I think I surprise people that I garden just about as much in the winter as I do in the summer. The only thing that stops me is the darkness. There is always so much to do in the winter garden from cleaning and picking up sticks to burn them in the fire pit, to pruning down herbaceous plants to planting bulbs and mulching, mulching and more mulching.
Winter is a great time of cleaning the garden and preparing for the spring days to come when you never have enough time. Not to mention I also use the dark cold evenings perusing plant catalogs online and dreaming of the spring and summer yet to come. Winter is a marvelous time to harvest compost made of the rich vegetables and plantings of spring summer and early fall. I spread my compost over my vegetable garden and roses along with incorporating cow manure sand and limestone into new beds by plowing them. Now is also the best time to plant bare rooted roses, preparing them for the spring and summer to come. I also like to capitalize on the inexpensive bulbs being offered by bulb catalogs for fall planted bulbs. As long as the soil remains workable and temperatures are still cold you can still plant bulbs that will bloom in the spring. I also make sure to apply post emergent and pre-emergent herbicide to my grass during this time of year.
Winter is also a wonderful time to work on hard scapes like steppingstones, paths, drainage issues and build structures for your garden. Use this time of rest in the garden and your yard to prepare for the wonder that is to come. Just because it’s cold and few things are growing doesn’t mean that you cannot get outside and enjoy your garden. For counseling on preparing your yard and home to be sold, call David Locke, REALTOR® at Locke and Key Associates at KW today.
