November Garden Tour 2026 | Still Blooming & Full of Fall Color!
In a mild November, leave selected plants for winter interest, finish cleanup in short sessions, and move frost-sensitive or misplaced plants as needed.
- Keep sedum, hydrangeas, coral bells, and selected seed heads for winter interest; cut back plants such as daylilies and annuals as appropriate.
- Work through cleanup in 10-minute daily sessions, and disconnect and store hoses before winter.
- Plan spring moves for plants lacking enough sun, and use suitable garden debris such as pine needles as mulch.
It is primarily a seasonal garden tour; the notes capture its practical cleanup and planting plans. · Best for: Home gardeners planning fall cleanup and winter preparation in a cold climate.
Michelle tours her northern Illinois garden during an unusually mild November, pointing out plants still blooming and fall color, reviewing completed cleanup, and listing remaining chores and spring plans.
Late-season blooms and fall color0:04
- The garden had not yet had frost; flowers including daisies, zinnias, gaillardias, salvia, and irises were still blooming or budding.
- Ginkgo, serviceberry, hydrangea, and other trees and shrubs showed fall color.
- She plans to leave sedum and hydrangeas standing for winter.
Passageway and cottage beds5:59
- She praises blue ground-cover veronica, blue rug junipers, dusty miller, silver sage, and bidens, and plans to grow some again.
- Oakleaf hydrangea ‘Ruby Slippers’ recovered after being cut to the ground; she likes its burgundy fall color.
- Cleanup remains in the cottage garden, including daylilies and peonies; she plans to leave echinacea seed heads.
Completed cleanup and driveway bed12:26
- The eco garden and driveway bed are cleaned up; pots and some containers still need to be put away or replanted.
- She leaves coral bells, hydrangeas, and shrubs in the driveway bed, while cutting back daylilies, alliums, sedum, and liatris.
- She plans to plant perennials from pots in the landscape and try to overwinter rosemary in the garage.
Remaining beds and new tree15:09
- She has transplanted hostas, planted boxwoods, and mulched one area; other cleanup and hose storage remain.
- She planted a Canadian hemlock in a sheltered spot and describes it as a future screen; she plans to assess a declining maple next year.
- In a shady bed, she plans to move two hydrangeas and a weeping white spruce in spring because they need more sun.
Final chores and winter interest21:45
- Berry White hydrangeas and the cut flower garden are set for winter; the hydrangeas will be pruned in spring.
- She plans to remove the impatiens and cut back a few hostas, while leaving selected plants standing for winter interest.
- Disconnect garden hoses before winter.
Step by step
- Work through fall cleanup in manageable 10-minute sessions.
- Cut back selected plants, but leave chosen winter-interest plants such as sedum, hydrangeas, and coral bells.
- Move suitable perennials from containers into the garden before winter.
- Disconnect and store hoses; put away cleaned pots and containers.
- Mark plants that need different light conditions for spring transplanting.
Notes are AI-generated from the video's transcript and may miss nuance.