Did you finish all 10 tasks in Part 1? Here’s more!
11. Dump old soil from containers
If you haven’t already, and if it’s not frozen solid, dump all of that old soil in your containers so you’re ready to start fresh with new designs in spring. If it is solid, and it comes out easily, bonus, because that solid block of soil is easier to move to the compost pile!
12. Mark your calendar to force branches
This is something I always forget to do because, by the time I remember to do it, the forsythias are already blooming! Set a few reminders on your phone so you won’t miss out like I always do. In addition to forsythias, you can also force branches of flowering quince, pussy willows, redbud, dogwoods, lilacs, and viburnums.
Keep in mind that shrub branches force more reliably than tree branches. Use your biggest vase and cut long stems for a big, flowery impact. Late February to March is good timing, as buds begin to swell.
Here’s a great guide: How to Force Branches of Spring-Flowering Trees and Shrubs | Yard and Garden.
13. Make a garden map
This is a good time to sketch the overall shapes of your beds so that, come spring when everything is sprouting, you can fill in those sketches with the locations and names of the plants already established in your garden. It’s a great record-keeping task.
When I look back at the garden maps I’ve made over the years, I’m amazed at how many plants are no longer there….ha! Not a great endorsement of my gardening skills, but an enlightening walk down memory lane.
14. Make a plant wish list
It’s never too early to dream about plants! Search your brain for all the trees, shrubs, and perennials that you’ve always meant to grow so that you have it on hand in spring when the nursery yards begin to fill up. That huge blue hosta I’ve always wanted?
On my list. The new golden-leafed redbud I saw in an article last fall? That, too. And I’m always on the hunt for Solanum quitoense for my containers. It’s on my list now so that I don’t forget to search the obscure corners of my favorite nurseries on the slight chance it will magically appear.
15. Assess winter interest
Is your garden looking a little blah in the midst of winter? It doesn’t have to. Look outside now and think about what you could add this spring to jazz things up, like a winter-flowering witch hazel (Hamamelis spp. and cvs., some columnar evergreens, or some deciduous shrubs with winter berries, like winterberry (Ilex verticillata and cvs.).
Think about sightlines, too. Some everygreen clumping bamboo might be just the thing to block the sight of your neighbor’s heat pump from your patio.
16. Keep feeding the birds
They need our help for just a bit longer! But once bears begin to emerge from hibernation, start tapering off so you don’t get any unwanted visits.
17. Make a plan to visit public gardens
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gotten to the end of a gardening season without visiting a single public garden. It’s a crime, because they’re amazing sources of inspiration, information, and relaxation! Reach out to a few gardener friends and make real plans.
Check online event calendars for special exhibitions and programs to give you an actual goal date and mark it on your calendar. Buying tickets will make it even more likely that you’ll actually go. Look up from your garden and get out there!
18. Set up your seed-starting station
It’s a little early to start seeds in most parts of the country, but it’s time to get set up so you’re ready when it is time. If I wait too long, I always have trouble finding seed-starting soil in stores!
Dig out or buy your supplies, choose your spot (somewhere you’ll be able to observe your little seedlings several times a day, which is not the basement if you’re a forgetful person like me), and set up your shelves and lights.
19. Hold a seed swap
Make a big pot of chili, call up your gardening friends, and invite them over to exchange the seeds you all have stored from last year. This is also a great time to think about which perennials in your garden need dividing, and figuring out who might want some divisions. Take notes!
You’ll never remember that it was Heather who wanted a division of that double purple coneflower when you’re actually dividing it in spring, shovel in hand.
20. Sleep
I confess that my husband and I have been known to keep gardening by putting on head lamps after dark in June. It’s insane. Give yourself permission to veg on the couch often these next couple of months, and to go to bed early! Before you know it, spring will be here, Daylight Savings Time will start, and you’ll be off and running.
By Michelle Gervais
Michelle Gervais is a horticulturist from northwestern Connecticut by way of southwestern Virginia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech. She spent 15 years traveling the country and learning from incredibly talented gardeners
as a senior editor at Fine Gardening magazine, followed by a decade marketing flower bulbs and seeds for a trio of mail-order companies. She is the author of The Design-Your-Garden Toolkit (Storey Publishing) and currently serves as Public Programs & Outreach
Manager at Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, New York—and is a huge fan of Womanswork.
