If you are a gardener in any season, then you are also a gardener in winter. But what is there to do in the winter?
You may have already put away your tools for the season, but be sure you’ve taken care that any gasoline is either removed or treated for a few months’ rest. Check your other equipment for rust and loose bolts, and clean and sharpen as needed.
Winter is the perfect time to look at the frame of your deciduous trees and shrubs. Now you can more clearly see any portion of the form that isn’t exactly to your liking, somehow in the way of other elements of your home or landscape, or some storm damage that previously escaped your notice.
One tree species that is very popular locally, the crape myrtle, is best pruned during the winter months. For more information, see my most recent blog post where I provided the pointers you’ll need to do the job properly.
When you’re out walking your dog, you’ll probably be looking for emerging leaves and buds to announce the arrival of spring. As the weather fluctuates from warm to cold and back again, you might wish your early spring bulbs and flowers had a calendar instead of just a thermometer to go by!
One of the things I enjoy in winter is seeing the birds consuming seeds left from my summer perennial garden. Fall cleanup means clearing leaves, but a small amount of debris left in the perennial garden, complete with any remaining stalks, offers feeding opportunities for winter birds, both with seeds and also foraging through leaf litter.
You’ll probably also be taking time to look through all those catalogs that arrive during the cold months or visiting plant shows and expos in your area. If you don’t have a map of the landscaping on your property, this might be a good time to start one. Even if it’s not fully to scale, you can look for spaces that need attention or a plant that’s not happy in its present home and might perform better if relocated. This is also an excellent place to record names of varieties you’ve chosen, date planted, and the receipt if there’s a warranty on your purchase. Keep this paperwork handy as you garden through the year to add other plant material or make notes. If you’re like me, there are more plants there than you remember!
We’re gardening in the winter here at Busch Gardens, too. Our landscape team is busy removing leaves from the hundreds of trees we have on property, pruning crape myrtles, hydrangea, and roses, and planning for the coming seasons. We’re also caring for the annuals and bulbs that our guests will enjoy once we open in March. We hope you’ll make good use of your winter gardening time, too!