During the middle ages, the Christmas season lasted for 12 days and reached a climax on Jan 6, which is called Twelfth Night.   We often wait, nowadays, until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas tree and holiday decorations. Once everything is put away the house seems suddenly quite bereft, and we long for something natural and fresh.   January, of course, is a difficult month for garden flowers. Sometimes, however, one can unearth some long stems of ivy in the winter garden. In the summer, I am always trying to pull it out and get rid of it, but I am glad to see any green leaves in winter.   If you ever find any, cut some pieces and hammer the stems and submerge them in a sink of cold water overnight. Next morning, shake the water off and pat them dry with a towel before placing them in a vase.   With this background for an arrangement in place, you may be able to find a few other bits and pieces in the garden, for example, bare branches, berries, Bergenia leaves or even a Christmas rose (Helleborus), to add to the ivy. Otherwise, buy a few blooms to combine with the ivy and rationalize the purchase as absolutely necessary food for the soul.   Buy any color flower but red, as after the holidays red seems passé and our eyes have become tired of it.

Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular during the Edwardian time in England.  In her obituary in 1948 in the London Times it was described how she would trace out a plan for a whole garden in the dirt with the tip of her umbrella. She was known as one of the first amateur, but not quite professional, garden designers who were active in the years before and after World War I. Strongly influenced by Italian gardens, she was famous for her parterres. One that she planned is still maintained by the National Trust in England today. It was a formal planting using low plants and repetition of colors around a central fountain. Clipped yews and a Doric Temple in the distance added to its feeling of formality and structure.  Norah Lindsay was born in Ireland but always admired the classical gardens of Florence and Rome. She created large-scale double borders that stretched down hillsides to create breath-taking vistas.  Her husband, Harry Lindsay, was a flying hero during World War I, and she was so well-connected that she even advised the Prince of Wales on his gardens at Fort Belvedere.  Lindsay was the Grande Dame of gardening in a time when ladies did not have professional careers.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you.  A spirit haunts the year’s last hours  Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers:  To himself he talks:  But at eventide, listening earnestly,  At his work you may hear him sob and sigh  In the walks;  Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks  Of mouldering flowers:  Heavily hangs the broad sunflower  Over its grave in the earth so chilly;  Heavily hangs the holly hock,  Heavily hangs the tiger-lily.  The air is damp and hushed and close,  As a sick man’s room where he taketh repose  An hour before death;  My very heart faints and my whole soul grieves  At the moist rich smell of the rotting leaves  And the breath  Of the fading edges of box beneath,  And the year’s last rose.  Heavily hangs the broad sunflower  Over its grave in the earth so chilly;  Heavily hangs the hollyhock,  Heavily hangs the tiger lily.

Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words:   “He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.”   And Anne Bradstreet, who died in 1672, wrote:   “If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant.”   Kathleen Norris sounded a little more impatient about winter when she wrote:   “There seems to be so much more winter this year than we need.”   Nancy Hutchens in her book A Garden’s Grace described plants that look good in winter. She said,   “The wheat-colored blooms of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ add charm to my backyard—one at its entrance and another next to a red-twigged dogwood.”  She continued:  “…the tall black stalks and round heads of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, and bee balm are attractive and fill the bare ground with texture and interesting shapes… The sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ turned out to be another winter jewel. Its faded bronze was spectacular next to the pearly silver of a large Artemisia. As I began to think about how a particular flower or shrub would look in winter, I discovered many choices that enhanced the poor evergreens, who had been doing all the work alone."

The English colonists in Virginia used mistletoe to decorate their homes and their churches during the Christmas season. Mistletoes are evergreen parasitic plants with small leaves, yellowish flowers and waxy white berries. When sprigs are hung as a Christmas decoration, men are, by custom, privileged to kiss women who stand under it, according to the description of it in Websters Dictionary. When I consulted Hortus (Third Edition) I found that the type of Mistletoe the colonists probably used was Phoradendron serotinum, which is found on deciduous trees of Eastern North America. The seeds of this parasite germinate on host trees, and the plants attach themselves so that they can absorb fluids from the host. Since this type of mistletoe grows high up in the tops of hardwood trees, it is hard to gather. To add to this problem, it only becomes visible when the deciduous leaves have fallen from the trees. Luckily this happens at the right time of the years so that it is visible before the holiday season. Young colonial boys apparently enjoyed a popular sport known as shooting down the mistletoe. The mistletoe of literary fame is an old world variety known as Viscum album, and there is also a very showy red tropical variety. The State of Oklahoma adopted mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens, which blooms in the summer, as its floral emblem.

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice always occurs annually on either December 21 or 22. This solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day.   After the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer until in the following June, we reach the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice is the day when many flowers in gardens are in bloom and so many garden-related events in our area are usually scheduled on or near the summer solstice.   When the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing the winter solstice in December, the Southern Hemisphere, of course, is experiencing its summer solstice. In Australia, where I grew up, for example, it is high summer in December, and it is winter in June.   Depending on where you live in the world, the same plants flower but at different times in the year. Near to the Equator, however, the weather remains warm enough for flowers to grow throughout the entire year. Hence the billion-dollar cut flower industry in South America, which supplies the flowers in our stores for us to buy year-round.

This winter I have been reading some garden writer’s words of wisdom, which now I will share with you.  In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote:  “For I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine and to lift up the heart.” And Sara Stein in 1988 wrote: “January is the best time for gardeners. From the window of the attic where I write, the gardens are bare to their bones, neat and clean, nicely edged, weed free. They are an empty page on which to draw the garden of my dreams.”  And in 1954 Georgia O’Keefe, who painted so many glorious flowers, wrote the following words that completely surprised me. She said,  “I hate flowers. I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move.”  More profound are the words spoken by Lydia Child in 1842. She said,  “Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell. They are hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all for the beauty of their character. Though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.” However, “anonymous” has the last piece of wisdom for us: “In gardening I have one gift you won’t find in manuals, but I can change perennials into annuals.”

Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates.  One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that hang over the sides of the pot. The flowers appear in late winter to mid spring and are white in color and a little like snapdragons in form and are white in color.  This plant likes cool temperatures at night and soil that stays just slightly moist, so do not over water these beauties. Afternoon shade is best, so they do not like a windowsill on the western side of the house.  Jewel orchids are available with several different types of patterned leaves with silver-gold veining. This type of foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom. The name is a little deceptive because this plant is not like the orchids that grow on trees.

Epiphytes are plants that get nourishment from the air. They are non-parasitic, but they frequently, for example orchids, grow on another plant such as a tree. When they are grown in a pot, epiphytes prefer a growing medium made up of two parts soil-less mixture and one-part fine bark mix.  A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant. There are many varieties of this plant, and the shape, color and texture of the leaves depends on the species. The flowers, however, always come from little umbrellas called peduncles. After the blooms drop, the peduncles should be left in place as they will continue to grow and bloom.  Hoya is a member of the milkweed family so the seeds are in silk in pods. The easiest way to propagate, however, is to root cuttings dipped in rooting hormone and placed in a soil-less mix for about six weeks.  The plants enjoy indirect light and weekly watering, with fertilizer every second week.  Hoya lacunosa has especially fragrant blooms and grows compactly in a hanging basket. However, there are many other delightful ones such as the H. shepherdii with lovely pink flowers, as well as a sweet perfume.  Hoya is easy for me to remember as it is one of the only words in the English language that rhymes with Moya. (Reference: Zachos, Ellen, “All Stars of the Indoors,” Horticulture Magazine, Vol. 105, #1 Dec/Jan 2008, pp40-45.)

Torenia is a pretty annual that hails from tropical African and Asian woodlands. This branching annual is not frost hardy but grows rapidly to a height of about 12 inches with a spread of 8 inches. It flowers in summer and fall, producing racemes of trumpet-shaped, two-lipped flowers that look a bit like snapdragon blooms. There are two lobes on the upper lips and three lobes on the lower lips.  Torenias make attractive plants for containers in sheltered positions. Pinch out the growing shoots of young plants to encourage them to get bushy.  Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year.  ‘Summer Wave’ is a trailing, long-flowering strain of torenia that has large blue flowers, but purplish-blue, red, pink and white varieties are also available. The leaves of these plants are light to dark green and ovate to elliptical in shape, and they have toothed edges. Grow them in fertile, well-drained soil in part shade.  Another pretty blue annual to consider next spring is Scaevola, or fan-flower as it is also called. I am partial to it as, like me, it hails from Australia. It has profuse blue, mauve, purple, or white flowers in sun or part shade, and it drapes well over the sides of pots. ‘Blue Wonder’ is very pretty as well as being drought tolerant.

In her book Making Things Grow---a Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener, Thalassa Cruso calls succulents “neglectable plants.” That is because all fleshy-leaved succulents are slow to lose the water stored in their leaves. They also can go into dormancy to conserve water during drought. Cruso says that is why succulents make such good houseplants, thriving in the hot dry conditions in our homes and allowing us to, on occasion, neglect them.  Of course, the degree of succulence in the tissues of plants varies, but the amount predicts just how long a plant can go without any water. Gloxinias and African violets are succulents, as well as hoyas, sempervivums, sedums and the various types of cacti.  At this time of the year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus plants are getting ready to delight us with their colorful flower displays for the holidays. Some experts advise us to withhold water from these plants for the month before their expected season of bloom to precipitate dense flowering. Also with all succulents, always repot using a dry soil mix and never bury any of the leaves. These plants require less water than other houseplants, and they will rot if they become waterlogged so water sparingly and only when the soil is quite dried out in the pot.  Succulents are durable plants and can usually be left at home alone, while we vacation.

Hyacinths were first found growing in Asia, but because of the efforts of Dutch growers, there are now many varieties in the genus Hyacinthus.  Most bloom in the spring from bulbs planted in the fall. The showiest are the bedding size ones with masses of florets completely surrounding 10” stems. They are dramatic planted in the sun in groups. Probably because of their strong fragrance, deer avoid them.  Deer also avoid the smaller, very hardy and versatile grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum, which will grow in sun or shade. Its flowers are small and bell shaped, arranged in a cone, and held erect on six-inch stems. They are a wonderful cobalt blue, which is rare in flowers, but white and paler blues have also been developed. They multiply and are great mixers with other spring flowers and naturalize happily.   Another hyacinth, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, also naturalizes well and is actually the English woodland bluebell, which thrives in shade. These bulbs were first brought to England from Persia in the 16th century but are now considered to be thoroughly English. Look for them under the name of wood hyacinth. Whether you prefer the large hyacinths that are synonymous with the Dutch or the smaller ones beloved by the Brits, do plant some hyacinth bulbs this fall.

Even after a heavy frost, the stalwart perennial sage plant stands erect in the garden. It shows its elegant silvery grey color even in winter reminding us that next spring it will give us fragrant lavender flowers. Common garden sage, Salvia officinalis, is a staple in the herb garden and a plant for all seasons.  The genus Salvia contains both aromatic and non-aromatic varieties, and the name is from the Latin word meaning safe or healthy. There are over 700 species, both annuals and perennials.  All like well drained, dry locations in sun. Since the thick leaves retain moisture they should be dried in the open air, not in a covered container.   It is good to have some of the culinary types on hand in November, as sage is a traditional element in turkey stuffing. It was thought by the Chinese to be a symbol of immortality…but this obviously doesn’t apply to turkeys. Sage was also believed to aid digestion and so is traditionally used in recipes with fatty meats such as sausage and liver. In 1633 John Gerrard wrote: “Sage is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses of memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have palsy and taketh away shakey trembling.”  All these virtues, and wonderful flowers in the spring as well!

In the autumn our gardens are mellow and yet the end of the growing season is bittersweet. As we work in our gardens and put them to bed we are reminded of some of our favorite poetry. This poem is an excerpt from the well-known "Ode to Autumn" by John Keats who lived from 1795-1821.   Ode to Autumn      Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!      Close bosom- friend of the maturing sun;      Conspiring with him how to load and bless      With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;      To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,       And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;      To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells       With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,       And still more, later flowers for the bees,      Until they think warm days will never cease,      For summer has o’brimmed their clammy cells.       Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store???     Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find     Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,     Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind,     Or on a half reaped furrow sound asleep,     Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook     Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;     And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep     Steady thy laden head across a brook;     Or by a cider- press, with patient look,     Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Alliums are members of the onion family, and the bulbs are planted in the fall and extend the bloom spring-bulb season. The most spectacular is Allium giganteum with tall, stiff stems tapped with globes, averaging 5 inches in diameter. These flowering onions look exotic floating above the other plants. Colors range from white through lavender to dark purple.  Plant a ribbon of these bulbs in the center of a perennial bed or put them around hostas, ferns, or daylilies to provide exclamation points. The large globes are made up of tiny florets arranged in a similar pattern to the seeds of a dandelion puff. Designers have used this globe pattern to make spectacular round water fountains that you may have seen and admired. A rounded shape, composed of sparkling water jets or colorful flowers, has great architectural appeal. Allium is the Latin word for garlic, so any allium plant has a pungent taste that deer and rodents avoid. The smaller alliums bloom later than the giants. Try the ‘drumstick’, a dark purple, which blooms in July and naturalizes well, or Allium ‘Moly Jeannine’, which throws up 2-inch umbels of bright yellow florets in May. There are so many to choose from, and the more you have the more you will want.

If you garden in zones 5 through 9 and are looking for a small to medium shrub that has fall color, Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, may be a good candidate for you.  It has an upright growth habit and flowers in early summer. The flowers are white and like bottle brushes with nectar that is sought after by butterflies and other insects.  Itea is a shrub that does well in sun or shade, which is a handy asset when surrounding plantings either grow up or die down, thereby changing the exposure. However, the red fall foliage color is more dramatic in a sunny site.  I have Iteas in both sun and shade in my Midwest garden, and it is one of the few shrubs that will flower in shade. I plant them near evergreens as they like a slightly acid soil, but they also adapt well in neutral or alkaline soil.  This is a deciduous shrub that lends itself to being planted in a serpentine curve to separate two garden areas, for example. In a shady woodland setting, they will develop colonies and naturalize. Offshoots, potted up, make an appropriate house warming gift as they can be planted nearly anywhere and thrive, and they look good as a specimen plant as they don’t need much pruning. The cultivar ‘Henry’s Garnet’ turns a dark red in late October in my garden, and ‘Little Henry’ is a more compact cultivar while ‘Shirley’s Compact’ is a true dwarf that is perfect in small areas.

From late fall through winter, Ilex verticillata produces a grand display of bright red berries that persist and light up its branches long after all the leaves have fallen.  Commonly called winterberry, but also known as Michigan holly or swamp holly, this is a deciduous type of holly for cold climates. However, only the female plants produce the colorful berries. Gardeners must plant one male near 3 to 5 females to ensure good pollination and fruiting.  They perform best in full sun in acid moist soils, so they need to be watered in July and August if there is not good rain and be given acid fertilizer.  ‘Afterglow’ is a cultivar with big orange-red berries.  In a large planting, it is best to include both early and late blooming male shrubs to maximize pollination of the females. For instance, ‘Jim Dandy’ is a slow-growing dwarf male useful for pollinating early flowering females such as ‘Red Sprite’, which is a popular dwarf female maturing to less than 4 feet tall bearing large red fruits.  A taller variety, ‘Sparkleberry’, matures to 12 feet and has the additional bonus of bearing dark red berries that often persist until spring.  Winterberries are hardy in zones 3 through 9.

There are some perennials that provide an added bonus of foliage that changes color in the fall.  For example, some species of Amsonia feature brilliant yellow foliage. The common name is blue stars, as the plants have pretty little blue flowers in the spring. Another, less poetic common name is dogbane.   The narrow leaves are lancelike, similar to the foliage of a willow, and the stems have a milky sap.  All Amsonias are native to North America and like full sun or partial shade and moist soil, but established plants can tolerate dry soils. Plants can be cut back after flowering to keep them compact as they can grow up to 4 feet in large clumps in zones 5 through 9. They can also be divided either in spring or fall.   Amsonia ciliata or Downy Blue Star, native to our southeast, is a good one for small gardens, as its clumps are only a foot wide. Because of its pale blue flowers, it combines well with other spring bloomers and when its elegant thin leaves turn yellow it provides impact in the fall garden, especially next to dark purple asters. This is a plant that pays its way by performing well across the seasons.

In Autumn, not only do the colors in the garden seem richer and more mellow, but textures also assume a more dominant role in plantings. The tall sedums become focal points in the perennial beds with their intricate flower heads and fleshy leaves. The flat shape of the flower heads makes perfect platforms for bees and butterflies. Trees, such as Japanese maples, and shrubs, such as Smokebush and Ninebark, add the darker notes to the symphony of leaf colors, and vines such as Sweet Autumn clematis contribute the lighter notes of their seed heads.  All types of Salvia flowers, but especially the blue ones, seem to look more vibrant in the fall light. Annuals such as Nicotiana, Cleome and Gomphrena, provide a variety of flower and leaf shapes and textures, and of course there are so many seed heads and berries for the birds to enjoy.  The tall, airy Russian Sage and the perennial Asters and Chrysanthemums carry the bloom across the garden against a tapestry of contrasting foliage and branching patterns provided by the woody plants. The Burning Bushes glow. Even the fuzzy wooly thyme, the gray felted Lambs Ears and the herbs in the Kitchen Garden are integral parts of Autumn’s textural display.

Most of our flowering plants are past their prime in fall, exhausted after their exuberant earlier displays. As we walk around our gardens, we notice all those brown stalks we need to remove from the daylilies, and lots of spent plants with shabby foliage that needs cutting back. Aggressive perennials, such as monarda and black-eyed Susans may have increased to the point where we will have to get rid of some. If the soil isn’t too dry, excess monarda can be pulled quite easily. Perennials that have grown into over large clumps, such as iris, goldenrod, and coneflowers, can be divided with a spade and given new homes in other locations, be shared with friends, or be consigned to the compost pile. Take a good long look at your garden and think about how you want it to be next year.  Do you need to reduce, increase, or alternate specific colors? What do you have already that provides interest at successive times during the growing season? Were there periods this past year when you noticed there was nothing in bloom? Think of color in terms of foliage as well as bloom, and what you can add to create a more pleasing effect. Maybe more height, perhaps plants on a trellis or arbour, could be added next year?  Fall is a season of promise for gardeners who can envision new possibilities. As Victor Hugo said: “A little garden in which to walk. An immensity in which to dream.”