November’s Invaluable Gardening Chores

By Kristen Hannum

November brings about that woodsy, musty smell of crisp, fallen leaves on the ground. The sight of one’s breath in the air. The curls of frost on the grass. And then, the luxury of going inside where it is warm and the scent of spiced apple cider fills the kitchen.

November is the time to stop longing for green and truly look at the individual pieces of delight to be found in Colorado: the intricate geometry of a sunflower husk or the lace of ice on a pond.

Gardening is the best way I know to slow down and appreciate where I am, even in November.

While I won’t be adding pops of color to my garden, there are November’s virtuous chores. I begin with washing out pots and seed trays. Cleaning tools is an incredibly satisfying task as long as I remind myself that the tools don’t need to be showroom ready or so clean that the kids can eat with them; I’m just getting them ready for storage.

I put on a pair of utility gloves and fill a bucket with hot, soapy water. I use a putty knife (to get stuck-on dirt off), a rag, a scrub brush and some steel wool. I dry the tools and then rub a little mineral oil onto the metal parts and linseed oil onto any unpainted wooden handles.

Chores always expand once begun. This year, for me, it was the shed. I took a stab at cleaning it out so that my tools could be stored in a reasonably tidy place. I got rid of a terrarium, for instance. Where did it come from?

I also plan to make an insect hotel. I hope for ladybugs, but even if I don’t get any bugs at all, bug boardinghouses make great garden art. I’ll make mine from a decorative birdhouse that we never used. I’ll pry the front off of it and then pack it with hollow bamboo pieces that I’ll cut to about the same depth as the house. It will be a good project to do with my 5- and 6-year-old grandchildren.

I hope that the elegant little beetles will like my hotel. I never use pesticides or herbicides, so they’ll be safe in my yard. Even if the hotel stands empty, it will be fun to make and rustically pretty.

Really, aren’t Colorado autumns wonderful?