When is the gardening season over?

Four days ago, I complained about our first snowfall on Facebook. My friend teased, “Well you are the cold-climate gardener.” Yes, I am, and-I believe-a hardy person. This is the time of the year when I want to cuddle up by the fire, but my brain tells me to go dig the glads and empty the pots and cut back peonies.

It is never easy to make the transition from “good Fall” to “bad Fall” . Overnight, the temperature that used to be low for the day becomes high. Forty degrees is now the new warm. (Five degrees for you centigrade folks.) For years, the first frost has been the signal to start the end-of-season-chores, but in recent years the first snow has come hard on the heels of the first frost, and all those unfinished chores spoil my attitude toward the first snow.

The next year, I will have fewer disease problems if I remove the foliage and cut down these peonies.

It is a real shame that I am not able to attend. don’t Want to cut the peonies back kneeling in 2 inches of snow, but I will probably do. I’ll put on my big-girl snowpants Kneel in waterproof comfort to get the job done. It’s not because it looks better, but because there are fewer peonies. botrytis This year, I think that’s because I have been cutting the peony leaves for years. It has made a big difference. It’s worthwhile.

When does the gardening season end? When does the unfavorable weather take precedence over the importance of the tasks being performed? The combination of cold, wind and snow can make it impossible to get any work done. It’s usually something I can see coming on the long-term weather forecast. I then start to prioritize my chores, separating what I would like to do from things that could be ruined by not doing them.

When that day comes, and the snow stops melting before the next round falls, and the temperature does not rise above freezing for the entire day, both my heart, as well as my brain, agree that winter has arrived. The gardening season (outdoors) will be over at that time. When I see fat snowflakes falling gently to the earth, that’s when my heart will be content. Now is the time to finish up those indoor chores that have been neglected and start thinking about next year’s gardens.