A St. Clair West Village, Toronto Fall Cleanup (in the Snow)

Raking Leaves, Raking Ice 

Working outside in Toronto in late November as a gardener has few charms. It's cold and often wet but thank heavens it doesn't usually snow. But when it does snow, doing a fall garden cleanup (or more accurately an early winter garden cleanup) is a true test of endurance. 

Another week of this nonsense of working in sub-zero temperatures and I'm done for the work season! But first I'll show you some pictures of my latest fall garden cleanup in the St. Clair West Village area of Toronto.

My client Shirine's backyard is composed of all rectangles: the deck, the paths and garden beds. From a garden design viewpoint, it's a very efficient way of maximizing the use of a narrow and long area.

Toronto St. Clair West Village Fall
Backyard Cleanup Before

Toronto St. Clair West Village
Fall Backyard Cleanup After 

St. Clair West Village Fall
Backyard Cleanup Before 

I left the "P.G." Hydrangea 
(Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora') 
standard alone for the winter and 
will prune the spent brown panicles 
(flowers) next spring.

Ooops, I forgot to shut the shed door

Not much I could do with the ice 

Several clumps of wilted "Jack Frost"
Siberian Bugloss which, ironically,
didn't respond well to Jack Frost visiting
Toronto. I'll cut these down...

and leave the "Ice Dance" Sedge
(Carex) and Sweet Woodruff alone

Flash frozen hostas

St. Clair West Village
Toronto Fall Cleanup After 

The front has two garden beds which seem to collect all the Linden tree leaves coming from the left side and face the prevailing north/north-west wind. The perennial lavender could use a light trim next spring but it's a low maintenance affair at curbside.

St. Clair West Village Toronto
Front Yard Fall Cleanup Before 

St. Clair West Village Toronto
Front Yard Fall Cleanup After 

Toronto St. Clair West Village
Front Yard Fall Cleanup Before

Toronto St. Clair West Village
Front Yard Fall Cleanup After