Wintertime can be very valuable to when it comes to planning your garden; whether you are planning a flower, herbal, or veggie garden, time and consideration can add to the quality of your garden. This article will take a look at all three and give you some fresh ideas to think about.
Wintertime is important because it gives the gardener a chance to talk to others, read books and magazines, and attend outdoor shows in their area. Many of the outdoor shows have guest lecturers. It is great for the garden area, too. It gives the earth a chance to breathe in some fresh air and dissolve nutrients that are important during the growing season.
One of the most important things to consider in any garden is that of low maintenance. The less work during the growing season on maintenance, the more time you have to work with your plants.
Also consider buying a garden planner to help you keep track of all of these details. You can plan just in a plain notebook but an actual garden planner can help give you some structure.
Planning Your Garden in the Winter
Flower Gardens
A very important step is to plant a good ground cover. A ground cover acts like mulch. He keeps down the weeds that can detract from your garden. A good ground cover to use would be Ajunga burgundy Glow or Beacon Silver. The Ajunga gives white, pink, and green foliage. The Beacon, which can last until the winter, is a marbled green and white foliage that will eventually turn bronze.
Natives Plants
Natives are great for low maintenance. They require less water and are acclimated to the environment. Some of my favorites are Purple Poppy Mallow, Eastern Redbud, and Beautyberry. The Purple Poppy Mallow is drought tolerant.
Plants of Merritt
These are regionally proved annuals and perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. Favorites of mine are the Toad Lilly, Lime Elephant Ears, and the Persian shield. For trees and shrubs, I like the Red Twig Dogwood, River Birch, and the Contorta (Harry Launder’s walking stick).
Working with these can make it easy on yourself in the hot days ahead.
Herb and Vegetable Gardens
Map it out. I usually take a large sheet of white cardboard with a ruler and start mapping (planning) out where things go. If at all possible, I keep my herbs away from the veggies. However, some individuals don’t have that luxury. It is always best to use markers for the herbs that you plant. Many times they are easy to get confused over. Keep it simple. If you are a beginner, plant only 6 to 8 herbs. They will be easier to watch over. Also, you should only grow the herbs that you will use during the cooking season. Good ones to grow would be Bay, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Mint, and Parsley.
In your Veggie garden, don’t let the vine plants stay together. Separate them. For example, put cucumbers in one corner of the garden opposite your tomato’s. Green beans will grow up and out. They take a lot of room also. You may want to locate them in the middle of the garden, yet away from the vine plants.
Lettuce, Carrots, and Peppers take up the least amount of space. You can put them in between the vine plants. The same can be said about Sweet Corn, also.
Tomatoes and cucumbers need water like Squash and Mellon’s, so try to place them where you can get water to them easily.
Proper planning can go a long way in providing a successful garden even in the driest of summers. The key idea, though, is low maintenance.
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