are chopped, stems and all even though sometimes being damp. This job needs the proper precautions of using protective eyewear and a dust mask. The kill switch works instantly to fix a jam, though careful sorting of sticks beforehand minimizes this.
You might also use ear protectors, but I didn't find it that necessary. So, no leaves went into the ditch at all this year I'm proud to say giving me the best value for my efforts to amend the soil at little cost. The mulcher has paid for itself already as all that's needed in the spring is to turn the soil once more. Additionally, some of the bulk on top dressing has foiled the squirrels who continued to root up the bulbs all fall.
New plantings in 2009 included more windflowers or anemones which do so well before the leaves come out to bloom, adding interest to the barren vistas in the spring. Prices varied from several locations, WallMart, Agram and Sheridan Nurseries. You have to buy early to not miss out. I bought some red ones on Ebay.
I put in no tulips at all as there are enough of those already naturalized. To me, if I have to replace them each year for them to bloom true, meaning staying the same size and color, then I'm not that keen. Daffodils, by contrast, really do establish well and need no special treatment, are left alone by the squirrels and don't get beheaded by heavy winds as they clump quite well.
Looking forward to the helebores which I bought for the earliest bloom in 2010. As this fall was wet and temperatures remained mild well into December, the green leaves were able to establish well. I do hope that we don't have an off and on winter with freezes and thaws which could damage the plants. So, I'm protecting them well with banking. To watch for is frost heaving up the soil around new plants and exposing the roots which has happened to the lavender which was transplanted for the winter in the back protected area. It was moved from the road where it is destroyed by the salt trucks. I shall try hard to over winter the lavender which is possible if the conditions are right.
