Prescott Garden Keeping - November Edition

It’s starting to feel like Autumn, and there’s something so magical about this time of year. November brings shorter days, a touch of frost, and—if we’re lucky—more of that crisp, sunny fall weather we love. 🍁✨


Here in the high country, autumn lingers well into December, painting the garden in warm yellows and oranges. It’s a quieter time in the garden—less watering, fewer chores—a chance to slow down and soak in the beauty of the season.


As I wander through the garden, I find myself dreaming of what could be next: a better spot for that one plant, new additions I’ve been imagining, or ways to make things even more delightful next season. Lately, I’ve started jotting down these little ideas in my garden journal—a cozy ritual for these cooler days. When winter truly settles in, and I’m curled up indoors with a cup of tea, these notes will guide me as I plan for what’s ahead.


For now, it’s still prime Porch Sittin’ season. There’s nothing quite like wrapping up in a wool blanket and savoring the crisp air while the world begins its gentle shift toward winter. 🪑🍂💛

I've got your November Checklist here for you - give it a look and see if there's a few good reminders or new tasks to add to your routine.  Keep reading...

We don't do garden maintenance at The Whiskey Porch, but I wanted to put together a series of garden keeping checklists to help keep you on track.  Whether you are going to do it all yourself, or bring in a maintenance crew to do much of it for you, these monthly guides should be useful to you if you live in and around Prescott, AZ.

All of these checklists are very specific to the micro-climate that I am in here in downtown Prescott.  So, there will be slight variations for you depending on your specific location, as well as what you grow.  Generally speaking, these lists will relate to USDA Zone 7b.  

Each year can bring a slightly different cycle to the seasons.  And occasionally, of course, we have wild years with entirely unexpected weather patterns.  Sometimes we have our first hard freeze in late October, but most often not until early December.  Keep this in mind when planning your monthly tasks.

These checklists apply generally to a landscape garden which includes primarily perennials, as well as veggies and herbs.  

​Let's get to it.

​PLANTS & PLANTING  🌱

• Continue planting new shrubs, trees, perennials and spring flowering bulbs.  This is the PERFECT time.
• Plant those winter hardy bloomers early in the month - pansy, viola, snapdragons
• Cool season veggie transplants can go in (spinach, radish, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuces, garlic, etc).

​WATER  💦 

Typically I don't power down and disconnect my drip system until mid-December.  But what I will do, is

• Change the start time for the watering schedule to later in the day (in case there's freezing temps, and this way the lines have a chance to thaw before running). 
• Turn down my water "Budget" option to somewhere south of 50 or 60%.  It really depends on the year, and if we are having a late, warm autumn trend or have settled into more winter temps.  It's not unusual for us to have some fairly warm and dry spells in late autumn, so having the drip still running gives me the option to tweak the Budget setting as needed.

​CRITTERS 🦌

• Not too much in the critter department this time of year.  Check your bird seed and suet blocks regularly - and don't forget fresh water.
  
• This is the time of year you may find mice or chipmunks trying to get access to a basement or garage to nest.  We try to keep them away from the house and make sure they don't have access to bird feeders or water - to at least deter them somewhat.  Traps are always an option if you start to see the population increasing.

​MAINTENANCE  ✂️

• Late November is a good time to drain and cover water features and fountains.  I typically wait to clean them until the spring when we power them back up.  They are bound to get messy and dirty over the winter and I don't see any reason to the task twice!
• If you haven't already done your autumn fertilization, now is your last chance.  See the October Post for more details.
• Great time to prune your deciduous trees (but skip the fruit trees!).
• Night time temps are likely in the 20's to 30's mostly, although the daytime temps can vary pretty widely.  If you want to extend your growing season in the kitchen and herb garden, continue to provide frost protection.
• In those areas where I'm not providing frost protection, I pull all the annuals  now.
• As the leaves begin to fall - collect them and use them to mulch garden beds.  Why pay for mulch in the spring if you already have healthy material to use.
• Any planters that are not frost hardy should be emptied and cleaned and stored to avoid winter damage.  I avoid those types of planters entirely because I really don't want to add this task to my already long list.

​OTHER - PLANNING  📝

• Begin ordering seed catalogs that don't automatically come to you - so that you have them on hand and ready to roll in January when you are want to order seeds for the season.
• Keep adding those ideas to your garden journal to refer to when you get into planning mode for next season.

​GARDEN KEEPING JOURNAL ☑️

You'll find all the other monthly checklists with tips and suggestions here:

All The Monthly Checklists

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need some support to get your garden plan going?

We specialize in exceptional, custom design services for Prescott homeowners - architectural and landscape design.  Are you wanting to refine and area or do a complete landscape overhaul?  Give us a call.  

​Learn more about our services here:

Design & Consult Services

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looking for more inspiration?

You can find lots more good stuff and inspiration on our Garden Resources page if you just can't get enough of the garden now.

More Resources

I’ve been absolutely loving all the wonderful feedback from local gardeners and followers—thank you so much! Hearing from you truly brightens my day, so please, keep it coming! 🌟💬


If you have ideas, suggestions, or questions, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below or head over to the Contact Page to send me a note. I’d love to hear from you!


I hope you’re taking time to savor the results of all your hard work this season. And if things didn’t quite go as planned, don’t worry—every gardener has been there! The great thing about gardening is there’s always next season, and the fun of planning for that starts right now. 🌱✨

Let’s make the next one even better together!

Peace and contentment,
~Miriam