Finally, the last of our numbered months has arrived. December was the tenth month in the old Latin calendar. Decem meaning ten as in decathlon, decade, but not decadent, is how it got its name. December conjures up such thoughts as dreary, bleak, cold, dark, short days. It brings of course our astronomical and meteorological winter. The winter solstice occurs this December 21 and coincides with the full Long Night Moon. On that day, to those more observant than me, the sun (sol) appears to stand still (stice) as it pauses on its apparent journey south to the Tropic of Capricorn and then pauses and “turns around” and begins its trip back north. Hallelujah!
Psychologically, the winter solstice makes me cheer and cheerful. Spring is coming for sure. In ancient times they weren’t so sure. As days grew shorter and shorter people began to fear the process would keep on going to result in catastrophe. Once they could detect that the process had ended and that the days were once again giving more light (about December 25th), it was cause for celebration. Thus began the ancient pagan holiday of Saturnalia.
The sacerdotal class, not being able to keep people from enjoying the pagan celebration, gave in and began celebrating Christmas at this time of year. However we understand it, the celebration is something to look forward to in Bleak Winter. Bring in the green, deck the halls, light the fire, cook the goose, wrap the presents, lift a glass, sing along, the holiday a lot of us call Christmas is here. All too soon it will be gone and then we will face several months of the really cold and bleak dreary weather and can all settle down for a long winter’s nap. But be of good cheer. Now that we are so educated we know the good (weather) times will roll again.
Speaking of settling down for a long winter’s nap, the plants are doing that. What we want to prevent them from doing is springing from their beds “to see what was the matter.” Warm winter days can make plants ease out of the ground. Gardener’s call that frost heave. Newly planted, and even those planted a while ago, can be heaved out of the ground by freeze and thaw cycles, the same process that causes potholes in our streets and roads. A way to prevent this, to plants, is to wait until the ground freezes and then pull the mulch up around the perennials. It’s the roots we want to protect until warm weather returns.
Cold stresses plants just as it does us. It is the reason why most perennials lose their leaves in the fall. Admittedly there are those that do not. Christmas ferns, heuchera and evergreens to name a few keep their leaves. As is true in all of nature, there is a cost as well as a benefit for every tactic of survival. Keeping leaves enables a plant to continue to take advantage of sunlight to fuel growth and development. Plants that retain their leaves must produce chemicals to protect their cells from the destruction of freezing temperatures. They also risk drying out, desiccation.
Plants use their leaves to exchange oxygen as well as to collect sunlight. This exchange loses water as vapor in their “breath” just as in ours. Our evergreen trees are particularly susceptible to this. Newly planted evergreens need to be watered right up until the ground is frozen deep and hard. If you have smaller evergreens planted in areas where drying winds are prevalent you may try spraying them with an anti-desiccant or wrapping them with burlap. We can also keep from drying out by using our favorite holiday anti-desiccants. Egg nog anyone?
An interesting theory (or fact?) I recently read about is why evergreens have the shape they do. Most of the trees in our temperate climate are deciduous. They lose their leaves in the fall. They also have canopies that are full, round and often much wider at the top than at the bottom. Some are even umbrella shaped with tops wide and flat. This is to take full advantage of the higher angle of the sun in summer. By contrast, evergreens are often triangular in shape, tall and narrow with branches wider at the bottom than at the top. This enables them to take advantage of the low winter sun which comes at them sideways rather than from overhead.
This is just another reason to wonder at the ways of plants and the ways in which they adapt to the environment. When you look at your Christmas tree this holiday think about the reasons why it is green and why it has the shape it does. Our ancestors, if you are part German, brought evergreen trees indoors for the holidays. Other peoples brought in other greens, holly, wreaths, etc. They remind us of spring and summer because of their color, green. But now I can even look at the tree and be reminded of the low winter sun that is another reason for the season.
Things to do in the garden:
Thankfully, there are not too many things to do IN the garden as much as there are things to do ABOUT the garden.
In the vegetable garden, write down and/or sketch where you planted what this year, while you can still remember. This can enable you to consider new varieties depending on how this year’s performed. It also helps in crop rotation which helps yields and eliminates disease carry over. Bugs lay their eggs near the crops they “enjoy.” By not planting the same crops in the same place next year you will foil the destructive insects. A rotation rule to remember is follow ”a root crop by a top crop and vice versa.”
If you haven’t already, clean up crop debris and crop residue. Shred it and put in the compost heap or till and turn it over to bury in the soil. Get the garden ready for spring planting as much as possible.
As mentioned above, once the ground has frozen hard and deep mulch the perennials. This freezing may not happen this month. If the ground remains open it’s still not too late to plant lilies, tulips and daffodils. You may find some bargains. Avoid the soft and shriveled ones.
Happy Holidays!
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