Rapping Up Thanksgiving (and Wrapping Up the Garden)

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Sarah L. Ivy

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Photo Credit: Lee Ivy

You can plant containerized plants any time of the year – provided the ground’s not frozen.

Although Christmas is my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving runs a close second. I’m especially excited this year, because it’s my son’s first Thanksgiving! Although he’ll only be 8 months old and won’t be chowing down on turkey legs quite yet, it’ll still be fun to give him a taste of the holidays.

In an effort to cheer up you gardeners who think that the glory days of gardening for the year have passed, I’ve composed a Thanksgiving Day Rap to show you that your gardening chores aren’t quite over for the season just yet. So grab some mashed potatoes and some stuffing and try to sing (or rap) along!

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Photo Credit: Sarah Landicho

You can cut back your favorite perennials when the flowers and foliage turn brown.

Out in the garden
It’s gettin’ kinda cold
Time to prune some perennials
The flowers that are old

Another garden chore
To tackle in the fall
Is cleaning up your tools
Or buying new ones at the mall

The leaves are off the trees
They’re looking kinda bare
Should you rake, blow or bag?
Or really even care?

I say don’t you worry
Your options are quite broad
You can compost in a pile
Or wish ’em to your neighbor’s yard

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Photo Credit: Lee Ivy

It’s best to plant balled and burlapped plant material in late fall to early winter.

Other garden chores
To be doing at this time
Are planting in the garden
And maybe puttin’ out some lime

If you’re lookin’ for spring color
Get some bulbs in the ground
They need some chilling hours
Before the holidays come ’round

And be sure you always follow
Findings from your soil test
Or else you’ll be in trouble
And your plants won’t do their best

This rap is kinda silly
But the points have been well stressed:
Keep caring for your gardens now
Come spring you shall be blessed

Happy Thanksgiving!

Facts

Containerized trees and shrubs can be planted any time of the year (when the ground isn’t frozen). Fall is an excellent time to get new plants in the ground and established before the heat of next summer. Just be sure to water them well!

Tips

One cool thing about lime is that it can be put out any time of the year and still effectively increase the soil’s pH – as long as your soil test calls for it. So winter is a fine time to spread a little – especially if you need a break from being stuck indoors!
If you’re looking for something to do with all those fallen leaves, think about turning them into mulch.

Definitions

Tight as a tick: This colloquialism simply means you feel so full you could burst – the way many of us feel after a big Thanksgiving meal. Used in a sentence: “Don’t try to garden when you feel tight as a tick – it can be quite uncomfortable!”

Tools

Use hand pruners or loppers to cut back perennials that’ve died back to the ground. (And the dried clippings can be used in your compost pile!)

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