Almost Christmas!

December 16 - December 22, 2024

Weekly journal of a Midwest gardener…

Monday, December 16, 2024

I went out in the rain to run errands—a bunch of little in-and-out-of-the-car stops like mailing Christmas cards at the post office. While I was depositing my cards in the mail slot inside, a man asked me if that was where to put the mail to send out. Hmmm… yes. The outside mailbox was stuffed to the brim… so for the first time, he came inside to mail a card. What people don’t know is sometimes surprising, but if you always do something a certain way, other ways can be a mystery.¹ Anyway, with rain most of the day, about three-quarters of an inch, I didn’t do anything in the garden, even though it was warm enough. I did check on my newly sown microgreens. They are fine. No smell.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

I opened the blinds to find a pleasantly sunny morning. After lunch, I headed out to the garden to cut back perennials, leaving the clippings in small pieces on the ground as mulch. I also cut the dried flowers off a large Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight.’ This hydrangea blooms on new wood, so removing the flowers now doesn’t affect flowering next year. Plus, it makes me a good neighbor!²

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

A fly has come to visit me for Christmas. I don’t know when it came into the house or how, but it has been in here for at least the past week. It usually buzzes around me when I’m working on my laptop, then disappears. As soon as I don’t see it for a while and think, “Good, it’s gone,” it reappears. I should write a book, “The Fly Who Came For Christmas,” but all I’ve got is the title.³

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Sometimes, gardening consumes an entire day. Other times, I fit gardening into tiny little timeslots, like this afternoon when I found myself waiting for a Zoom meeting. The sun was shining, and it was 37F, so I put on my coat, grabbed my pruners, and headed out. I was out there for only 15 minutes, enough time to cut down a few more perennials in one section. At this rate, I think I’ll have everything cut back by spring. Or enough cut back so spring garden cleanup shouldn’t be too onerous or overwhelming.

Friday, December 20, 2024

If measured based on smell, my second sowing of microgreens is, so far, a resounding success. However, just one of the three salad mixes has sprouted enough for me to remove its cover and put it under lights. The other two mixes, well, they are either taking their time or the seeds are no longer viable. Though those seeds seemed fine last week. The cilantro has also not fully germinated, but it always takes longer, so that isn’t a surprise. I think this weekend I’ll sow some more types of microgreens. In other news, we got some snow in the morning, a heavy dusting that melted quickly.

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The winter solstice arrived at 4:20 am Eastern time. On YouTube, I saw a snippet from a livestream from Stonehenge in England, but it just looked like a cloudy day to me.⁴ But this is no time to watch livestreams from England! Tut-tut. Christmas is coming! After cleaning the house and tending to my houseplants, there was time to give in to the sunny day and head out for 15 minutes to cut back a few more perennials—even though it was just 32F—before cleaning up to go to church. In just 15 minutes, I took care of a row of Baptisia, which often breaks off in the winter and blows around like tumbleweeds.⁵

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Another sunny but cold day for this last Sunday of Advent. Earlier in the week, I finished listening to Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva (2020) and have started reading mysteries in Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries, edited by Martin Edwards. They are all short stories, which makes them easy to read in fits and starts between various and sundry baking, shopping, and gardening activities. I won’t tell you which one I read first, but may I suggest you check your mistletoe for odd-looking berries before you throw it out?

That’s a Week!

Just for fun, have you heard of the Mandela Effect? Named after Nelson Mandela, it’s the phenomenon where many people remember the same thing differently than how it was and swear they remember it correctly. I think families experience this when they get together and reminisce about past Christmases and other holidays of days gone by. No one seems to remember them in quite the same way! If you want to know more, I found this video of Christmas-themed Mandela Effects for entertainment. How many of those did you remember the wrong way?

Where Else to Find Me…

My home base is my website.

My main blog is still May Dreams Gardens.

You can put my books on your bookshelves.

And listen to me on the weekly podcast, The Gardenangelists.

Or check out Lost Ladies of Garden Writing, another interest.

Then follow me on Instagram to read letters to my garden.

(Tiny note that some links to books and Amazon are affiliate links.)

Quotable

A reminder from the late 1500s to enjoy the season.

At Christmas I no more desire a rose, Than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; But like of each thing that in season grows.”

— William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost

While “May’s new-fangled mirth” is a favorite season for many of us (I named my blog after it!) I will heed the words of Shakespeare to “like each thing that in season grows” and enjoy what the coming weeks of winter have to offer, especially Christmas!

Have a great week!

1. The guy at the post office apologized several times for “bothering me with his question” about where to put his outgoing mail. Really, sir, it was no bother. But I think he felt a bit foolish for not knowing.

2. Several years ago, my neighbor commented that he had seen the dried flowers of my hydrangea all over his back lawn in the spring and wondered where they came from. Oops. So now, every year, generally on a lovely day in December, I cut the flowers off. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

3. I’m trying to trap that darn fly. I have one of those bottles with an opening in the bottom for flies to fly up into the bottle, but then they can’t get out. I put apple cider vinegar with sugar mixed in as the lure.

4. I’ll admit that I only watched the Stonehenge live video for about 10 seconds, if that.

5. I don’t know why after decades of gardening, I’ve “suddenly” come up with this idea to go outside for just 15 minutes or so each day in the wintertime to cut back perennials. I get some fresh air, and it doesn’t seem like much work like a full day of garden cleanup can be.