Christmas tree branches, wreaths benefit garden beds

Consider reusing your natural Christmas decorations by recycling Christmas tree branches (cut into 2- to 3-foot sections), swags, wreaths and other evergreen material as mulch for garden and perennial beds. It is best to remove non-plant items such as tinsel and wire before placing them in the garden.

Lightweight, open evergreens permit moisture to reach the soil but also help insulate the roots and crowns of plants from the freeze-thaw-freeze cycle of Midwest winters. The greens can also be arranged in containers for winter interest. Another use for your holiday tree is to place it in the garden and decorate it with bird seed and suet ornaments for winter birds.

• After Christmas, your live cut tree can be moved outside and be redecorated for the birds. Anchor the tree in a bucket full of damp sand or tie it to a tree trunk or fence. Put on strings of popcorn and cranberries. You can also add apples, oranges, leftover breads and pine cones covered with peanut butter and then dipped in birdseed. For the best results, push the edible ornaments well into the tree so that they don’t blow off as readily.

• It's easy to forget about the garden when it gets snowy and cold outside. Monitor your plants for animal damage — rabbits and deer can do a considerable amount of damage in the winter. It’s easy to spot tracks when there is snow on the ground, and they give you a sign to walk about the garden to check on things. The lack of snow so far this year means you should walk the garden to check for animal damage. As snow piles up, rabbits can reach higher and higher into shrubs to feed on branches. Install netting or wire fencing to protect plants as needed. Repellents can be applied when temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I have not found home remedies such as hanging soap or hair in branches to work as a deterrent for deer browsing.

• Inspect squash and potatoes that you have stored for winter. Although conditions may have been ideal when you harvested and stored them in the fall, winter weather may have made it too cold in the garage. Vegetables stored in an unheated garage will likely freeze as temperatures drop into the 20s outside and should be moved to the basement and kept as cool as possible. If you bring potatoes into the house, then keep them covered so they don’t begin to sprout in the light. Throw away or compost anything that has spoiled or has soft spots. Also check any summer flowering bulbs like dahlias and gladioli that you saved from last year’s growing season.

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