Winter Doldrums

January 16th 2014

Winter doldrums are in full effect, seems the kettle is always on these days. After a glorious Autumn, my batteries were pretty well charged up for the cold months, but I must admit, the cold and grey is getting to me.
Nothing much to do but dress warm and soldier on! The nice weather will be here sooner than you think and unit’s good to be a step ahead of everyone else when it does finally arrive in earnest.

Big plans:

There is still plenty to do and be done in the garden. Certainly, it’s a great time to plan. I find myself plotting on where to move the Dahlias this year for maximum view from everywhere on my property. Fortunately I have many of them and they will be everywhere.

♦ Cut back grasses, remove debris from evergreen plants.

It’s also great time to cut back the grasses; they were some what charming in December , but now they are frightful! It’s good to clean up the berry brambles as well as the melted bits of the evergreen plants.

Surely, there is  still some seasonal wreckage from Autumn and Winter that could move along. I often leave some debris in my garden through the Winter to help insulate the soil and the roots, at least that is what I keep telling myself.

♦ Pruning

Still a good time to prune fruit trees before they begin their growth cycle for the year. Not only are they still sleeping and do not seem to notice, the bare branches provide a great view of the tree’s overall growth pattern.

♦ Transplanting

Winter is ideal for transplanting, ideally if you can get out between rain storms. We’ve seen some very heavy rains in Portland this year. I recommend staying inside while that is happening and waiting for the earth to solidify again before moving plants. Not only is it easier and more fun to do, he soil structure stays in place better allowing the plants a better chance to acclimate.

…Put the kettle on and read something good