Late in December, I suddenly realized I’d not yet wrapped the outdoor taps to protect them from freezing temperatures. The warm weather had diverted my attention from this routine seasonal task.
Early this month I did hear a very tentative prediction that a period of cold might arrive around Jan. 19 or 20, but at the time of this writing I’d not yet found any forecasts confirming that.
Still, we all remember last year. December and early January were the same as in this new year — unseasonably warm temperatures inducing some deciduous shrubs to begin coming prematurely out of dormancy, showing up as budswell on some of the plants.
The same is happening in this year’s warm winter so far. A few mornings ago, as I was checking a rain gauge in the front garden, I noticed a (deciduous) Daphne alpina’s buds had begun to swell and show a tinge of green.
Last January, around mid-month, freezing weather brought temperatures down suddenly to –10 C and even colder in some areas. Shrubs that had already begun to break dormancy and show swelling in their buds had become vulnerable to extreme cold. Many were damaged or killed.
The logical outcome of this pondering: Be prepared. Have light mulches (leaves, straw) and covers on hand to protect plantings in case freezing weather makes a repeat performance this January.
What next? Home gardeners have experienced a host of challenges in the past few years — drought, an early season heat dome (2023), a long, cold spring (2024), an onslaught of stink bugs (2023) and predation by deer and rabbits. Each new season seems to throw new problems at us.
Early last spring I experienced a series of weird encounters with a new (to me), odd biting insect that settled along the inner neckline of my tee shirt or sweater. Some came indoors with me.
When I realized what was happening, at the end of each gardening session and before coming indoors, I began cowering behind the car in the carport to remove, examine, and vigorously shake out some of my gardening clothes.
The insect looked like the tip of a pencil. An online search suggests they are “biting midges.” I found that wearing a light neckerchief sprayed or dabbed with essential oils of mint, citronella or eucalyptus effectively repelled the insects.
Of bugs and bunnies. Following a column about my rabbit-ravaged garden, a reader sent me the recipe for a spray she makes to repel deer. She has observed that the rabbits that abound in her garden never touch the sprayed plants. The main ingredient is crushed garlic.
Then I remembered reading about garlic sprays to deter stink bugs. Garlic, and some essential oils, repel many insects.
That sent me online to look among all-purpose repellents that work for deer, rabbits, squirrels and insect pests. They all call for steeping crushed garlic in water (around six or more cloves to 4.5 litres of water) together with cayenne or/and hot sauce, a spreader-sticker like dish soap or insecticidal soap, and a few drops of an essential oil.
Note to readers. In a recent changeover to an upgraded computer system, emails stored in the old program were lost. There were some garden events and gardening questions among them. Please re-send any recently sent notes to the address below. And note that there is no “t” in the middle of Chesnut.
GARDEN EVENTS
Seedy on Denman. Denman Island Seedy Saturday will take place on Jan. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Denman Island Community Hall. There will be an exchange of home-grown, saved seeds as well as seed sales, a talk on the sustainability of pulses, a discussion on growing with limited water, and a café.
Mixing it Up 2025. The Victoria Master Gardener Association is celebrating the concept of making home gardens champions of biodiversity in its biennial Mixing it Up Conference on Saturday, February 1, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. The theme is “Beyond Beauty.” The conference will include five speakers who will share how adding biodiversity creates healthy and beautiful gardens. For more information on the talks and the speakers, and to register, please go to or . This event will include garden vendors and a silent auction. It is designed to open opportunities for creating greener, more sustainable spaces, big or small, that improve resilience to a changing climate.
