It's Time To Plan Ahead!

Things you can do now to make an impact in the Spring.

What better time to reassess your garden and plan ahead for the coming year than during the winter months. Since there is very little to do physically in the garden, it’s the perfect time to step back and take a look at what you like about the garden and what you might want to improve for next year.

As the majority of your days will be spent indoors this time of year, take advantage of this time spent looking out to see what views you might like to enhance, or which views you would like to obscure. The winter months are also a great time to explore different magazines and books to spark new ideas for the year ahead. It is also a great time of year to visit other gardens (i.e. parks and public gardens) to see what other options there are, and to keep from being cooped up all winter.

The winter months are a great time to look at the structure of your garden. While much of the herbaceous material is dormant below the ground, there are likely “gaps” or open spaces within the beds. These are the types of spaces you might consider adding some type of structure to, whether it is a small stone wall, a sculpture, or even a water feature. There may also be areas that you decide you want a more permanent presence such as a mass of evergreens or an evergreen specimen, verses a deciduous or herbaceous layer in the garden.

Another thing to look at this time of year is winter interest. Even though the majority of the garden is dormant, there are still many points of interest. Plant features such as exfoliating bark (Betula nigra River birch, and Lagerstromia indica Crape myrtle), colorful evergreens (Chaemacyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ Gold thread cypress) for yellow color or Picea pungens ‘Globosa’ Globe blue spruce for some blue), shrubs that retain their fruit (Ilex verticillata Winterberry holly, or even some of the early and late bloomers like witchhazels, camellias, and helleborus. These are all aspects of the garden that really shine, particularly this time of year, when there isn’t much else going on in the landscape.

Take time this winter to think about how you can enjoy the garden beyond plantings. A place to sit and enjoy the garden, friends, and family during those warm, relatively sunny days late in November or early in February may be something else to think about. Whether it is a simple fieldstone patio with a couple of boulders to sit on hidden in a secluded part of the garden, or perhaps a larger patio fully equipped with a pavilion and wood burning fireplace to allow you to be outside no matter what the temperature may be.

As you enjoy this holiday season keep in mind that just because the garden is at rest there is no reason we can’t be thinking of new and exciting ways to improve our surroundings. Also remember to think about different things you may want to change or improve in your garden in the months and years to come.

Plant-A-Plant