Perhaps
what moves us in winter
is some reminiscence of
a far off summer.
-Henry David Thoreau
Now that our garden's have all been tucked in and put to bed for the winter it is time to relax a little and enjoy the stark beauty of a winter's landscape.
I for one love the look of winter. The trees exposed in all their glory, showing us their true shape. Each one bare, you get to see each twist and turn of the branches and the trees true character.
I also love that all the birds nests which are usually tucked away from sight, hidden among the leaves, are now exposed for all to see. I am always amazed at the size of some of them, so tiny and intricate.
And then there are the squirrels nests, mounds of leaves formed to provide warmth on cold winter days and a place to put their winter stash. They aren't to afraid of the cold and it is only on very cold days that they tuck themselves away. I am always amused by the way they scurry up and down the trees jumping from one to the next. It's like a jungle gym for squirrels.
Hopefully, you had the chance to cut back your perennial's, cover-up any delicate plants and plant your spring bulb's. I for one did not get around to planting any spring bulbs. I had good intentions but delayed it to long. I will just have to plant extra next year. I always try to put at least a couple of dozen in each year so that I always have a lovely spring display. Bulbs get old or get replanted by some meaningful squirrels ( or so I like to think) So, if you add some every year, you will always have something blooming for you in the spring.
I did manage to cut back all of my plants and put cones around my roses and more delicate plants. I know some people like to leave their clean-up until spring but for me I like to do it in the fall. One of the reasons is that I find, especially in the past few years, the plants are coming up early and if you have left clean up for spring they tend to get lost among the old garden waste. Also, there is always a lot to do in the garden in spring so why add to it. Having taken care of it in the fall you can get right to things without having to clean up first. I'm all about the easy, plus I don't really like old wet soggy leaves.
So now that you have all that work out of the way you can use these cold winter months to sit back and start planning your garden for next year. It's a great time to flip through gardening magazines and books and think of the things that did or did not work for you last year. Keep a note book and that way you won't forget what you would like to add or change. I like to keep a garden journal, I actually have a couple, with pictures and notes. It makes life easier and helps you remember what everything looked like thus making it easier to know what needs to be changed. If you find pictures in magazines of a garden, garden accessory or plant you like, cut it out and put it in your journal. Write down names of plants, seeds etc of things you want to have a look at, try or find out more about.
I have been looking at a few food blogs and have decided I would like to try and add a few more vegetables to my garden. This will take a bit of juggling of plants but I have time now to figure out what I have to do to make it work. One of the blogs I was looking at is called 'dishing the dirt' and another is 'white on rice' both great blogs and worth checking out.
So use your free time from the garden to plan ahead. Enjoy the winter landscape, take a walk and see what plants other people have that are adding winter interest to their yards. Take time to relax and enjoy the break and dream of summer days to come.
Happy Gardening!
