In winter months, prepare for spring
by David Womack
The Gayly Gardener
As the winter months seem to linger on, you may be asking yourself what gardening tasks you could do now to prepare for spring. So, I put together some tasks, projects and ideas to share with all of you.
Here’s a good project to consider, clean and organize the shed. Ugh! No matter when you need that one tool, you dread searching, moving stuff or dare to climb over that broken mower sitting there for like, five years now. It’s time.
Remember, one gardener’s junk is another’s treasure. Save broken wooden handles and use to stake tall, lanky plants in next year’s garden.
For décor anywhere in the yard, put a cute little birdhouse on one end and stick the shovel end in the flowerbed somewhere.
You can use implement heads which are no longer useable as hangers for the yard.
Maybe that old bike the kids grew up riding would be a good item to decorate in your flower bed.
The leaves have fallen from trees allowing you to see up into the canopy of the tree. You can better remove any unwanted branches and even raise the lower ones too.
As you wonder about your ever-so changing yard and garden area, are you asking yourself questions about where you could improve?
Does your flowerbed seem like there is overcrowding? Should “all that” to be growing next to the house? Hmmm, is that a plant or weed?
These questions might be some indication that you’re in need of adjustments to the landscape.
Some areas need enlargement to compensate for seasonal growth, while others could be redefined giving growing space for the upcoming seasons.
After the first hard freeze, you can transplant or move a plant just a couple of feet during winter months. It takes a hard freeze to trigger plants into dormancy.
Remember; not a frost, but a hard freeze where the temperatures dip below 32 degrees F. for a period of at least a few hours. Once that happens, the plants go to sleep for the winter and rest.
Planting a few young trees is another nice addition to your landscape and lawn area. Staking might need to be done to support the crown during the first year of growth. Also adding tree food sticks is helpful.
The winter is a good time to plan those ideas dancing in your head.
Glance through magazines, visit a gardening store or arboretum or check out ideas on YouTube.
These creative ideas can be a great project to plan and begin over the next few months or early spring.
The Gayly. February 20, 2018. 9:45 a.m. CST.