This Fall, Are We Laidback or Working?

It’s decision time for amateur gardeners. Will they carry out all the traditional chores of their ancestors, or will they take the laidback approach to preparing their gardens for winter? You know which side I lean toward: in my experience, the less work you do in the fall, the less you’ll have to do in the spring, and the more beautiful your garden will be next summer. But I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Hardcore Gardener’s Attitude

The hardcore gardener is convinced that the plants on his property depend entirely on them for their survival. They must therefore be pruned, fertilized, and protected from the cold. They prefer synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, more rather than less, because we know that Mother Nature is cruel and will destroy their plants as soon as he turns his back. What’s more, he instinctively knows that cleanliness is good for plants. He has no other explanation for this last point, but he insists on pampering everything that grows. He produces prodigious quantities of bags of “green waste” that usually end up in the incinerator.

Laidback Gardener’s Attitude

The laidback gardener believes that Mother Nature knows what to do and lets her do most of the preparation for winter. They plant their garden with plants that are well suited to the conditions and therefore do not need special treatment. If a plant is not doing well, rather than treating it, they remove it and plant one that thrives. They figure that Mother Nature provides most of the minerals needed for plant growth in the form of fallen leaves, so they use them as mulch or compost and, above all, do not throw them away. They prune little, fertilize rarely, and do not protect their plant from the cold, because they only grow varieties that are well suited to our winters.

The Fall Work of the Hardcore Gardener

The hardcore gardener is a fan of fall cleaning, an endless series of tasks that keep them busy until the snow falls. These include:

1. Pull up annuals and vegetables. Put them in the compost or trash. They are not bothered by the fact that in doing so, they are impoverishing the garden and leaving it open to erosion, because they will just have to buy fertilizer and soil to compensate the following spring.
2. Cut back the leaves of perennials: hostas, daylilies, etc. Put them in the compost or trash. They do this for purely aesthetic reasons and are not bothered by the fact that it is harmful to plants, as it reduces their hardiness and spreads disease. They know that they can replace the plants that die as a result of poor maintenance in the spring.
3. Raking leaves all over your property, even in flower beds and undergrowth where they don’t cause any harm, then bagging them up and putting them by the side of the road for incineration.
4. Prune late-flowering shrubs (hydrangeas, heptacodiums, and others), as the presence of flowers until November is disruptive. In addition, severe pruning will “put them back in their place.”
5. Apply fall fertilizer to their lawn so that it grows faster next spring and you can mow more often (they love mowing).
6. Wrap all conifers in burlap or geotextile and all shrubs in orange garden twine or red snow fence, even if they are hardy.
7. Prune rose bushes and cover them with a rose cone, even those that do not need pruning or protection.
8. Lay clematis and climbing roses on the ground, even those that are perfectly hardy.
9. Cover the grass with geotextile to prevent dirt from accumulating, as it does not know that grass can absorb it perfectly.
10. Put away the garden hose for the winter to prevent it from bursting when the water inside freezes.
11. Clean the gutters.

The Laidback Gardener’s Fall Chores

1. Rake up dead leaves that have accumulated on paths and lawns, then shred them before spreading them on flower beds or vegetable gardens where they will serve as mulch. Add some to the compost pile as well. Set aside several bags of shredded leaves to use in the compost next summer.
2. Bring the garden hose inside for the winter to prevent it from bursting when the water inside freezes.
3. Clean the gutters.

Which category of gardener do you fall into: hardcore or laidback? Which category would you like to fall into? It’s up to you to decide.

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Larry Hodgson has published thousands of articles and 65 books during his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on October 26, 2013.