Winter no time for garden hibernation
Ten great ways for gardeners to beat the winter doldrums:
• Buy a winter-blooming houseplant. For clusters of cheerful flowers in pink, red, orange or yellow complemented by waxy-green leaves, try a kalanchoe. They are inexpensive and widely available in winter.
• Page through some new garden books for inspiration. Best bet for beating the winter blahs: books with pretty pictures. Try "Foliage: Astonishing Color and Texture Beyond Flowers," by Nancy J. Ondra (Storey Publishing, $35) or "The Magic of Monet's Garden," by Derek Fell (Firefly Books, $35).
• Join a garden club. Gardening enthusiasm is contagious.
• Sprout mung bean or alfalfa seeds for salads. They'll be ready to eat in just three to five days.
• Plant paper white narcissus bulbs on pebbles in a glass vase. Add a few more pebbles to anchor the bulbs and just enough water to reach the base of the bulbs. Roots start growing almost immediately, and you'll have flowers in just a few weeks.
• Discover a new garden magazine by browsing through periodicals at the library or newsstand.
• Settle into a comfy chair with a notebook and a stack of new seed and nursery catalogs. Choose a new plant or two you like. Don't forget to scan all the new products, too. Take notes on new ideas to try. If you haven't already received your full quota of plant catalogs, you can find information on additional mail-order companies at www.mailordergardening.com.
• Visit public gardens. Bundle up for an outdoor walk or take a stroll through a tropical greenhouse. The American Public Gardens Association can help you discover new gardens to explore close to home or on your travels at www.publicgardens.org.
• Resolve to grow some plants from seed started indoors this winter, and start gathering up supplies now. Start-up cost is minimal. You'll need a potting soil formulated for seedlings and a standard fluorescent light fixture. For best results, especially if your house is chilly, add a seedling heat mat. Anything goes for containers, as long as they're clean and allow excess water to drain.
• Get outside for short periods while the sun is shining. Make a difference by performing small tasks, such as pushing perennials with exposed roots back into the ground or picking bagworms from evergreens. Drink in the beauty of the winter garden, from the statuesque shape of trees to the evergreen leaves of perennials such as pachysandra. (One of my current winter favorites: A rusty watering can that contains a bronze sedge plant that still looks great. It makes me smile.)