Container Gardening
 Truus Van Ryswyk, MG  

  By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flowers.    Rabindranath Tagore


November is a good month to plant bulbs for spring flowers. Spring flowering bulbs require an extended cold period to bloom in our area. You can purchase precooled tulips and other spring-flowering bulbs, or prechill them yourself. Store your bulbs in the refrigerator for a minimum of ten weeks or more, prior to planting them. Plant the bulbs immediately after the weeks of cooling are finished. There are many bulbs that are quite easy to grow in our area. These include the well-known daffodils, hyacinths and tulips. Other bulbs such as crocus, cyclamen, Dutch iris and aconite can also
add color and creativity to your spring garden.

November is a good time to have soil pH checked and amended as needed. Prepare new beds and plant new shrubs at this time. Add mulch to your existing beds if you have not already done so. Because this month can be dry it is important to check on the watering needs of the new plantings on a regular basis. Barring the need for watering, this is a good time to bring in hoses, and sprinklers. Check them for damage, repair as necessary and store dry dry in a cool place.

Pecans are ready to be harvested at this time for future use.

                                             Garden View 
                                         Carol Duncan, MG