In the Last Year

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday!  I've been away from my computer the last two weeks.   One week was visiting family and having Christmas fun, the other week sick in bed and not so fun.  I am glad to be up and about finally, and, despite no snowy white Christmas, I am enjoying seeing the sun shining outside.

Looking back over the last year, I am impressed at how much we've done and how much the garden has changed.  This was our first full year at our new house, and we've worked to make it ours and make it a home.

In the front I planted a mailbox garden,

sowed lots of flower seeds,

Nicotiana

and enjoyed seeing seeing the growth of some of the plants we had put in last year.

Hibiscus 'Cranberry Crush'

The biggest changes, however, have been made to our back yard.  It was completely empty until... 

we built a veggie garden,

we built a low retaining wall next to the house, making our future shade garden,

and, in what is probably the most exciting thing to happen to the Red House Garden ever, we got a greenhouse.

Whew!  I'm tired just thinking about all we've done this year and am almost glad for a winter break (though I know by the end of February I'm sure I'll be thinking an entirely different thing).  How about you guys?  Has your garden changed a lot this past year?

I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year, wherever you may be!

May love and laughter light your days,

and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,

wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons

bring the best to you and yours!

~old Irish blessing

MI Squirrels - Boston Division

Boston Division's MI Squirrel Team Leader's Report:

When Mrs. Red House moved in to this sector, we received the full report from the MI Squirrel Division down near Raleigh, NC.  After reading their report, I thought our mission of breaking into her bird feeder would be one of the hardest challenges of my career.

Now I find that thought laughable.

We have found Mrs. Red House's supposed 'baffles' to be completely un-baffling.  I only regret that my entire team is putting on too much weight.  Thanks to Mrs. Red House, all of us squirrels are getting entirely too fat.

What can I say?  Either my team is just that well trained

...or that team down in North Carolina are all idiots.

MI Squirrel Division of Raleigh  vs.  MI Squirrel Division of Boston

I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet holiday season....

oh, wait, what is this?  Another report?

You've intercepted Mrs. Red House's letter to Santa? 

And she asked for WHAT for Christmas??!

You may acquire your very own Squirrel Practice Targets from various Etsy stores!

Houston, we may have a problem.  

Calling all team members, get down off those bird feeders!

Time to whip you back into running shape, STAT!

Aww, man!

To see past mission reports, click on the topic Mission Impossible: Squirrel Division.

How to Overwinter Tender Bulbs, Tubers, Corms, and Rhizomes

When I lived down South in zone 7, I rarely ever lifted bulbs for the winter unless I wanted to move them or share them.  I was usually able to get away with piling extra winter mulch on top of tender bulbs and that would get them through, even if they were only hardy to zone 8.

Calla Lily, hardy to zone 8, overwintered in zone 7 with protective winter mulch

Now I'm up North, though, and, sadly, extra mulch just doesn't cut it.  Those tender bulbs (or corms, or tubers, or whatever they might technically be named) have to be lifted and packed away for winter storage and then replanted next spring.  Here are my steps for lifting and storing them:

1.  After the first good frost, cut off the browning foliage and carefully dig up the bulbs, avoiding bruising them.  Gently brush off excess dirt.

Digging up Gladiolus murielae corms

2. Dry in a warm, well-ventilated place for a couple of days.  Corms such as Calla Lily, Crocosmia, Freesia, Gladiolus, Tigrida, and Tritonia need to cure in a warm place for longer, about three weeks.

Sometimes those corms will have lots of little baby 'cormlets' on them.  Just separate them gently from the main corm.  You can keep them for planting next year if you like; they will eventually grow big.

a corm with lots of little baby 'cormlets' attached

3.  If your storage area is humid, you might want to dust the bulbs with an organic fungicide.  (I've never done this, though, since my storage area is thankfully pretty dry.)

4.  Store in paper bags or cardboard boxes filled with peat moss, sand, vermiculite, or sawdust.  Gladiolus can just be stored in paper bags or onion bags, or in a box between sheets of newspaper.  For some tubers and corms, such as Dahlias, Foxtail Lilies, and Rain Lilies, the peat moss or other medium should be very slightly dampened, so that they do not completely dry and shrivel up.

Don't forget to label your bulbs!

Just make sure you don't store the bulbs in enclosed plastic boxes or bags, as that will keep in moisture and cause them to rot.

5.  Store in a cool, dry place, around 40 to 50 degrees.  Check on the bulbs a couple times during the winter.  If the bulbs are shriveling up from dryness, give them a mist.  Discard any bulbs that are getting mushy and decaying.

6.  Plant next spring...

Dahlia 'Kelvin Floodlight'

... and enjoy!


Here are a couple other resources that list how to store different kinds of bulbs:
A.D.R. Bulbs: preserving summer bulbs
P. Allen Smith: storing summer bulbs