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A Truly Evergreen Garden
 This time of year, appreciation of my garden is a quiet thing. There are no big, showy flowers bursting open and saying, "Look at me!" There's no scent of lilacs stopping me dead in my tracks. There's no red and gold explosions in autumn trees overhead.
Instead, I almost take for granted the long, deep green stretch of tall yew hedge that screens views from my bedroom windows. I've stopped truly seeing the pretty buff-colored ornamental grass, backlit by afternoon sun, outside my French doors.
It's only when I go outside to gather some greenery for holiday decorations that I pause for a moment, in the snow, and think, "This is really nice." Or when I'm tossing a ball with my black lab in the back yard and I pause to admire how elegant the little pond looks half-frozen or how the rose arbor is pretty even when covered only by naked rose canes.
So here's to the garden's unsung season--winter--with a resolution to stop and admire all its subtle beauties whenever we can.
Happy Winter Gardening,
Veronica Lorson Fowler
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A 10-minute Door Swag
 This time of year, I barely have time to wash my hair, let alone go all out on holiday decorations. So this simple swag is great. Just cut a handful of greenery from your yard (or buy some at a local garden center). Trim the ends with a hand shears. Then strip off needles and branches about 4 or 5 inches from the cut ends.
If you want, add a branch or two of fake berries or real (available at flower shops). Or add a pretty ornament.
Then bundle together tightly with green floral wire (available at craft stores). In the back, make a tiny loop from which to hang the swag. Tie up with a simple bow, using wide wired ribbon for best effect.
Voila! Christmas made merry!
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Graceful Grasses
 I've been slow to come to ornamental grasses. For years I resisted--they're just green and kinda boring, right? But this time of year, I am so grateful for the half dozen or so I've planted in my garden. The tufted hair grass (Deschampsia caespitosa) shown here--at leaste I think that's what it is!--dominates my backyard and is a so striking each afternoon, with the sun filtering through its leaves and seedheads.
Treat yourself to an equally pretty view next winter. Make a note for spring to plant more ornamental grasses!
Click here for a listing from ISU Extension on the best types for Iowa.
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Christmas Tree Cheer
I'm a sucker for a live tree. I adore how natural it looks and how fragrant it makes the whole house--the world's biggest, best air freshener.
 It's fun to make an event out of getting a live tree. Bundle up, take the family, and visit a tree farm to select or cut your own. (That's my son, Will, excited about helping to slice down a 7-footer.)
Want to make memories of your own? Click here for a directory of Iowa tree farms and plan your own family outing.
Once you have your tree home, give it plenty of water. It might easily need an additional 2 quarts of water a day that first day or two. Then check it every day or two thereafter.
The best tree stands have small buckets that hold at least a gallon or two of water. One of my favorite types is carried by Kris Kringle's Tree Farm in Cedar Falls. Click here to see their Facebook page with details.
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Give The Gift of Iowa Gardening
 Take care of the gardener on your holiday list with a copy of "Gardening in Iowa," by Veronica Fowler. She'll even inscribe it with the name and message of your choice.
Beginning in January, it presents a month-by-month series of checklists and timely articles on everything from garden design to cold-weather gardening to best perennials and plants for Iowa and more. A must-have for novice and experienced Iowa gardeners alike. Order now to allow plenty of time before Christmas.
Click here for details.
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Monthly To-Do
 What a great inexpensive gift for a gardening friend! Click here for printable pages and instruction to make your own The Iowa Gardener garden journal!
Relax! The lovely thing about gardening is that everything has its season. Like your plants, now is the time to rest and focus on other things.
Keep poinsettias evenly but not overly watered. If they dry out and wilt, they will not recover! And their leaves will yellow if kept soggy. Position them in a bright spot away from cold drafts and blasts of heat from a vent or fireplace.
Cut evergreens from your yard. They make beautiful holiday decorations. Just remember that each cut is a pruning cut, so do so with care.
If you clean a wood burning stove or fireplace, dump the ashes on your compost heap. Ash is a great source of phosphorous.
Don't fertilize houseplants this month. With our shorter days and cooler houses, they're not growing much.
Check on forced bulbs. If necessary, water to keep soil evenly moist. Once you see shoots one-half to one inch high, take out the pots and put them in the sunniest, brightest spot you have.
Evaluate your landscape in winter. Think of good places to plant evergreens and trees or shrubs with interesting bark come spring. You'll be able to enjoy them next winter.
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Editor's Choice
Garden Events
Saturday, December 13
Des Moines Botanical Garden
10:30 a.m.-noon. Join Mindy Skarda for a working session on using plants to make environmentally sustainable and health-conscious beauty products. Learn about different all-natural skin care products, the natural ingredients that go into them, and take a turn and making your own beauty product to take home. Please register by December 8 by clicking here. $20 for Des Moines Botanical Garden members, $25 for non-members.
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Garden Quote
"Winter is a season of recovery and preparation."
- American author Paul Theroux
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