January 9, when we had more than 10 inches of snow in our garden.
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Yes, it’s January, but there is still plenty to do in the garden. When we get a fairly nice day, like today, you might feel the itch to get outside and get gardening again. Even when the weather isn’t fine, there are still preps for the season ahead that can be done indoors, while the pace remains decidedly unhurried.
The most important winter gardening work can be accomplished from an armchair: planning ahead. Every year we tweak and revise; opening new ground, moving plants, refining the design. This is a good time of year to photograph every part of the garden with an eye to its bones. Study those photos for inspiration and instruction. Look with fresh eyes to see new possibilities in your familiar turf.
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I also spend quite a bit of time studying plant catalogs as they come in. I read about newly introduced cultivars of familiar plants. I consider what perennials or shrubs I might want to add, and plan designs for our pots and baskets.
I try to keep notes and drawings from these winter musings. Ideally, a binder proves helpful over time to track the evolution of one’s garden. Include photos, receipts, tags, a site plan and notes of what is planted, and when.
January through early March prove the best months for pruning woody plants here in Williamsburg. There is less shock when a tree is dormant, and spring growth, when it breaks, will prove more vigorous.
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Crepe Myrtles appreciate careful pruning each winter to thin and shape the tree.
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Some shrubs, like Beautyberry, Callipcarpa, respond well to very hard pruning. Cut these back by 30% or more and they will reward you with abundant growth and heavy fruiting the following year. I make the rounds of our Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus; Crepe Myrtle, Lagerstroemia; Buddleia, roses, fruit trees and small ornamental trees like Japanese Maples in winter when it is easiest to see their structure. All of these bloom on new wood.
Remove crossed or crowded branches. Thin and direct growth. Remove suckers growing straight up from a mostly horizontal branch, and cut back long branches to encourage bushier growth. Thinning, to allow sunlight and air to circulate through the plant both controls diseases before they can take hold, but also produces a stronger plant.
Wait to prune shrubs like Hydrangea and Lilac, which bloom on old wood, until after they bloom each summer. If you remove old Hydrangea blossoms before spring, carefully cut above the first dormant bud.
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Trim spent Hydrangea flowers carefully to avoid damaging the dormant buds of next spring’s growth. Any serious pruning can remove next season’s flowers.
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Remove any perennial stems still standing in the garden before new growth begins in early spring. Emerging growth, especially spring bulbs, looks neater after last year’s perennial remains have been cut and composted.
Some of us leave our Hibiscus, Rudbeckia, Lantana and other late flowering seed heads to feed the birds over winter. These will be mostly picked clean by early February and their time has passed. Remove old leaves from Hellebores as new ones emerge to rejuvenate the plant.
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Building the soil can be done year round. Adding organic matter, especially when working with heavy clay, brings the soil, and the garden, to life. Whether you keep a compost pile, add mulch, or simply sheet compost fallen and shredded leaves; do something each season to improve the soil in some part of the garden. We save our coffee grounds and spread them on beds or around shrubs every few weeks. Feeding the soil pays dividends much longer than does spreading any chemical fertilizer.
If you are starting a new planting area, consider building a raised bed with cardboard, brown paper, newspaper, or even fallen wood as a base. “Sheet compost” the area over the winter months by adding coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, shredded leaves, and fruit and vegetable trimmings as they come available. Keep adding layers of materials, topping the bed with straw or even bagged compost or topsoil from the garden center. There are many, many ways to do this.
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Earthworms, drawn to the organic matter on the soil, begin to work their way through the pile, speeding the process and enriching the ground with their castings.
Everything doesn’t have to be perfectly crumbled into humus before you plant in spring. If necessary, pile a few inches of bagged soil on top of your pile and plant directly into this finished soil, confident that the composting layers will break down in the weeks ahead.
This is a better way to begin a new bed than tilling or digging because it leaves the organisms already living in the soil intact. The roots of your newly planted garden will stretch and grow, loosening the soil as they expand. Earthworms and other soil dwelling creatures will also loosen its structure over time.
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Chipped up wood and leaves spread over a foundation of broken limbs will rot into good compost over time. We built this raised Hugelkulture bed in July of 2013, and it has been productive ever since.
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Winter is also a good time for building new garden structures. Whether you are adding walls, steps, raised beds, pergolas, paths or a patio, consider beginning in late winter before the trees leaf out. You can see the structure of things better, and your construction mess won’t detract from the beauty of your spring or summer garden.
Finally, begin planting for the coming season. Although autumn is the best time for planting new trees and perennials in our area so they can establish during the cool and wet winter months; we find our best selection at local garden centers in the spring. The selection of shrubs, fruiting vines, annuals, perennials trees and summer bulbs at local garden centers can feel dizzying by late March. Ride the crest of this wave, seeking out small perennial starts and bare root nursery stock in late February or March.
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Begonia Rex divisions started in late winter will grow into nice plants by May.
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Many garden centers will offer popular perennials in 2″-3″ pots at very low prices in early spring. These will establish and grow to full sized plants by summer. Planting early on will give your new plants a chance to establish and expand their root system before summer’s heat and drought.
If you’ve ordered bulbs, tubers, or bare root stock from catalogs, you can plant these up in nursery pots and keep them in a garage or basement for a few weeks until it is warm enough to set them out. For example, many tropical tubers, ordered in early spring, can be gotten at much lower prices than you’ll find for the leafed out plants in early summer. Order Caladiums, Colocasia, Canna, Alocasia, Dahlias and many other beautiful plants early for the best selection of cultivars. You can easily pot these up yourself in soil and have them ready to plant out when it warms enough for them in May.
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Caladium
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Seedling trees from mail order nurseries may also be potted up and allowed to grow in a protected area of your garden for the summer, and then planted into their permanent spot in the garden next autumn.
As our summers grow hotter each year, I’ve come to appreciate the winter months even more. A lot can be accomplished in relative comfort, without the distraction of biting insects or broiling sun, on warmish winter days. It feels good to get out of doors and work in the garden.
Whether you are cleaning up, building up, planting up, or pruning; enjoy the time you spend preparing for spring’s beauty to unfold.
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Woodland Gnome 2017
Forest Garden 