Seasonal Gardening - Working in the Winter Garden

In areas that experience freezing temperatures, winter mulching of the garden differs from mulching during the growing season. We mulch our gardens in the spring to suppress weeds, retain moisture and feed and warm the soil. While we may spread a layer of soil conditioning compost or manure in the fall, the primary reason for winter mulching is to protect our plants from the harsh conditions of winter freezes, thaws and winds. There are several ways to do this.

Once the ground has frozen, take some steps to protect your rose plants for the winter season.

The term 'Bones of the Garden' can be difficult to understand, let alone accomplish. Bones refers to using something architectural to define the structure of a garden. Most often we see it in large-scale estate or public gardens, but it is doable in more humble gardens too. One of the best tools for adding bones to your garden design is dwarf conifers. Structural, eye catching, easy to grow and diverse, dwarf conifers show a garden means business. Here are some of the best.

Ornamental grasses accent a garden any time of year, but they might just be at their most imposing in the doldrums of winter. Ornamental grasses provide structure, texture and drama to the gardenscape. Here are 10 of the best ornamental grass and grass-like plants for winter interest. Several are North American natives and all of them are very easy to grow. Many even do double duty by attracting birds to your winter garden, by providing shelter and food.

Winterberry Holly, or Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is our native, wetland holly that loses it leaves each autumn. This beautiful shrub is all the more showy because its lack of winter leaves makes its berry display all the more showy. After the leaves have turned yellow and have fallen off, you are left with a breathtaking view of thousands of brightly colored berries clinging to every stem. What a joy to have such color in the middle of winter.

Keep the taste of summer by growing herb plants on your kitchen windowsill.

Cold weather used to mean moving all your delicate flower pots and garden ornaments into the garage for safe keeping. Why just store your garden accessories and have them take up space when you could put them to good use indoors. Here are some creative ideas for using garden items indoors during the winter.

Spend some time looking at your garden site during the off season, when you can really view it objectively. Here are tips for designing a garden for the way you live.

It’s easy to over winter geraniums, either as plants or dormant. Zonal geraniums are only hardy to USDA Zone 8. Gardeners in other areas basically have 4 choices of how to store their geraniums for winter: let them die off as annuals, bring them indoors as houseplants, take cuttings and make more plants or store the geraniums dormant until...

Most amaryllis will go dormant naturally and re-bloom sometime during winter. However, many people prefer to force their amaryllis into bloom for the holiday season. Many ‘prepared’ bulbs are sold in the fall, ready to pot up and have in time for Christmas. Here are directions for forcing your Amaryllis for holiday display, as well as general care for your amaryllis plant.

Forcing spring bloomers is an easy task. The hardest part is probably getting yourself outside in the cold, snowy weather. Some traditional trees and shrubs to try include: crab apple, flowering quince, forsythia, magnolia, pussy willow, witch hazel, and fruit trees such as cherries, pears and apples. Here are some simple steps to success in forcing spring flowering trees & shrubs.

In the warmer zones, December is the start of pleasant weather and a chance to enjoy planting cool season vegetables and flowers that don’t tolerate your summers. Northern gardeners should use this period without leaves to scout for egg masses and other signs of trouble on trees and shrubs. Here are some more regional gardening tips for the...

January in the garden often means gardening vicariously through garden catalogs. For many gardeners, the only winter garden chore is dormant pruning. Whether you're staying warm indoors and dreaming about gardening or you're outside getting things in order, here are a few more regional gardening tips to help you get through winter.

February may well be the toughest gardening month. Gardeners in warm climates don't know what kind of weather to expect from day to day or from day to night. Gardeners in cold climates just want to see the sun again. February in the garden is for planning and pruning and for seeing the first signs that spring is around the corner. Here are...