The fall perennial garden poses the perennial problem of whether or not to cut back all the plants and create a clean slate for winter. There are staunch advocates for both approaches. If you’re trying to decide whether to toil now or later, consider these pros and cons.
Those who put off garden cleanup till spring often do so for aesthetic reasons. Dried seedheads, grasses and bare stalks provide visual interest throughout the winter. Their silhouettes can be hauntingly beautiful, changing appearance throughout the day as the sun moves across the winter sky. They sparkle on frosty mornings and when snow comes they hold snow puffs as delicate as cotton balls. Garden skeletons remind us of what’s past and what’s to come.
There are also practical reasons to leave garden clean up till spring. Birds who over-winter will appreciate seedheads of sunflowers, coneflowers, coreopsis and many other garden blooms. They can also take shelter in clusters of dead branches and leaves.
The plants themselves also benefit from being left alone. The dead stalks provide aeration and protection for the plants’ crowns. A heavy layer of wood mulch can get soggy and smother the crowns. Note that certain plants, such as herbaceous peonies, should be cut back because they can harbor diseases.
Subshrubs, plants that act like perennials but that sprout new growth from existing branches, should definitely not be cut back in the fall. Lavender and Russian sage fall into this category. Butterfly bushes should also be left till spring, when they can be cut back to 10 inches or so.
Stalks and branches also hold the snow in place on top of your sleeping garden, preventing a fierce winter wind from stripping away the snow, which is the best defense against fluctuating temperatures and disruptive thaw/freeze cycles.
If you have the energy and time to clean up your garden in the fall, there are compelling reasons to do so. There is something satisfying about tidying up, spreading some saltmarsh hay or other lightweight mulch such as evergreen branches, and tucking your garden in for the long night that is winter.
And you will get a running start in the spring. You can get right to work on the fun stuff without having to spend time raking out dead, often slimy, garden detritus. Gardeners who clean up in the fall don’t worry about trampling newly emerging growth or compacting wet spring soil when they begin spring cleaning. And while it’s nice to leave seeds for the birds, an untended garden provides a lovely habitat for overwintering pests, including rodents who can dig holes and munch on plant material.
Another reason to cut back dead plants in the fall is that certain plants like Black-eyed Susan can reseed with abandon. I always encourage volunteers in my beds, but gardeners who like to exert more control don’t find these seedlings so appealing.
The decision to tackle garden cleanup now or wait till spring is a matter of personal choice. As I write this, the snow is falling on my garden, which I haven’t touched since Labor Day. This year, it’s likely to stay that way!
On Sunday at 2 p.m. Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge is hosting a free lecture by Judith Chatfield on the extraordinary gardens of the northern Italian Lakes region. This lecture is in conjunction with Berkshire Botanical Garden’s upcoming tour of this region scheduled for April 2017 and will preview the gardens that will be featured on the tour. (For details about the trip, go to berkshirebotanical.org)
Chatfield will discuss classic Italian garden design and the unique nature of the lakes region, where the climate is perfectly suited to the numerous botanical gardens there. Many of these gardens were created during the 19th-century European botanical expeditions and the Victorian vogue for botany and plant collecting.
A popular lecturer, Chatfield is an expert on Italian gardens. She has written several books on Italian gardens including “The Classic Italian Garden,” “Boboli Gardens,” “A Tour of Italian Gardens” and “Gardens of the Italian Lakes.”
This program is open to all. Registration is required. Contact Elisabeth Cary at ecary@berkshirebotanical.org or call: 298-3926, ext 15.
If you’re looking for fresh ideas about garden design in harmony with nature, don’t miss Berkshire Botanical Garden’s a day-long symposium on creating gardens that respond to the local landscape. The event will take place Nov. 13 from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. at the Berkshire School in Sheffield. It will feature some of the most prominent ecologists and garden experts in New England. They include Claudia West, the ecological sales manager for North Creek Nurseries in Landenberg, Pennsylvania. Her talk, “Gardening in a Post Wild World: Creating Stunning Plant Communities That Stand the Test of Time,” explains how plants fit together in the wild and how we can use this knowledge to create landscapes that are resilient, beautiful and diverse. She is the co-author with landscape architect Thomas Rainer of a book of the same name as her lecture.
Ecologist Tom Wessels will discuss the concept of the garden and local landscape as an ecological outpost to be considered as part of a larger ecosystem that strives for balance. He is the founding director of the master’s degree program in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England and the current chair of The Center for Whole Communities.
Annie White, native plant enthusiast, researcher and landscape designer, will share some of the top native perennial combinations for northeast gardens and how to design native gardens that are as beautiful as they are functional.
Garden expert and writer Thomas Christopher, graduate of the New York Botanical Garden School of Professional Horticulture, will talk about working with your garden’s ecology, offering techniques that will save you work and money and yield a beautiful landscape.
Admission is $85, including lunch. To register, go to berkshirebotanical.org.
One of the many wonderful things about the Pioneer Valley is the rich confluence of geological and cultural forces. On Nov. 12, from 1 to 2 p.m., Kestrel Trust will host a “walk and talk” with geologist Michael Williams exploring the ancient stories that geology tells about the land we see today. Massachusetts has been called the “three-continent state” because it was formed by large pieces of at least three of today’s continents.
One of the major boundaries occurs in Leverett. The walkers will meet at the Cave Hill Conservation Area. The program is co-sponsored with Rattlesnake Gutter Trust. It’s free, but donations are welcome. RSVP by email to office@kestreltrust.org.
Laurie Sanders’ talk, “Understanding Northampton’s Landscape: A Sense of Place,” on the eve of the opening of the Smith College Chrysanthemum Show, will take place in the Carroll Room of the Campus Center.
Mickey Rathbun can be reached at foxglover8@gmail.com.