A Final Fall Cleanup in Cabbagetown
Better late than never: that's my attitude with getting my autumn work completed before a big snowfall occurs and in posting these garden cleanup examples. This will be my last one this year, I promise!
I have quite a few clients in the downtown neighbourhood of Cabbagetown, The size and location of these gardens fit well with my capabilities (one person company who travels by public transit). The properties tend to be small and I often consider the gardens like jewel boxes: tiny but filled with glittering objects. Many mature trees line the streets and laneways and make growing a lawn on a postage stamp-sized front or back area impractical in most situations. The emphasis, then, is on hardscape and specimen trees and perennials.
The front and back yards shown in this post will show, again, "no lawn" gardens typical in Cabbagetown.
I'll start in the front first:
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Front Yard Before |
Nothing complex with the front cleanup: just raking out the large amount of maple leaves which have been collecting since October in this very small Cabbagetown front garden.
There's no real "right" or "wrong" answer with not removing leaves from your garden beds every autumn. If you're lazy, busy or prefer to give your perennials and overwintering insects (pests or not) a cozy home with a nice thick layer of natural insulation, it's o.k. that you don't bother raking the leaves. I think it's also fine if you prefer to remove them in the fall as you may consider the look messy. Since winter here in Toronto lasts into April, that's a long time to see an "untidy" area for many homeowners and certainly for those clients who have hired me in the fall.
Given the amount of property taxes one pays for a Toronto now, you should be able to decide about your leaves one way or another without public shaming or moral judgments.
They're just tree leaves!
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Front Yard After |
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| Cabbagetown Front Yard Fall Cleanup Before |
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| Cabbagetown Front Yard Fall Cleanup After |
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| Cabbagetown Front Yard Fall Cleanup Before |
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| Cabbagetown Front Yard Fall Cleanup After |
In the backyard...
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| Cabbagetown Backyard Fall Cleanup Before |
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| Cabbagetown Backyard Fall Cleanup After |
I cut down the herbaceous perennial stalks and leaves from the peonies, hostas and phlox. I also left alone the "evergreen" coral bells (Heuchera), a woody Tree Peony and, of course, the various boxwood beach balls. The latter, I admit, do provide winter interest as the snow collecting on them will make them green and white beach balls!
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| Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
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| Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
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| Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard Before |
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| Toronto Cabbagetown Fall Cleanup Backyard After |
That's it for the fall cleanups this year. I'll start posting blog entries which will show flowers, lush foliage and vibrant colour as several seasonal indoor flower shows are/will be occurring soon at a nearby Conservatory.
You've put up with seeing nasty brown bits of dead and dying vegetation in this blog recently so it's the least I can do!
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