With Covid travel restrictions finally in the rear-view mirror, you’re likely thinking ‘travel’ this summer. Wherever you go, be certain you search for and include open gardens to provide inspiration. Look for botanical and public gardens, local garden club tours, and Garden Conservancy Open Days for special private gardens.
Winter may be cold and dry for outdoor plants, but our indoor plants suffer from hot and dry. With the thermostat set at 68 or 72 degrees, you are drying out the air as you warm it. Place plants on a tray covered with pebbles where you regularly add water. As the water evaporates, your plant breathe easier. Plants too big to be gathered together? Add pebbles and water into large saucers under each individual. Additional humidity in the house is also a benefit to you. Plants also need regular watering, but less than in other seasons. Unless you are using grow lights, your plants will respond to the reduced light by slowing down their growth which also eliminates the need for fertilizing.
This has been a largely snow-free winter for southern New England. Of course, you have added leaves around new plantings to protect them from sub-freezing temperatures and frost heaves, but now it’s time to look for more help from Mother Nature. Snow is a natural insulator and a very efficient one—ten inches of snow provide the same insulation as six inches of fiberglass. Snow keeps roots happily buried, not subject to freeze and thaw cycles.
