As the crispy dry autumn morphs into wet green winter here in our summer-dry climate zone, I start to awaken from hibernation along with the frogs and salamanders. Evergreen leaves are glossed up with the first rains, the air is freshened and the Northern California hills go from dusty beige to vibrant green again.
Fuju persimmon in vibrant fall colorAmur Grape / Vitis amurensis shading the west side of a buildingWe enjoyed some lovely fall color this year!Arbutus unedo / Strawberry tree adorns itself with cheerful red globes like holiday ornaments around the time fall is morphing into winter. Yes they are edible, but rather bland and gritty. Even the birds don’t prefer them. …. Update: see GretchenJoanna’s comment below for tips on how to better enjoy them!Persian Ironwood tree (Parrotia persica) has stunning fall color in brilliant golds tinged with raspberry.Last year I planted several more rosa rugosas and am appreciating the yellow fall color.I planted this Spiraea thunbergii in the early years (maybe 20 some years ago) and it has been a remarkably low maintenance shrub. I love the cascade of delicate arching stems and fine leaves. It often makes me think of a waterfall. Subtle but lovely fall color. Its gopher basket must have rotted by now, and it only gets drip irrigation, but it’s still thriving. I should propagate it (note to self).
December Garden To-Do’s
It’s time for renewal, for re-assessment. There are removals of what hasn’t worked and new designs put into place. Bare-root fruit trees start arriving in the nurseries for orchard additions or replacements. Those and the potted trees and shrubs held over summer get planted out now so they can start getting established during the rainy season.
The pruning tools and dormant oil supplies are gathered up for a month of work. Heirloom seeds are ordered and bulbs are planted. Usually we also have olive harvesting in December, but this was an off year so we skipped it.
I propagated some bush germander from cuttings last year. It is said to be drought tolerant, good for pollinators, and gopher resistant. The one I have planted in the ground is in a gopher basket, so I’ll try a few without and see what happens. Our high-gopher-density spot is a true testing ground.
The frogs are already croaking to find each other, then breed gazillions of baby tadpoles. Rainwater is collected, mosquito dunks put out, and drip irrigation turned off. Gutters are cleaned. Oak leaves are harvested for insulating the worm bin and mulching the berries. Frost cloths are put on lettuce and young citrus. It’s a busy time of year in the garden!
A flicker enjoying Fuju persimmons in December and me enjoying bird-watching!The seasonal frog pond and vernal pools are already full of rainwater and ready for the frog opera of mating season.
December Flowers, Foliage and Harvests
Mexican marigold / Tagetes lemmonii looking cheerful here on a sunny day after a winter rain. It’s one of the few flowers still providing blooms in December.
Flowers Every year, I try to get better at recording and planning for what does well each month. Like, what is blooming and producing? A garden blog makes a handy online garden journal. December is a tough month for flowers and vegetables are fewer in variety.
So, is anything blooming now? The rosemaries are sporting a few tiny blue flowers, and there are a handful of bright beacons of calendula flowers–that tough and easy-to-grow potager mainstay. I will try to remember next fall to interplant more calendula with the winter veg. The most vivacious bloomer is the Mexican marigold/Tagetes lemmonii, which is covered in lively yellow sparks!
Calendula–easy to grow and is still blooming (slightly) in December, even after cold and rain. A useful thing to remember for pollinators and some perk for the winter garden.
Foliage Providing some nice foliage in the December garden are the artichokes and miscanthus. Evergreen hedge plants of rosemary, arbutus and pittosporum form the winter bones of the garden.
The artichokes I divided last year are taking off now and offering striking foliage in the December edible garden.The gophers were eating this miscanthus so I moved it to a ceramic pot. I enjoy the subtle fall color and the flowing movement during blustery weather.
Winter Harvests In the winter food garden, the brassicas rule: kale, mizuna, and tree collards. We grow a few broccoli, but they don’t thrive as easily. There are some lettuces doing well under frost covers, and parsley plays a big part too.
Tree collards—lovely and delicious in an edible landscape garden. Great to have in the winter when other garden harvests are thin. Propagates easily from cuttings. Mizuna—a new favorite. Easy to grow, nutritious, and only mildly peppery, it’s delicious cooked or raw in salads.Dino kale — another year-round mainstay of the veg garden
We were lucky with a large crop of feijoas in the fall, and now we are bursting with persimmons and the fall harvest of pumpkins.
Pineapple guava / Feijoa sellowiana tree growing next to a persimmon. We were lucky with a bumper crop of feijoas this year.
The recent rains did their magic on the shiitake logs and fruiting has been revived.
Hachiya persimmons ripening on the tree. The birds are starting to sample for ripeness. I love watching flickers, who seem very fond of persimmons. Persimmons do well here. Shiitake mushrooms grown from plug spawn on logsParsley — We used to only grow a couple of parsley plants — just for garnish. But it is so nutritious, easy to grow and with that bright flavor, that now we are growing a whole bed of it. I love adding a large handful, chopped, to salads. Or, juicing it with apples, using in soups or added at the end of stir fries. How do you like to use it?
Begonia amphioxus was on my houseplant wish-list for quite awhile and finally I acquired one.
Stormy Days Indoors The houseplants kept me in luxurious, leafy company during the dry autumn and will again during stormy days of winter. When I can’t be out pruning and planting, I can snuggle up indoors with houseplants, puzzles, books, crochet projects and a fuzzy cat.
19 thoughts on “December Gardening: seasonal tasks and harvests”
I’m a little behind since I’m commenting in January but this list was sooo helpful. I recently bit the bullet and got a dumpster rental to clean out my yard. That was my main resolution but this gave me a good starting point for my garden at least. You should post these every month 😉
Thank you for this colorful, uplifting post, dear Lisa.
Similar to our fellow bloggers from the UK, I’m amazed at the plant activity in your December garden. Gardening where we live in Colorado comes to a halt in late October and won’t start again before April, if not May. I grow hungry for colors and growth long before that date. Maybe I need to move to different climes with year-round floral possibilities.
I also hope your 2025 garden will bring you much happiness.
Warmly,
Tanja
I hear you Tanja. I grew up in the Midwest and the climate is so different. When I first moved here, it was very confusing as there were not the dramatic changes in seasons I was used to and loved. CO is a lovely state. I certainly wouldn’t move to CA at this point. Too many wildfires and drought and crazy expensive real estate and gophers! 😵💫 But, yes, the need for colors and growth is real. Hope you find it however it is best for you. 🙂 Thanks for the new years wishes! Same to you! Keep up the wonderful blogging you do! I enjoy your posts. -lisa
We used to spread a bit of organic powdered fertilizer around our persimmons trees–usually in winter, so the winter rains could work it into the soil. But, it doesn’t seem like they need much encouragement. Some are growing in poor, sandy soil in full sun. They only get drip irrigation once a week. The most important maintenance seems to be thinning the fruit and pruning to keep the heavy fruit from breaking the branches. Especially as the birds and other critters land on the branches to feast. Good luck! A very rewarding tree! Thanks for reading and commenting. -lisa
It really lifts the heart to see your garden so full of exuberant life at a time when ours in the UK are sleeping and chilly. The Rorschach test/persimmon made me smile, yeah… 🙂
Thank you so much Ann! Glad it brought some lift. I rather feel that way about UK gardens during late summer, when everything here has gone dry as a bone, except for the irrigated raised beds. Then, yours are vibrant with lush greenery and such a balm for parched eyes. Hope you are staying cozy and warm and having happy dreams of your upcoming years garden. 🙂 -lisa
Everything looks so beautiful! Our persimmon trees are the stars of the fall color show in our backyard. I haven’t noticed the birds eating them, but the raccoons go nuts over them. I am so jealous of your vernal pools and froggies! And, I’m definitely going to plant more parsley now. Thank you for a lovely post! Happy December!
Awww Thank you so much! Yes, one of the benefits of being in the low spot is the natural collection of rainwater in pools here and there. Of course, then there is also the danger of flooding and intense freeze pockets, but each microclimate has it’s joys and challenges, yes? We love the froggies so much and like to call our garden “Frog Opera Farm” during this time of year. 🙂 How wonderful that you have persimmon trees too! Racoon are such characters. Both endearing and sometimes a little over-eager with the fruit harvesting. Your branches must be mature to handle raccoons crawling on them! Happy December to you too! I’m going to check out what you’ve been doing in your garden now. 🙂 -lisa
Hello, Lisa, thanks for another lovely post. It’s absolutely fascinating that as everything here in the western UK goes into cold, grey dormancy, your garden is still bursting with colour, food and life. What a difference climate makes! Your garden looks as gorgeous as ever and being currently without, I’m just a tad envious of your homegrown veggies but I’ve enjoyed a vicarious trip around your patch. 😊
Parsley is one of my favourite herbs and one which grows well in our cooler climate (although I always grow some under cover for a winter harvest), I love it in pretty much everything. One of my favourites is a gremolata, lots of fresh parsley chopped with garlic and finely grated cheese and bound with a little olive oil to sprinkle over soups. There is an old adage here that only wicked women can grow parsley well . . . I’ll confess, I’ve never had any difficulty! 😂
LOL about the wicked woman growing parsley well. I’m chuckling about that. 😂 Probably just another one of those sayings that sought to demean independent, powerful women who were good with herbs and nature in general. You know, like the ones they called witches. Glad I’m in good company haha…..
I’m not sure my garden is exactly as bursting as it may seem from the photos. I do close-ups in the winter so you can’t see all the dismal stuff. It’s to cheer myself up. 🙂 Glad it was fun for you too! Now I’m over to catch up on your posts that I’ve missed reading!!! -lisa
You’re absolutely right about the parsley and the wise women, Lisa. Folklore also says that the slow germination is a result of the seed having to go down to the Devil and back seven times, but of course, a ‘witch’ would know what to do about that. Far from dancing round a cauldron muttering incantations with my familiars, I find a dowsing in boiling water just after sowing works wonders in kickstarting germination . . . but I’m sure there was a time I would have been ostracised (or worse) for such magical knowledge! 😉
I have a strawberry tree and discovered that the fruit it quite tasty, as long as I pick it before it is dead-red-ripe. When when each fruit is more orangey red in color and has a little firmness to it, it has a more complex flavor and the texture is not soft and blah sweet. I mostly eat them right off the tree, or the ground, though one year I dehydrated a couple dozen, and then they were truly gritty 🙂 — but I still liked them.
My experience with parsely is similar. I try to plant it a couple of times a year so that I always have some, because if I go minimal with it, I don’t have enough when I want it. The result this year was piles and piles of parsley harvest, which I made the backbone of two different soups, one a bean and vegetable soup, and the other using lamb stew meat. I began to appreciate parsley when a chef friend made us a salad for Thanksgiving one year, that was essentially tomatoes and parsely, in about equal amounts. I loved it!
This is a great tip Joanna! I will test a strawberry tree fruit next time when it is orange-red instead of full red to see if it’s tastier. Yum–that salad of tomatoes and parsley sounds delish! Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂 -lisa
I’m a little behind since I’m commenting in January but this list was sooo helpful. I recently bit the bullet and got a dumpster rental to clean out my yard. That was my main resolution but this gave me a good starting point for my garden at least. You should post these every month 😉
Thank you for this colorful, uplifting post, dear Lisa.
Similar to our fellow bloggers from the UK, I’m amazed at the plant activity in your December garden. Gardening where we live in Colorado comes to a halt in late October and won’t start again before April, if not May. I grow hungry for colors and growth long before that date. Maybe I need to move to different climes with year-round floral possibilities.
I also hope your 2025 garden will bring you much happiness.
Warmly,
Tanja
I hear you Tanja. I grew up in the Midwest and the climate is so different. When I first moved here, it was very confusing as there were not the dramatic changes in seasons I was used to and loved. CO is a lovely state. I certainly wouldn’t move to CA at this point. Too many wildfires and drought and crazy expensive real estate and gophers! 😵💫 But, yes, the need for colors and growth is real. Hope you find it however it is best for you. 🙂 Thanks for the new years wishes! Same to you! Keep up the wonderful blogging you do! I enjoy your posts. -lisa
Thank you, dear Lisa. 🙏
Love the colour, the inspiration and insight into a different climate on the other side of the world!
Thank you so much Sue!!! Is it summer there now? Would love to see some photos from your garden! Much love, lisa
What kind of fertilizer and how often do you give to your persimmon? I’m a newbie at this persimmon growing thing.
We used to spread a bit of organic powdered fertilizer around our persimmons trees–usually in winter, so the winter rains could work it into the soil. But, it doesn’t seem like they need much encouragement. Some are growing in poor, sandy soil in full sun. They only get drip irrigation once a week. The most important maintenance seems to be thinning the fruit and pruning to keep the heavy fruit from breaking the branches. Especially as the birds and other critters land on the branches to feast. Good luck! A very rewarding tree! Thanks for reading and commenting. -lisa
Ok, thank you. I’ll try that in the spring.
It really lifts the heart to see your garden so full of exuberant life at a time when ours in the UK are sleeping and chilly. The Rorschach test/persimmon made me smile, yeah… 🙂
Thank you so much Ann! Glad it brought some lift. I rather feel that way about UK gardens during late summer, when everything here has gone dry as a bone, except for the irrigated raised beds. Then, yours are vibrant with lush greenery and such a balm for parched eyes. Hope you are staying cozy and warm and having happy dreams of your upcoming years garden. 🙂 -lisa
Happy New Year, Lisa! I hope that 2025 is an excellent gardening year for you!
Everything looks so beautiful! Our persimmon trees are the stars of the fall color show in our backyard. I haven’t noticed the birds eating them, but the raccoons go nuts over them. I am so jealous of your vernal pools and froggies! And, I’m definitely going to plant more parsley now. Thank you for a lovely post! Happy December!
Awww Thank you so much! Yes, one of the benefits of being in the low spot is the natural collection of rainwater in pools here and there. Of course, then there is also the danger of flooding and intense freeze pockets, but each microclimate has it’s joys and challenges, yes? We love the froggies so much and like to call our garden “Frog Opera Farm” during this time of year. 🙂 How wonderful that you have persimmon trees too! Racoon are such characters. Both endearing and sometimes a little over-eager with the fruit harvesting. Your branches must be mature to handle raccoons crawling on them! Happy December to you too! I’m going to check out what you’ve been doing in your garden now. 🙂 -lisa
Hello, Lisa, thanks for another lovely post. It’s absolutely fascinating that as everything here in the western UK goes into cold, grey dormancy, your garden is still bursting with colour, food and life. What a difference climate makes! Your garden looks as gorgeous as ever and being currently without, I’m just a tad envious of your homegrown veggies but I’ve enjoyed a vicarious trip around your patch. 😊
Parsley is one of my favourite herbs and one which grows well in our cooler climate (although I always grow some under cover for a winter harvest), I love it in pretty much everything. One of my favourites is a gremolata, lots of fresh parsley chopped with garlic and finely grated cheese and bound with a little olive oil to sprinkle over soups. There is an old adage here that only wicked women can grow parsley well . . . I’ll confess, I’ve never had any difficulty! 😂
LOL about the wicked woman growing parsley well. I’m chuckling about that. 😂 Probably just another one of those sayings that sought to demean independent, powerful women who were good with herbs and nature in general. You know, like the ones they called witches. Glad I’m in good company haha…..
I’m not sure my garden is exactly as bursting as it may seem from the photos. I do close-ups in the winter so you can’t see all the dismal stuff. It’s to cheer myself up. 🙂 Glad it was fun for you too! Now I’m over to catch up on your posts that I’ve missed reading!!! -lisa
You’re absolutely right about the parsley and the wise women, Lisa. Folklore also says that the slow germination is a result of the seed having to go down to the Devil and back seven times, but of course, a ‘witch’ would know what to do about that. Far from dancing round a cauldron muttering incantations with my familiars, I find a dowsing in boiling water just after sowing works wonders in kickstarting germination . . . but I’m sure there was a time I would have been ostracised (or worse) for such magical knowledge! 😉
I have a strawberry tree and discovered that the fruit it quite tasty, as long as I pick it before it is dead-red-ripe. When when each fruit is more orangey red in color and has a little firmness to it, it has a more complex flavor and the texture is not soft and blah sweet. I mostly eat them right off the tree, or the ground, though one year I dehydrated a couple dozen, and then they were truly gritty 🙂 — but I still liked them.
My experience with parsely is similar. I try to plant it a couple of times a year so that I always have some, because if I go minimal with it, I don’t have enough when I want it. The result this year was piles and piles of parsley harvest, which I made the backbone of two different soups, one a bean and vegetable soup, and the other using lamb stew meat. I began to appreciate parsley when a chef friend made us a salad for Thanksgiving one year, that was essentially tomatoes and parsely, in about equal amounts. I loved it!
This is a great tip Joanna! I will test a strawberry tree fruit next time when it is orange-red instead of full red to see if it’s tastier. Yum–that salad of tomatoes and parsley sounds delish! Thanks for reading and commenting. 🙂 -lisa