Winter Gardening by: Shelby Singleton
It is a common misconception in the minds of some gardeners that gardening is solely a warm weather hobby. Well, I’m here to tell you that there are some pretty spectacular winter interest plants out there and some great activities to do in and for the garden when it’s cold outdoors.
There are a handful of fantastic native plants that really show off their best attributes in the winter. An example of one of these is the Red Twig Dogwood, Cornus stolonifera. The Red Twig Dogwood is a great addition to the garden because of the bright red stems that become the focal point after the plants’ leaves have dropped. This beautiful shrub can grow to be a twelve feet tall, multi-stem specimen plant for your winter garden. Place with a strong evergreen background and the red stems will catch every visitor’s to your garden eye. There is also a yellow variety of Cornus stolonifera which produces bright yellow stems in the winter. Another great bonus of the Red Twig Dogwood is the cream colored, edible berry that the plant produces in the fall; it is a great food resource for our local bird species. Our American Filbert or Hazelnut, Corylus americanus, is another great plant for the winter. It produces a beautiful catkin and holds most winter. This burnt maroon colored catkin is delicate in texture and the shrub, another great multi-stem plant, has fantastic fall color as well. Both of these plants support local animal species, are easy to grow and are low maintenance.
During the winter months I miss my garden but have a special activity that keeps myself and my garden busy during this frozen time. I work on my garden journal! I walk the garden and I add to the pages what I forgot to add during the summer when I get carried away with the physical part of it all. We all do it, we get busy and don’t keep track of our garden. The winter is a great time to catch up. I log all the new plants I have put in and I keep track of what’s been separated and divided. I also work on my to-do list. Having my garden journal definitely helps to keep organized. If you are like me, you pick up plants here, there and everywhere and by the time winter comes around, you’ve forgotten half of what you have planted and where you planted it! Thank goodness for November and December because it is during these months that I go back, after the leaves having all fallen. Having my garden journal helps to keep this ‘garden geek’ organized and on track for having my perfect garden in the spring.
So, grab your journal and take some notes about winter gardening. Go ahead and write down Cornus stolonifera, Corylus americanus, Ilex verticillata, and Hamamelis. These are great winter interest plants and you will want to remember them next spring when you pull those gloves on and delve into the dirt. Start organizing, making lists of what you want to plant next spring and what you need to divide or move. Write down what you want to prune, shape, and remove. Keep that journal close; it’s a gardener’s best friend in the winter.