SITTING ON MY HANDS

Look at the mess! But the plants are keeping it up together and will shield each other against the cold weather. Both the Canna and the Colocasia esculenta ‘Lemonade’ are sun lovers.

The garden appears more and more untidy as the cold weather continues. It’s hard to just not grab a pair of gloves, a small garden fork, a couple of secateurs and just tidy it up.

But I know with my heart and brain that I will do a huge mistake doing so. All the withered leaves an branches, all the untidy ornamental grasses and perennials have a purpose: To shield and protect the plants against freezing winds and cold.

It is particularly difficult here where “everyone” has painfully tidy gardens, and all withered and disorderly greenery are removed almost immediately. I feel like the messy and untidy Scandinavian not knowing the simplest HOA rules! But I have to endure! If not, the delicate shrubs and plants like  Hibiscus and Rangoon creeper will suffer a lot of unnecessarily die back.

BUT. There is a “but” to this messiness. There is really important to tidy up really well when February is over! There is a lot of small pests, fungus and deceases living in the withering leaves and dead plants. So remember to compost it in safe containers when the time comes!