December Garden Checklist: Tasks & DIY Projects

In December, cold-climate gardens slow down with veggies under cover, greens indoors, and snow offering inspiration for garden art and decor.

Have a look at the ideas for this month.

---

December Garden Tasks

Here in southwestern Ontario, Canada, December usually means frosts at night, frozen ground, and (sometimes) snow.

The greatest snow storm in recorded history (for our area) occurred in 2010. I remember it well because we were moving house and it was wild.

Since then, we’ve had Decembers with barely a flurry of snow. It’s quite unpredictable.

---

Grow

Planting, Sowing, & Preparations

Outdoors

• Check on overwintered potted plants in winter storage including bulbs and fig trees. Keep lightly watered and mouse-proof.
• Maintain winter vegetable garden and water as needed. You can remove covers on warm days.
• Continue composting with the winter compost method.
• Learn to winter sow seeds outdoors in milk jugs for spring seedlings.

Pond

• Make sure your pond does not freeze over. I keep a pump running and a hole open in the ice.

Wildlife

• Set up winter bird feeding stations. Clean, repair, store breakable feeders.
• If temperatures are consistently cold, add homemade suet to bird feeders and provide fresh, running water.

Indoors

• Grow salad greens and peas indoors.
• Force (grow) indoor flowering bulbs including paperwhites, amaryllis, and more.
• Divide and repot houseplants as needed. Take cuttings to give as gifts.
• Time to repot leggy or crowded African violets.
• Grow holiday poinsettias as year-round houseplants and make them rebloom.
• And, don’t forget you can make Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti rebloom too.

---

Make

Creative Fall Projects

Whether or not you’re a fan of cold weather, you had to admit that winter is beautiful! Glistening snow. Bright sunshine. Quiet. Birds. I love it all.

Here’s some project ideas.

• Pinecone crafts | Fun project to do with kids.
• Stone painting | It sounds odd but this is very relaxing to do.
• Reuses for Christmas trees | Don’t throw it out!
• Learn to hand feed birds | Winter is a good time for this.
• Winter garden art | Embrace cold weather. It’s inevitable.

---

Ideas

Dream & Scheme

DIY Living Roof Birdhouse | RebeccasBirdGardens Etsy Shop
This shop is not always available but please support it if it is!

• Order seed catalogues or browse online. This shares when the first seed & bulb catalogs were published. It’s an interesting history!

---

---

Observe & Enjoy

You may not know it by the name phenology, but you certainly know what it is.

Phenology is the science of observing annual first events in nature.  

When flower buds open. When peepers first peep. When bees appear. When migrations arrive. When bulbs pop up. The list is endless.

Seasonal changes prompt natural responses in the plant and animal kingdoms. It is interesting to note these events and compare year over year. And it is these things that will be affected, and are affected now, by climate change.

Late Autumn / Early Winter Phenological Events

Here’s a few examples you might notice in December when winter solstice brings us the shortest day and longest night of the year.

• Bare trees – deciduous trees have dropped their leaves.
• Plants have died or gone dormant.
• Birds resting in sun to find warmth where they can.
• With limited food sources outdoors, you may find more mice in your house.
• Ponds icing over. If you have fish, keep an air hole open.
• Frozen soil.
• Listen. Sound travels differently when it’s cold.

---

Resources

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛