I don’t know about you, but for me as soon as we pass the Winter Solstice I start getting more and more excited about the gardening season knowing that with each passing day there is a little more day light and a little less night time.

I first penned this piece in 2001 and 13 years later it still feels relevant.  It’s encouraging to know that the true attributes of a “real gardener” haven’t changed.  Enjoy! 

Now that the snow and ice have melted and it is safe to go back into our gardens there are several things we can do to make us feel better.

Yup, that’s twice now in less than 30 days that we have plunged into the low 20’s and even high teens for 5 days or more and I suspect that most of us were not prepared for it.

Here's a short list of the things I am thankful for (horticulturally speaking). 

My job gets really tough this time of year.  Here I am trying to motivate you to get out into the garden and clean up the beds, replant the containers, plunk some bulbs into the ground and spread mulch everywhere to control weeds and insulate the soil...

If you are looking for a sturdy perennial that will grow in shade or morning sun then look no further than Hellebores.  These perennials are tough as nails and rarely need to be divided once they are planted.

Having just finished presenting a class on “Putting the Garden to Bed” I am feeling like this check list is a bit redundant.  If you missed the class this will serve as a good reminder.  

As we move into the winter season and the options for flowering plants significantly decreases we turn to foliage for our color fix and surprisingly we have many choices.  By far the biggest group of plants to offer us winter color is our evergreens which botanically speaking are called conifers.

First off let me say that I don’t like the expression “Putting the garden to bed” because it sounds so final.  The fact is that there are still plants out there that are wide awake and believe it or not, there are some plants that react to winter with renewed energy.