If
your lawn is frozen, avoid walking over the same areas or you
may find bald spots in the spring. A frozen lawn is not impervious
to damage.
If heavy snow accumulates on
your shrubs, brush it from the limbs with gentle upward sweeping
motions.
If there is not too much snow,
remove blown-in leaves and other debris from your yard and around
your shrubs, especially roses and rhododendrons. This should
help reduce unwanted pests and diseases when spring arrives.
If the temperature gets above
freezing, pull out a hose and give evergreen shrubs and trees
a good soaking to help alleviate the symptoms of winter burn,
especially on rhododendrons.
Start planning your yard and garden
projects for the upcoming year. Use the winter landscape as a
blank slate and make plans to revitalize your yard and garden.
If your foundation plants are
getting old and overgrown consider replacing them with some newer
varieties or with native
plants. Junipers and arborvitaes are the evergreen standbys
but also look into barberry, boxwood winter creeper, Oregon grape,
hardy hollies, rhododendrons, red twig dogwood, and Otto Luyken laurel.
These take some pruning but the novelty is worth it. Keep each plant's
fertilizer and water needs in mind as you plan.
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Perennial
flowers give continuous color and texture to gardens and
yards. Plan for bloom time and color,
height, spread, and sunny or shaded areas. Try to select perennials
that have an extended bloom time. It is a good idea to place
early blooming flowers close to the house. Viewing will most
likely be done through a window. Later blooming plants can
be placed farther out in the landscape where a stroll through
the yard will show them to their best advantage.
Now is a good time to plan your
vegetable and annual gardens. Consider building raised
beds for easier maintenance and less water use. Vegetables and annual
flowers need to be planted on a schedule. Consult seed
catalogs, gardening books and Extension publications for seeding
and transplanting schedules.
Check into gardening clubs, plant
societies or other organizations for gardeners. Meeting other
gardeners and exchanging ideas is always fun, particularly in
the non-gardening months.
Keep a sharp lookout for trouble
on your indoor plants. When they are in a confined area, the
trouble will be intensified. Dust the leaves of house plants with
a damp, clean, soft cloth. Don’t use leaf shines, which may
clog the leaf pores. Water sparingly during the winter and don't
fertilize.
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