Verdant View - November 2024

Gratitude

My mother Rebecca and I made a pact to follow each other’s instructions upon our passing from this world. The conversation took place in Glendale, CA at one of her favorite Mexican restaurants. My brother George and I had taken her out to dine for one of our ritualistic Monday night dinners. She sat contently nursing her mango margarita, laughing, smiling and enjoying the company of her drink and her 2 sons.

George was a bit of an ostrich, preferring to hide his head in the sand when the topic turned to death and dying. As he covered his ears and shook his head he chanted “I don’t want to hear this…I don’t want to talk about this.” My mother wisely stated that he would eventually have to deal with the fact. George kept shaking his head, his mantra being “No!” Mom and I chatted away. “What would you like to happen when you die?” I asked. She calmly said she would like her body to be cremated and her ashes strewn in the Pacific Ocean at Santa Monica Bay. This came as a surprise to me because I imagined she would have preferred her ashes buried in her beloved garden of 60 years. “What about you?” She directed the question to me, eyeing George with a concerned glance. “I want to be cremated as well, but I want my ashes scattered in Lake Chapala.” We raised out margarita glasses and toasted to the pact. George just groaned.

When my mother passed, my siblings in majority, decided that they would bury her in a pre-purchased plot in Forest Lawn. So I never was able to hold up my part of the agreement, something that makes me sad. But my mother always showed flexibility of character when it came to things of a personal and emotional nature. I hear her whispering in my ear “Don’t fret the small stuff.” This whisper is a comfort.

My mother taught me that, like her garden, we all have a beginning and an end. Her wonderful life garden was a testament to that fact. Every year we watched it bloom to glory in the spring and wither quietly in the winter. And then it would miraculously be lush, bright and full of color around Easter, just in time for our annual Easter egg hunts.

Knowing where I am in this cycle and what part I play in this existence gives me peace. Knowing that I am part of a much larger being called Nature, gives me strength in the belief that our spring will be bright and full of life. And knowing these things gives me hope.

Thank you Mom, for these and so many more gifts.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

What to plant in November

During the fall season, cool weather allows crops to hold longer in the garden once mature. Crops like broccoli, cabbage, and kale can live for months in the garden after they reach maturity.

Fall crops do much better when started from transplants than from seed, and transplants should always be used for tomatoes and peppers. Buy the largest transplants available. Or you can start your own plants earlier in the season and transplant them. Plant shade-tolerant crops between taller veggies like tomatoes.

Create a display of fall colors with cool-season plants. Some examples include pansy, viola, snapdragon, dianthus and alyssum. Continue planting herbs from seeds or plants. A wide variety of herbs prefer cool, dry weather, including cilantro, parsley, sage, and thyme. Continue planting cool-season crops, such as beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, kale and lettuce. Divide and replant overgrown perennials and bulbs now so that they establish before the cold weather arrives. Take advantage of lower temperatures to apply horticultural oil sprays to control scale insects.

Take note: just because summer has passed doesn’t mean you can skip out on paying close attention to your plant’s watering needs. Fall can still bring some hot, dry days that can be hard on plants if you haven’t had enough rain. If you’ve purchased fall flowers for pots, keep in mind that container plants dry out much faster than those in the ground.

The weather can be cool in the daytime and sometimes cold at night. At the viveros look for snapdragons, stocks, fuchsias, poinsettias (Nochebuenas) , pansies, petunias and phlox. Sweet peas may begin blooming.

You can still plant lettuce, peas, kohl rabi, spinach and Swiss chard , beets, carrots, garlic, lettuce, mustard, onion, parsley, radish, spinach, turnips, and herbs, lettuce, broccoli, kale.

Mist fuchsias and water garden regularly, keeping in mind that the native plants know how to deal with the dry seasons. Most orchids can take more sun now. Order seed catalogues for next year and begin planning. Now is a very good time to get the garden cleaned up for winter. Fill in bare spots with blooming plants from the viveros and plant sellers.

Many plants are going into their dormancy period and fall is a good time to prune. Winter is a good time to prune large trees, shrubs and small trees. Deciduous foliage is absent and helps make pruning more visible and reduces clean up material.

Plant colorful ornamental cabbage and kale for vibrantly rich reds, blues, and purples to accentuate other garden colors all winter long.