News from Le Jardinet

Le Jardinet Newsletter

December 2009

As many of you know, we moved into a 5 acre property in Duvall a month ago.

We had romantic visions of strolling the land and watching the wildlife, glass of wine in hand...The reality check came when we discovered that actually we had moved into the house with the wildlife!

We have a resident frog under the living room floor (not my first design choice in terms of pond location), mice in the kitchen walls (yes really; two dead ones plus a bag of birdseed actually within the wall cavity), and termites on the threshold - long since abandoned but also leaving the sill looking like a piece of Swiss cheese. We have had deer in the garden but despite our sons attempt to persuade them to eat the Brussel Sprouts left for us in the vegetable garden, they seem to have ignored our plants. A new visitor today was a goat ambling casually across the road , chewing a phone directory!

I can see my landscape design skills being honed to account for Dr. Doolittle style menagerie! I wonder if reindeer eat Brussel Sprouts........?

Deck the Halls with Pots of Holly....

The pumpkins and fall flowers are now relegated to the compost bin so there are a few empty spots in some of my containers. These are easy to dress up for the holiday season and don't even need you to take a trip to the nursery.

Big silver ball

Try adding pine cones, glass baubles, weatherproof ribbon bows or sprigs of ornamental berries. Even artificial berries can look wonderful when mixed with live foliage. Just be careful not to pierce any underlying spring bulbs when inserting them into the design. Also only use artificial berries under eaves where they will not receive direct rain...spoken from embarrassing experience as a red sludge spread across my path one year! I also cut branches of evergreen trees and shrubs from around my garden and insert those into the soil to add textural interest and fullness.

Need more ideas? Read my complete article on Holiday Containers published earlier this year and being featured as the cover story in the December edition of a professional Washington State horticulture magazine.

Winter TLC for Containers

Here are a few reminders;

Do not water plants late in the day if a freeze is forecast or at all if the soil is already frozen. Arakawa reduced

Remember that pots under the eaves or on porches will not get rain; it's up to you to water them!

Try to spot the difference between cold soil and moist soil; hence the need to poke your finger actually into the soil rather than just on top.

Spend a minute or two each week clipping off spent flowers and leaves, especially at soil level. This keeps the plants healthy.

Still watch for slugs especially near pansies.

Gifts from Santa!

Give Santa a helping hand; leave these ideas where they can be seen!

West Country waterproof garden gloves. Unbelievably warm and cozy. I can clean out the pond in the middle of winter wearing these and my hands are actually warm! Machine washable and can be tumble dried.
'Atlas nitrile touch' garden gloves. The only gloves I can use for delicate planting as I can feel the roots easily. Machine washable and can be tumble dried.

santa garden

Magazine subscription; to Fine Gardening. A wonderful gift for new and experienced gardeners alike. (Yes I really did get the subscription before I wrote for them!)
Gift certificate from Le Jardinet available for any amount. Treat your friends to a design conultation
Festive indoor or outdoor container garden from Le Jardinet custom designed in your choice of colors. Last orders Monday December 14th with final deliveries on December 23rd. What about one for your own home?
Gardening Books! there are so many to choose from but here are two new ones I purchased this year. I would be happy to offer specific selections according to your interest;