Winter Gardening To Do List
Winter is a nice break from the busy garden season. From Spring to Fall I almost always feel overwhelmed with the garden tasks that need to be completed. In winter there is hope for another more organized year of gardening. I always imagine the following season to be remarkably fruitful with little effort on my part. Haha! It must be the cold temps affecting my brain. Here are some things that you can do in the winter to help the following year whether or not you are one of those gardeners who always feels behind.
Get Inspired
When I have a project that I know I would like to work on in the coming year I like to check out gardening boards on Pinterest and Houzz for design inspiration. I also peruse plant catalogs. I’m not a fan of buying plants from catalogs because the plants come small, are not grown locally and are pricey. But I like to look at the pictures! Take a garden tour, go to Longwood Gardens or Cylburn Arboretum. Get ideas from magazines. Do what ever fuels your creative fire and make a board of your own on Pinterest or simply create a file with photos that capture the feeling you are looking for in your new project.
Get Organized
Make a List
I LOVE lists. They help me get all the passions, thoughts, ideas, etc etc out of my head. I write down everything that I’ve been hoping to get done in the gardens. Everything! Get it all out of your brain- needs, wishes and long term dreams. After the initial write down I then go to a computer and put my list in. I prefer google calendar task lists. I have used Excel, Word, Notes and Reminders (the latter two on iphone and ipad). Since I am a preofessional list maker I toyed with lots of systems until honing in on google tasks. I can add things to my list using Google Tasks from my phone through the Go Tasks app for when I am not by the computer. I can also click and drag tasks up and down on the list in order of priority. You can add notes for each task, due dates, reminders and even move tasks between multiple lists. Very handy. The overall point is- an ounce time spent on organization is worth a pound of time spent weeding in July or looking at way overgrown shrubs all season. Never underestimate the power of a list for mind clearing, focusing, prioritizing, crossing off and just plain letting go. Pick your top 5 most important tasks for the season and plan how and when you will do them.
Clean the shed
Clean out your staging area for gardening- shed, basement, closet. Where ever you keep your tools, supplies, seeds, etc. Review what you have, get rid of the old, make repairs on tools, check your fertilizers and nutrients to see what you have. Think through what tools/supplies you could have used to help make things a lot easier for your garden tasks. Get everything organized and ready for spring. Because when it comes it comes fast! Look at the projects you plan to do this year. For those high on the list of priorities purchase and gather everything you need for the project now so all you have to do in season is make it happen.
3. Get Outside
Winter is a great time for pruning. Get to those big overgrown shrubs and do some pruning back. You’ll be really happy you did come spring-fall. Here is some basic info on pruning:
http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/prime-time-pruning
Take note of some open spaces in your garden and if you need some winter interest to enjoy next winter. Some of my favorite things to look at in the winter are Winterberry holly or American holly, hydrangeas with dead flowers still intact, nandina berries (these are invasive so enjoy them in your neighbors yard) and pansies peaking out of the container gardens. You can also make note of other seasons that need more representation in your garden and plan accordingly now!
Winter is also a good time to start weed prevention! You can pile your unraked leaves, or even better your chopped and partially composted leaves, into your garden beds and leave them until your perennials are up. You can even mulch beds in the winter to prevent early spring weeds. Other tasks include cutting back perennials that you haven’t cut back yet and deadheading your pansies.
If you have a hardscaping project in mind like building a pond, walkway, fountain, garden wall or patio winter (the milder weeks) are a good time to complete these projects.
Happy winter gardening and garden planning! Please don’t hesitate to ask us any questions!