January
can be a dreary time of year for the gardener, yet it can be exciting as
well. We have had a very trying season
this past year with warmer temps and drought.
Now is the time to dream and redesign your flowerbeds for the upcoming
spring season. Now is a good time to
beat the spring rush if you would require assistance or guidance from landscape
designers.
Remember
our wildlife! Birding is a favored hobby
among American people. Your yard can be a natural magnet for all kinds of birds
by supplying special treats of food, water, safe places to nest and a few other
necessities this season. Enjoy their
antics and activity during snowy days.
This can give you a real feel good sensation.
Feed
the birds hi-energy foods like black oil sunflower seeds and suet, which give
birds more energy per ounce consumed. One need of wild birds often overlooked
by consumers in cold weather is the need for ‘open water.’ The main reason they
need water is to help keep warm. Birds fluff out their feathers so they can
better capture a ‘layer of air’ that acts as heated insulation. Matted, dirty
feathers can’t be fluffed out. Therefore, by offering food and water, dozens of
your feathered friends will soon add brilliant flashes of red and blue, gray
and white, across the snow, and you’ll hear their melodious songs as the sing
“Thanks” to you for helping them survive.
Let’s
turn thoughts to the indoors as there are many things that can be done
there. Houseplants should have the dust
washed off their leaves on a regular basis during winter. This allows the leaves to gather light more
efficiently which will result in better growth, especially since there is less
light available this time of year.
Indoor
plant insect population is a problem that needs to be checked on regularly
during the winter as well. Dry home
conditions are perfect for insect incubation cycles. Washing the plants regularly will greatly cut
down on this problem. Organic remedies,
such as Insecticidal Soap, for controlling insects are readily available and
safe for indoor use.
If
you can tolerate the cold weather, there are a number of things that you can do
this month in your landscape that will lighten your workload for the rest of
the season. The main item is pruning or thinning of your woody ornamentals.
Interior, broken, or crossing branches should be removed now while you can see
exactly what you are removing. The general rule of thumb is that you should not
touch spring flowering trees and shrubs at this time of year.
If the weather
is extremely bad this month, then snow and/or ice removal are going to be the
big tasks. Heavy accumulations of snow or ice can easily damage plants. Dump a
snow shovel full of wet snow on top of some of your shrubs and you may end up
replacing the broken mass next spring. Snow plows can also do quite a bit of
damage to plantings and lawn areas. Use location stakes with flags to show
where your driveways and walkways are as well as where to “dump” excess snow.
If you have to deal with ice, be extremely careful with the melting compound
you use.
Time
flies fast, so enjoy this winter preparing for spring and we will “See you in
the garden”.
Sandi Hillermann McDonald
