THE GRATEFUL GARDENER

by Tim Kennelty

Fighting Endless Winter Blues

How is it possible that we’re only in the early days of January, and it feels like we’ve lived through many months of Winter?  I guess it’s the feeling we get when we’re holed up in our cozy dens evading the early snow and frigid temperatures while trying to avert our eyes as the world around us gets crazier and more dangerous.  A friend of mine recently wrote me that all she wants to do is escape to her garden. While that’s not terribly practical in January, my gardening soul completely gets it.

The good news is that now is a great time for gardeners to dream about the warmer days of Spring. Below are a few ways I have used to shed (at least for a few hours) the endless Winter blues.

Seed Catalogues. January is traditionally the month my mailbox is stuffed with those dreamy seed and bulb catalogues. I’ve never been very successful at growing plants from seed, but that hasn’t stopped me from pouring over those beautiful photos and immediately ordering seeds for the latest showy zinnias or plump heirloom tomato varieties. The seed packs usually end up forgotten in some obscure corner of a drawer, and in May I’m out handing over cash for those same plants that someone else grew. But at least for now it’s nice to dream.  

Some of my favorite “fantasy” seed catalogs are: Baker Creek Seeds; https://www.rareseeds.com/, Select Seeds https://www.selectseeds.com/, Seed Savers  https://shop.seedsavers.org/request-a-catalog; and Burpee https://www.burpee.com/?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_content=affpromo&utm_campaign=affad&utm_source=Rakuten&CID=BPEAFF&ranMID=36039&ranEAID=TnL5HPStwNw&ranSiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-nH0ceVdnKlTBfcGuqJDcKg&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-nH0ceVdnKlTBfcGuqJDcK`

Tree and Shrub Sales. If pretty annuals aren’t your idea of winter escapism, how about

dreaming of beautiful or ecologically important trees and shrubs? Dreaming of trees in Winter takes a bit more imagination, faith and Googling. Instead of colorful photos, it’s more about staring at tree and shrub lists and order forms and projecting out ten years, imagining that mighty oak in your yard.

Winter is actually a great time to plan for and order the trees and shrubs of your dreams. Some of the best sources of inexpensive bareroot trees and shrubs are your County Soil and Water Conservation Districts tree and shrub sales. Plant lists and

order forms usually become available beginning in January for sale now and pick up for planting in April. Hard-to-find species usually sell out quickly.  So, if you’re thinking of planting a few trees or a small forest in the Spring, check out your County Soil and Water Conservation websites for their tree and shrub sales. Even though at my age and stage in life tree shopping might not make much sense, as a confirmed “tree-aholic” I’ve succumbed to winter tree shopping for many years. I’m sure this year will be no exception. Besides the world will always be better with a few more trees. Both Columbia and Greene Counties have tree and shrub sales. In my humble opinion, our neighbors across the river in Greene County usually have a wider variety of interesting native tree and shrub offerings. For more information about Soil and Water Districts including their annual tree and shrub sales, listen to our podcast interview with Joel Dubois, Executive Director of the Greene County Soil and Water District. https://ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening/nature-calls-conversations-from-the-hudson-valley/episode-162-soil-and-water-conservation-district, and be sure to watch for the sale to open on their website https://www.greeneswcd.org/

I also like these online commercial sources for native trees and shrubs:

• Cold Stream Farm https://www.coldstreamfarm.net/ (bareroot)

• Great Plains Nursery https://greatplainsnursery.com/product-category/trees/ (shipped in pots)

So start dreaming, and order those trees and shrubs for the Spring.

Spring Gardening Projects.

A final way I like to ignore the winter is to start planning now for more comprehensive Spring garden projects. It’s much easier in winter’s barren landscape to visualize a new perennial bed that dogwood grove you’ve always wanted. All you need is a warm pair of boots to go exploring, or even for the less adventurous of us, a clear view from your living room window.  Many of my favorite garden projects have had their origins as daydreams on frigid February afternoons. This winter I’m taken my daydreams to the next level. I’ve been thinking of replacing the awful multiflora roses and Asian bittersweet with more ecologically supportive “edge habitat” plantings at the border of my woods. “Edge” is a vitally import area between two different ground cover types like meadows and woods. If you’re interested in learning more about edge habitat, see:  https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/landowners_guide/habitat_mgmt/planning/Edges_and_Fragments.htm; and https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/managing-edges-for-wildlife

Whatever you do in these dark days of winter, consider putting down your phone, making a nice cup of hot cocoa and allowing yourself to dream of your garden. 

That’s all for now. Stay warm, happy and healthy and remember to plant native! 

For comments about this column, gardening topics you’d like to read about, or general gardening questions, you can reach me at: tjkennelty@gmail.com