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...because all the best garden advice is local
February 10, 2011

When Life Gives You Blizzards, Make Snowmen 


Greetings!

 

a snowmanMay I say the obvious? I'm sick of this snow.
  But the longer I live in Iowa, the more ways I find to keep chipper during the long winter months. It helps to get outside and embrace it, sub-zero temperatures and all--rather than huddling inside under an electric blanket. Shoveling my drive, going for a walk, making a skating expedition with a friend, making a snowman with my son-all expose me to light and air and blast away the cabin fever. And I get some much-needed exercise besides.
  This is also the time of year I treat myself to flowers from the florist. Amazing what just a few fragrant blooms in vase on my desk can do!
  In fact, The Des Moines Register did a nice article on chasing the winter blues, and quoted us in it. Click here to check it out.

Yours in cheery winter thoughts, 

Veronica Lorson Fowler

Feed the Birds

It's so cool to look out my French doors and see cardinals, finches, and others at my feeders. In lieu of flowers, they're great bits of living color in my garden.

  Contrary to popular belief, you can start feeding birds any time during cold weather (read that: "Now") and it's okay to start and stop as needed.

  If you want to attract the most birds the most successfully, put out pure (or a mix that's mostly) black sunflower seed--avoid striped sunflower seed, which attracts fewer birds. And avoid mixes with lots of millet and other cheap seed that birds turn their beaks up at. Put Cardinal perching in Snowthe seed on a platform or tube feeder and give it a few to several days for the birds to discover it.

  Click here for more details on attracting the most birds to your yard with the least effort and expense.

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The Easiest Seed Planting Ever

 

Seed packets for zinniasNot all of us want to fuss with starting seeds indoors. But do think about ordering seeds that can be sown directly in the soil.

  Some seeds require the special conditions of indoor soil, light, and watering. But others are tough and can be planted directly in the soil in patches or rows in your vegetable garden (or other open area where they don't have to compete with established plants).

  Zinnias, sunflowers (the small ones!), marigolds, and others are included in this group. The best payoff? Come summer, these flowers are in their glory and I have armloads of gorgeous flowers for cutting.

  Click here for a list of the best flowers to direct-sow and when.


Good Smells

 

This isn't exactly a garden tip, but I do believe gardeners as a group are especially sensitive to smell. After all, one reason we love gardening so much is the smell of flowers and other fragrant plants.

  So this time of year, when winter closes in, treat yourself to some nice scents. I keep a small bottle of lavender spray by my bedside to lavendar on linens on a bedspritz my pillow at night (lavender is supposed to promote relaxation). I keep a small bottle of jasmine essential oil in my walk-in closet to dab on a tissue and tuck into drawers so my clothes smell good.

  And in the kitchen, I toss leftover apple cores into a pan of water on the stove with some cinnamon and cloves, and keep it on a low simmer. (Turn it off, of course, when you're not home.) It makes it smell like there's always an apple pie in the oven!

Garden Quote

 

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."

- British author Edith Sitwell


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Garden To-Do List

When shoveling snow, as long as it doesn't have salt in it and isn't slushy, don't worry about tossing it onto perennials and small shrubs. Fluffy snow is called white mulch and actually insulates against weather extremes.
 
Pore through catalogs, garden books, web sites, and magazines to plan for spring. Put your ideas into a  garden notebook, made from a three-ring notebook, with pages for notes and photos, pocket folders for articles and notes and a zip pocket to hold spring receipts and plant labels.
 
Make on-line and mail-order purchases early. Supplies of the most popular items tend to start running out in March or so, especially this year when vegetable gardening promises to be popular once again.
 
Take inventory. Look over your supplies, fertilizers, potting soil, soil amendments, and other garden materials and stockpile now. You'll be ready to go once the spring rush hits.
 
Tidy up and organize your garden supplies. Wash up pots. Use hot soapy water and rinse so the pots are set for spring planting.
 
Start seeds of parsley, onions, perennials, and other slow-growing plants. Don't start other seeds too early (follow label directions or read on up on them on line). If you do, they'll languish indoors too long without the powerful natural sun and get leggy and diseased. The vast majority of seeds should be started 6 to 8 weeks before your region's last average frost date. For Iowa, that means starting seeds in March.
   Click here for a month-by-month listing of what to plant when in Iowa.

If houseplants are struggling, it's probably time to pitch them and replace. Otherwise, give them a good rinse, trim off brown or problem parts, and top off the soil with fresh potting soil.

Avoid fertilizing houseplants this month. With less daylight, their need for food is less.

 If you've forced bulbs they're probably ready to take out into light and warmth now. Once the bulbs have sent up shoots a half to one inch high, take them out and put them in the sunniest, brightest spot possible.

Inspect any stored bulbs or corms. If you dug up any last fall to store over the winter. They should be firm and healthy looking. If they're shriveled or mildewed, toss them.

Force flowering branches in a couple of weeks. Once spring-blooming branches start to develop tiny buds, cut them and bring them indoors for forcing. These include forsythia, redbud, pussy willow, crabapple, and more. Just soak the branches in a tub of cold water for a few hours. Then arrange in a vase and watch them open over the next several days.

If we get any really nice thawing days sometime soon, you can start to  prune most deciduous trees in late February or March. but wait until July to prune oaks and walnuts to avoid wilt diseases.

Consider a  cold frame.  Build it now and you can start radishes, spinach, and lettuces in a few weeks.

How's your mower? If you didn't get it  tuned up last fall and the  blade sharpened, do it yourself now or take it in before the spring rush.

Same for any shears or other sharp cutting or slicing objects, including spades and hoes. If you haven't already, invest a few bucks in a sharpening stone. It makes all the difference. Click here  to learn how. It's easy after you do it once or twice.
Garden Events   

Through March 1

Garden Art Exhibit

Des Moines Botanical Center

Madrid photographer Pete Drumhardt is one of my favorite garden photographers. His work is on display now in the North Wing Gallery. Also take in the photography of William J. Gentsch and April Zingler in the Show House Corridor through February 28. Admission daily 9 am-5 pm; free to $5.  

 

Saturday, February 1  

Terrariums With a Twist 

Iowa Arboretum

10:30-11:30 a.m. Create your own cool little ecosystem in an enclosed container. $25-$30.


Tuesday Feb. 22-December 13
Floral Design Classes
Reiman Gardens, Ames

Sign up for one class or sign up for all eight! Afternoon or evening times. $21-$35 per class with a 20 percent discount for the series

Saturday, Feb. 26
Think Spring Garden Seminar

Indianola
9 am-3 pm. Join Master Gardeners an Indianola Parks and Recreation for a day of outdoor decor ideas, tree care, growing grapes, pest control, and info on no-till gardens.