Master gardener John Hethrington doesn't let a little thing like winter prevent him from working on his 20 different gardens. His advice for all gardeners is this: there's always work to be done in or for your garden.
Welcome to the new gardening year. There’s lots to do for your garden, even in winter.
Winter came last month with three feet of snow, but it kept the frost out of the beds. By now, it has mostly melted away. If the traditional January thaw comes and the snow is almost gone, mound any remaining snow over roses and tender perennials.
Cut the branches off your Christmas tree and place them over tender plants to catch the snow, which is a good insulator. It’s the freeze/thaw cycle that kills the plants.
Inspect house plants for white flies, spider mites and aphids. Apply insecticidal soap and spray with water.
Inspect any spring bulbs you may have stored or forgotten about. Discard soft or mouldy ones.
Plant any leftover, not-yet-planted spring bulbs like daffs, tulips etc. in pots with good potting soil and a little bone meal. Water. Put the pots in an unheated garage or garden shed for six weeks. Take them inside in February or early March for spring blooms in less than a month.
Expand your personal knowledge through on-line courses. Check out Master Gardener websites for lectures and seminars.
Start looking on-line for seed and plant catalogues.
Start planning your garden for next spring. I’m already making lists of plants to divide, and buy.
Make detailed lists under different categories, like: big projects, regular maintenance, new plants to buy and also, plants to divide and donate to the St. George’s Plant Sale, Saturday May 24, 2025. Call 519-599-3047 for more info, or if you need a digging crew to help you pot up your plants for the sale.
Order flower and vegetable seeds. Decide which seeds should be started inside.
If you can find them, try forcing amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus now for indoor winter bloom that will cheer you up during a long winter.
At the end of the month, start the slowest germinating seeds like begonias and geraniums, also seeds for early spring bloom e.g., pansy, verbena, alyssum and dianthus.
