Last weekend, we spent a beautiful Sunday morning at Yule in the Garden at Zilker Botanical Garden. Austin Camerata created a stellar soundtrack for picnickers sipping hot chocolate, watching energetic little ones dancing around, and creating holiday crafts like the little paper tree you’ll see in this week’s video at the end of this post.

Color change is at its peak in our city, and we had a chance to admire the gorgeous trees at Zilker Botanical Garden and all of the deciduous trees putting on a show along our street all week. With the mild temperatures, rain, and no hard freeze yet, everything remains green and lush in our garden. We’re still harvesting peppers, cherry tomatoes, herbs, and, of course, our greens like kale, Swiss chard, and tatsoi are growing like crazy!

As I enjoy this time in the garden, I’m dreaming up a few gift ideas from our garden for family and friends. I’m gathering catmint, chrysanthemums, and rose petals to dry for making tisane, using propagated aloe vera plants from our abundant supply, tying up herb bundles, cutting the last of our summer flowers, harvesting veggies for soup, and sourcing amaryllis or paperwhite bulbs for winter holiday gifts.

We’ve been lucky to get by without a freeze, but I know we’re due for one soon. Once I see that a freeze is on its way, I’ll do a major harvest to enjoy everything we can before a freeze sets in. I usually let our native plants die back as they provide wildlife food and shelter during the winter, and then I’ll do a major prune/cut back of native plants in February.

What’s left on my winter garden prep list?

I consulted The Natural Gardener website (read this month’s tips from TNG - December in the garden) to see what I might need to do in the garden this month. I hope these tips (with a few specific to my own garden) are helpful for winter garden preparation as your garden begins to slumber.

• plant pansies and violas to use as edible flowers for a pop of color in the colder months

• thin sprouts for kale and other greens

• prune back chrysanthemums almost to the ground after blooming & protect them from freezes so they will bloom in springtime

• mulch any remaining beds

• collect seeds and cut all heat-loving plants down to the roots so they can decompose into the soil

• add seaweed to the soil to provide nutrients in the colder months (I’ve used this brand and this brand with success)

• read up on seeds that need to be cold-stratified before spring

• prune roses

• move some of our more tender plants inside & create an indoor herb planter

• put our pop-up greenhouse in the yard for our aloe vera pots and citrus trees

• line up garden bed covers in the yard in case of a frost or freeze so they are easy to access

• “Water holds heat better than dry soil,” so water the garden BEFORE any freeze

In January and February, I will begin planning our spring garden and organizing our current seed collection. I read recently that our gardening zone has changed to 9A, which might need to be considered as I make our garden plan.

Keep an eye out for this upcoming documentary from Floret Farms. Alla’s story will captivate and inspire you and break your heart. Her flowers, seed cultivation, and photography are beautiful. You can support her family by buying seeds, her e-book, or making a donation by going to PAYPAL and entering standwithkharkiv@gmail.com and listing “humanitarian aid” in the payment field description

I hope you have some time in your garden with a little sunshine to brighten your day or some lovely snow to enjoy a winter wonderland this weekend.

Enjoy this week’s video! See you next week!