A Breath of Spring During Winter

Isn't it true that during mid to late January passionate gardeners find it hard to contain their desire to get their hands back in the earth? In reality, it's only been been three months since we've seen color in our gardens, but for some it's been a very long three months considering the recent snowfalls we've had in Zone 6.

There are ways that we can breathe spring into these long winter months inside without too much work in fact.

Of course, we can peruse through the umpteen seed catalogs that come our way, or find solace in forcing bulbs and tending to our houseplants. Some will even start new houseplants by cuttings taken from established houseplants.

However, there is another way we can fool winter into thinking it is spring simply by bringing a little of the outdoors - indoors! How?  By forcing branches!

There are many branches that can be cut and brought inside to be forced such as:

Forsythia
Redbud
Flowering Quince
Flowering Dogwood
Witch Hazel
Hawthorn
Honeysuckle
Saucer Magnolia
Crabapple
Flowering Cherry or Plum
Pussy Willow
Lilac
Viburnum

All you need is a tall vase and a pair of pruning shears or a sharp knife. When temperatures are above freezing in late January and February, select the branches that have many plump buds. Then prune some branches off the shrub or tree.

Place the cut branches in a container of warm water. Remove any buds and twigs that may be under water.

Place your container in a warm room between 60-70 degrees. Then, all you have to do is watch your branches and the natural course of mother nature will take place. With some plants the wait time will be one to eight weeks, but with others, you'll be surprised much sooner. For example, this vase of Forsythia branches took five days to produce a green bud!

In the mean time, let's not forget two notes:

1) Snow is a wonderful insulator to plants and in some cases will make them prosper more come spring.

2) Without winter their wouldn't be a spring!

Plants for Inside & Out

Two plants immediately come to mind when you're looking for choices to put outside in spring and summer and bring back inside during fall and winter. Both plants will grow nicely in part sun to light shade.  What are they?

Boston Fern & Rex Begonia

Boston Ferns are one of the most popular varieties of ferns. They have frilly leaves or fronds, that unfurl into long hanging beautiful specimens. They are elegant, charming and are like no other houseplant around!

Boston Ferns are popular choices for hanging off decks and porches, sitting in a beautiful container nestled in the corner of an otherwise boring part of your deck or patio. They add a soft touch to a combination of other plants mixed together as well.

They grow beautifully in indirect sunlight and love humid, slightly cooler conditions. Keep in mind that Boston Ferns have very healthy root systems thus checking their soil for moisture is important as they do not like to dry out.  Want to add a soft touch to your landscape bed, why not temporarily sink a potted Boston Fern in the landscape. Enjoy it outside all spring and summer, then come fall, wash off the pot and enjoy it outside.

When bringing your Boston Fern inside, remember to supply plenty of humidity, if even resting it on a plate filled with stones, adding water just below the line of the stones. Your fern will love it! Fertilizing Boston Ferns should only be done in spring, summer and fall applying a water soluble, nitrogen based fertilizer. Also, if the fronds start shedding their leaves, this is a natural occurrence as they will typically shed when brought indoors in fall. 

Rex Begonias are another great "inside & out" plant. They are more known for the colorful, wild looking leaves than for their flowers. Technically, they are considered tropical plants but, imagine your landscape with these beauties tucked in between. Their leaves are always different and interesting to look at especially in combination with other colorful plants. Often Rex Begonia lovers will remove the flowers so that the plant can focus energy on the development of their leaves instead. Another interesting character about the Rex Begonia is that they typically have fuzzy, or hairy leaves.

Like the Boston Fern, the Rex Begonia can be temporarily planted in the garden during spring and summer and removed in fall and brought inside to extend the beauty it provides. They will thrive in full sun to partial shade, avoiding direct burning sun. Watering the Rex Begonia is easy as it should only be watered when the soil in the pot feels dry, but not waiting until the leaves begin to wilt. Another humidity lover, the Rex Begonia will thrive off of being placed on stone based tray only filling water just under the stones. Do not spray the leaves however as this will lead to rot and spotting. Like the Boston Fern, you can fertilize the Rex Begonia monthly in spring, summer and fall, and not at all in winter. They are somewhat picky about the temperature to which they will like, thus keeping them in a room above 65 degrees is beneficial.

As you can see, there are choices when it comes to finding a dual-purpose plant, which is even cost effective!

January Landscape Tips!

Don't let the cold days of winter discourage your gardening habits..

Bundle up and take a tour of your garden and beds and take an observation of what can be done. Pay special attention to the following tips:

• Spread winter mulch in beds using leaves, branches from Christmas trees, woodchips or mulch to prevent heaving
• Go through your garden and inspect for winter damage
• Prune damaged branches and dead wood on woody shrubs and trees (test for dead branches by scratching bark and looking for green)
• Do some formative pruning on summer or fall flowering woody shrubs (i.e., butterfly bush, itea, spirea)
• Fertilize acid-loving shrubs, if not already done in fall
• Water evergreen and broad-leaf evergreen shrubs during warm spells
• Protect shrubs planted under the roofline from snow, remove heavy snow from shrubs to prevent damage
• Use sand, gravel, urea or kitty litter instead of salt on driveway or paths near gardens

Today in the Gardeners Journal - January 2

After spending some time at home, I have become keenly aware of the amount of birds that appear during winter. Why haven't I noticed these beautiful creatures during spring, summer and fall? Perhaps it's because they are busy feeding on the natural beauty that surrounds my home?  Whatever the reason, I'm happy to witness their visits during the winter and have taken great strides to welcome them!

Outside my kitchen window hangs a pole perfect for resting bird feeders on which gives me a "birds eye view" of my new friends. But, now I needed the feeders! Being a thrifty kind of person, I decided to try my hand at making my own. It was rather easy to do with just a few small purchased items. I made these bird feeders out of:

• Soda bottles
• Milk containers
• Plastic storage containers

Tools I needed:

• Wood burner (used very carefully to make the feeder and perch holes)
• Wooden dowels for perches
• Cooking spoons for perches
• Shoe laces or twine for hanging
• Screws to hold the saucers on

After I was done making the feeders, I filled them with a variety of birdseed. You'll notice that the one feeder has smaller feeding holes as finch food (Nyjer seed) is very fine and only requires a small hole.

It is important to match up the size of your feeder hole to the type of seed you will be using or else, your seed will flow quickly out of your feeder.

The next element I decided to add to my pursuit of welcoming my fine feathered friends was the addition of my "Feeder Tree". It is a Dwarf Alberta Spruce in which I added plumes of ornamental grasses, pyracantha cuttings and sprays of millet. It has been fascinating seeing the smaller birds fly in and out of this tree collecting the seeds and nestling in between the branches of the tree.

After I 'set the table' for the arrival of my new friends, I realized that they were one week in arriving as it was apparent that my new 'bird cafe' had to be watched carefully before being accepted as a four star restaurant. I'm happy to report though that they have finally started dining without reservation!

Another interesting lesson I learned is that woodpeckers especially love suet! They are not camera shy and they often travel in harmonious pairs. I think I'll investigate how to make homemade suet next! Do you have a recipe for suet you'd like to share?