"She is OUT OF HER MIND."
If you're hovering around the same climate as I am, I know that's just what you're thinking. What, pray tell, do gardens and January have to do with one another?
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| Try to get dirty. I dare you. |
Fear not, my intrepid companion. Follow these few easy tips and you, too, will forget to cross off the days until your Frost Free date.
1. Take Advantage: After the first snowfall and much tobogganing, temperatures in southern Ontario leapt to a heady 14 degrees C! Having accosted the nice people at Ontario Hydro in October, I have a pile of mulch in my driveway the size of Downton Abbey. As it has thawed, I spent the weekend moving it out onto the perennial beds. I got two whole days ahead on my spring jobs this weekend, with not a black fly in sight. Heh.
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| I don't worry about the plants under all this. They'll pop up. |
2. Clean Up: The pond especially seems to attract debris and there is always some tragedy in the water. Clean out the debris, scoop the dead leaves out and arrange tiny funerals for the fish, frogs and slugs (?!) that did not live to ring in the new year. It's gross, but you'd much rather do it now while everything is so... preserved rather than wait until the water heats up.
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| My artificial pond is not a good place for frogs to over-winter. |
3. Read Up: Like I need an excuse. I keep going back to my old favourite:
The Kitchen Garden by Patrick Lima, which I love because his garden is one zone colder than mine (I'm a 6b). There's nothing more frustrating than reading a book which tells me that in February I should be digging compost and well-rotted manure into the soil. Right. I'm frozen solid until the end of March, if I'm lucky. As for new books this year:
Free Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom, which promises me IT IS POSSIBLE, and
Shakespeare in the Garden by Mick Hales, which is beautiful and quotes the Bard. Tea, anyone?
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| One tip: hire a professional photographer. |
4. Save Up: In another week or so, those siren-mouthed devils of the mailbox will begin appearing. I'm talking about
Seed Catalogues. Plan now. Go through your stash from last year and make a note of what you have on hand. Look at your notes from last year. What succeeded in the garden and what made you weep with frustration? Look at your garden plan for this year: how much space can you shave out of the lawn before anyone notices? Calculate your square footage, multiply by 487, subtract the square root of the seed packets you have on hand, add 1934 (tears cried in 2012) and that is roughly how much seed you will need to buy for 2013. This is a very scientific number and must be adhered to. Start saving now. I figure if I stop giving my kids their allowance, I'll have last years' seed bill paid off in 2054.
5. Drink Up: Once the above is done, it's full wait ahead for Spring. Now might be the time to actually try some of those herbs you lovingly collected and dried at the end of last summer. Today's tea of choice: mint, sage and calendula flower. Perfect.
What promise is your garden keeping for you?
