Looking over my front garden after a day of pulling the last of the summer weeds, I'm starting to stress about family and friends arriving for a delicious meal for the holidays. Isn't that the underlying theme to holidays? Stress?
Stressing about preparing a meal for ten or more guests?
No.
Stressing about a spick-and-span, scrubbed house before company arrives and cleaning up the mess after everyone leaves?
No.
Stressing about keeping children entertained and making sure there's something on the menu that will appeal to them while making sure there's enough to satisfy everyone's appetite yet not have so many leftovers that will cram the refrigerator until New Year's?
No.
I am stressed about my landscape. All gardeners worry about how their yards look to other gardeners. I had a new Master Gardener in my office last week that was worried that everyone would look at her yard because of her new certification and it wasn't up to her level of expectations. I had to laugh out of empathy. Then I tried to ease her mind by letting her know that the "cobblers' children never have shoes" and so it is with most gardeners.
Gardeners will play in their garden whenever they have a spare moment (and many times even when they don't), but gardeners are truly generous and help those who are not blessed with green thumbs have better yards. Unfortunately, we do that to the extent that we don't have time to work in our own. So stressing out about our landscapes for the holidays, especially when company is coming, is predictable but not good for your soul. The holiday season is when we gardeners can show off our green thumbwork for the last year. Holidays are for enjoying family and friends and no stressing!
The good news is that by living in Florida in the wintertime, we get to listen to the sleigh bells ringing but don't have the glistening snow to shovel. So, unlike our northern friends, we do have a few chores to do, but it's a wonderful time of year to be out in the yard, heralding in the next six months of the most beautiful weather in the world.
To help ease your stress, let me give you a few "don'ts" that are time-consuming, not effective, and costly.
1) No need to worry about fertilizing your lawns this late in the year in the northern panhandle of Florida or Central Florida. Ideally, lawns should be fertilized no later than October to give them adequate growing temperatures to absorb the nutrients. If you haven't fertilized, then an application of potash or low-nitrogen winterizer will be adequate to help your grass winter over. Tropical Zones 10 and 11 can fertilize if you really are bound and determined, but ideally lawns can wait until late February and March for fertilizing.
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