Every year in late December scores of visitors make their way to Stonehenge, the ancient earth and stone monument near Salisbury, England, to celebrate the winter solstice. The enormous stones are arranged on a solstitial axis, meaning that at the winter solstice, the sun sets directly over the stones at one end of the axis. When the Summer solstice rolls around, the sunrise aligns perfectly with the stones at the other end of the axis. Many people feel uniquely compelled to witness these phenomena.
The winter observance at Stonehenge is in keeping with the tradition of staging December gatherings and festivals to invoke, mark or celebrate the light’s return. Early solstice festivities included elements still familiar today: slaughtering and eating cattle and other beasts, which simultaneously fueled revelers while eliminating the need to feed the animals during the lean winter months; drinking beverages fermented from fall-harvested grains and fruits and lighting fires to fight back the darkness–literally and figuratively. Our light-filled homes, Yule logs and groaning festal tables are all remnants of those celebrations.
Gardeners feel the solstice in their bones, especially as the old year wanes and the New Year waxes. The thought of the beginning of the annual growing cycle makes hope rise like sap. Those who keep track of sunrises and sunsets have empirical evidence of the increase in daily sunlight. The rest of us simply know it intuitively. Plant and seed catalogs, which began arriving in December, now cascade into the mailbox.
I feel a great urge to celebrate the return of the light, but, of course, the outdoor plants—cautious creatures that they are–will not awaken from their seasonal slumbers for another couple of months. To mark time and the solstice, I have come up with some necessary tasks, which, if you approach them in the right way, can also be small celebrations of the change of season.
Weeding Catalogs: Unless you have strategically positioned ceiling leaks, catalogs left in a pile do not turn into compost, even if the pile is turned regularly. Now that the new catalogs are coming, it is time to weed out most of the old ones. If I were a Druid, I would probably make a bonfire of them and perform some kind of solstice ritual. As it is, I’ll keep a few of the really good, authoritative catalogs for reference. The rest will be committed to the recycling bucket with minimal ceremony.
Getting Potted: Of course, the best way to ensure a great spring display is to plant all your spring-flowering bulbs in the fall. Excuses are a sign of weakness, so I won’t make any. Suffice it to say that I did not get all the bulbs in the ground last fall. In the interest of celebrating the solstice, bringing back the light and not wasting expensive bulbs, I am in the process of potting up the unplanted stragglers. They will bloom in the spring, albeit a bit later than their in-ground relatives.
Garden Books: Despite the fact that most of the information I will ever need—and plenty that I will never want—can be found on the Internet, I love my gardening books. Some are old, some are new and many are irreplaceable. Given the high value I place on them, they should be better arranged and more easily accessible. By reorganizing I will get better acquainted with some books that I haven’t used or seen for awhile. This organizational effort will not hasten the return of the light outside, but it might help with inner enlightenment.
Retooling: All the gardening “how to” books and articles tell you to clean, oil and store your tools during the cold winter months. This is excellent advice, which is followed religiously by about 2 percent of the gardeners that I know. I generally clean and oil tools as needed. However, in the interest of solstice-themed garden activity, I will at least organize my garden basket and equipment to get everything ready for the thawing of soil and return of light in spring. My favorite Felco clippers definitely need cleaning, sharpening and oiling, which I will do. I use them right through the winter, so the task is especially timely.
Houseplant Grooming: It isn’t apparent yet, but the houseplants have felt the effects of the solstice. To make life easier for them, I will do some radical grooming, getting rid of dead stems, taking cuttings from desirable plants and generally tidying up. A plant that has been appropriately pruned, groomed and cared for will respond dramatically when light truly returns. Besides, there is nothing more depressing in February than a shelf full of dead and dying plants.
Weather Breaks: The best way to celebrate the advances in daylight is to get outdoors when Nature allows it. Balmy winter days are the grace notes in winter’s melody. I guarantee that every garden is home to a few spots that evaded fall clean-up. Even ten minutes outside on a warm winter day can work wonders for the garden and the gardener. I did this the other day when the temperature hit 50 degrees and felt so exhilarated that I undertook the laborious job of sharpening my loppers. Miracles happen when you get close to the soil.