November is when the garden takes its makeup off, and I think it's the most honest month of the year.
The flowers are gone. What's left is structure — the architecture of branches, the sculpture of seed heads, the pale skeletons of grasses catching low light. Most people look away.
This is the month that tests your garden's bones. If it still holds your eye with nothing blooming, the design is doing its job. Plant for November, not just for May — the ugly season is only ugly if you didn't plan for it.
For me, this is where I plan for more shrubs with evergreen character and variegation. Winter berries and characteristics that help the garden to look attractive in the cold season.
