By Chris Winslow
1. Replace summer annuals with winter bloomers if the frost has burned them. Top performers are dianthus, flowering kale, flowering cabbage, pansies, snapdragons, violas, and stock. Add some rich compost and bone and blood meal to the soil to give the new plants a boost.
2. Plant bulbs: There is still plenty of time to plant those spring flowering bulbs. Look for narcissus, daffodils, tulips, anemones, ranunculus, jonquils, and muscari.
3. Cut back perennials: If the frost and freezing weather has damaged the tops of your flowering perennials, cut them back to just above ground level and mulch with compost and pine-bark mixed. This will conserve soil moisture and keep the roots healthy and warm.
4. Choose a living Christmas tree: This is the season to bring a tree indoors for the holidays. Why not choose a living one that you can add to your landscape in January. Some good choices: Allepo pine, Arizona blue-ice cypress, deodar cedar, blue point juniper, and Italian stone pine.
5. Rake leaves: Get outside, do some raking and inhale some of that lovely chilly winter air. Remember, un-raked leaves can damage your lawn, especially if they become wet.
6. Start a compost pile: Please don’t send those leaves (mentioned in 5) to the landfill. Use them to build a great big compost heap.
7. Move tropical plants inside… or they will die. Mandevilla, plumeria, philodendron, ficus, bougainvillea, and hibiscus will all perish if allowed to freeze. Put them in a garage or greenhouse, and provide as much light and ventilation as possible; water when dry throughout the winter. If you can’t carry them in, have some row cover (freeze cloth) close at hand.
8. Care for fruit trees: Spray them and look after them. Rake all leaves from around the base. Spray with dormant oil to kill scale insects. This should also be done on scale-infested shrubs. Inspect burford holly and euonymous, as they are prone to this.
9. Buy a little rosemary tree (trimmed). They are a delight, and make nice table decorations for Christmas. After the holidays, dig it into your culinary herb garden as a center point.
10. Rest on your laurels: On those super cold days when it’s too cold to be outside, curl up by the fire and reflect on your successes of the past year… and dream up some plans for 2015. A bigger vegetable patch? Chickens? A koi pond. An evergreen screen against the traffic? A moon garden? Endless possibilities. And while we’re on the subject of laurels . . .
One of the most versatile of the small evergreen trees or large shrubs is sweet bay (Laurus nobilis), also known as bay laurel or true laurel.
This evergreen can be grown in full sun, part sun, or in the shade. One of its greatest and most useful attributes is its delightful aromatic leaves which have a great culinary history.
Dating back to Greek mythology, Apollo was depicted wearing a laurel wreath on his head, representing victory in sporting events. In ancient Rome, laurel wreaths were symbols of military victories.
The bay laurel grows across the Mediterranean region, from Spain to Greece. The bay leaf, because of its distinctive flavor and fragrance, is used to favor soups, stews, gumbo, fish, Cajun beans, and Mediterranean cooking.
Bay is easy to grow and can get well over 8 feet in height. It makes a nice entry plant or a great specimen plant growing in a terracotta pot. It produces small white flowers and occasionally seed.
Its leaves are a dark green and dense, making this plant a good candidate for an evergreen screen. Branches from this plant can also make an attractive Christmas wreath when woven through a grapevine wreath frame. (If you visit Martha Stewart’s website you’ll be able to find directions on how to make your own bay laurel wreath.) Happy gardening everyone!
If you have a question for Chris, send it via email to iathyme@yahoo.com. Or mail a postcard to It’s About Thyme: 11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX 78748 www.itsaboutthyme.com
