Yesterday we gave you some basics on putting your garden away for the winter. There is a lot to do in getting a yard ready for the long fall and winter months. That doesn’t mean that gardening is over. There are a lot of things gardeners can do to keep on gardening in the winter months. Take an inventory of the gardening tools and making sure they are clean, sharpened where need be, and properly stored. Clean and fertilize your indoor plants.
In addition to a time for celebrating the holidays, the winter solstice offers another celebration opportunity occurring on December 21. It is the shortest day of the year. Bringing flowers in doors is just one of the things to do to check the drabness outdoors that occurs when snow is on the ground.
Add some appeal to your winter landscape by making your home merry and bright by hanging welcoming holiday lights. Put small trees in planters outside of your front door.
Buy bulbs and start amaryllis and narcissus to make a big splash of holiday color with the red, shades of red-pink of the amaryllis and the white of the narcissus. Buy red poinsettias, bring in evergreen boughs, and sprigs of holly to make the house fragrant and add color. Hang some mistletoe for excitement. You can use all of these or a combination to make grow or create gifts for others.
Maintain and repair all your tools and your mowers. If you haven’t done it yet ,tune up the mower by changing the oil and sharpening the blades. Clean all the tools with rubbing alcohol and store them. Disconnect hoses and drain water out of them before putting them away for the winter. Clean up the gardening area by putting away all fertilizers, pesticides etc and placing them out of children’s reach. Cover the compost pile and turn it over until it freezes.
And now sit back and dream of your garden bursting forth with life again come spring. Now is the time to take out those garden catalogs and make notes for landscaping changes next year. If we can help, give us a call.
