Herbs can satisfy your gardening needs in winter

Though the outdoor gardening season may be over, except for pruning and monitoring for animal damage, you can still garden inside by trying to grow herbs. Sow seeds of parsley, oregano, sage and dwarf basil in clay pots. Once they germinate, place them under grow lights and water when very dry. Fertilize the plants with a half-strength solution of a liquid fertilizer.

• Monitor your garden for animal damage during the winter and install protection as needed.

Look for gnawed bark at the base of trees and shrubs. Rabbits can cause considerable damage over the course of winter by feeding on shrubs. As snow piles up, they can reach higher and higher to eat. Chicken wire will work well to exclude rabbits. You will not see any rabbit tracks as a sign of a problem during periods when there is no snow cover.

Hanging soap or hair in branches generally will not work as a deterrent for deer browsing. Use physical barriers such as wire or netting to protect plants from deer. Yews and arborvitae are deer favorites and will likely be browsed in areas where deer are active.

• Carefully shake snow off plants during heavy, wet storms to minimize damage. Once the snow or ice has frozen on, it is best to let it melt off. Removing frozen snow or ice from plants can cause considerable damage.

Try to avoid piling up snow at the base of plants when shoveling by more evenly spreading the snow around as you shovel.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.