| Preparing
for Summer in our Wettest Season |
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| The rain is making squishy bogs in your garden and it’s hard to remember
those warm, dry summer days right now. Yet, winter, the quietest, wettest
season of the year, is perhaps the best time for planning solutions that save
water, free up time from maintenance and bring more beauty into your garden. Discover
plants that make water conservation a natural, plus add color and fragrance
by attending our Winter Savvy Gardener Class or reading Peggy Campbell’s
column on winter gardening. If you learn best by experience, brave the
weather and visit the public gardens we’re highlighting. Or perhaps
your hopes for this year are well beyond finding the right plants. The
2008 Master Composter/ Soil Builder Program will train volunteers to help other
gardeners take action on climate change – right in their own backyards. Relish
the time to learn and plan, then dream about how different your garden may
be next year. |
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Color for Your
Winter Garden by Peggy Campbell
Saturday, February 9, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Swansons Nursery at 9701 15th Ave. NW in Seattle
Horticulturist, Peggy Campbell will share her love of the
winter garden. Learn which plants will add color and
fragrance. Discover winter beauties for shade, sun, as well
as damp soil. Find out how to help these plants thrive and
reduce your summer work before warm days arrive. |
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Bring
Winter’s Beauty into Your Garden
Peggy Campbell, professional
horticulturist, has 25 years of experience sharing
fun, practical tips and environmentally-friendly
solutions for Northwest gardens. She has designed
her garden to have something in bloom every day of
the year. Attend her class, listed above, for
ideas that bring winter beauty and summer enjoyment
into your garden.
Winter is my favorite season
in the garden. When the world outside is cold and
gray, I delight in my garden’s winter flowers,
berries and fragrance. This relatively quiet
time of year is ideal for assessing your garden and
making changes. Improvements now will add beauty
to future winters and free up your time from weeding
and watering come spring and summer.
Add color now to your winter garden
Start by noticing the empty patches in your garden. Then consider the
amount of sun, shade and soil type these spots could offer future plants. Some
winter beauties thrive in wet soil, while others need well-draining soil. Some
plants require sun, still others like shade. Once you know your garden’s
growing conditions, you can begin to pair the right plant with the right place. Here
are some plant ideas for specific conditions:
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Plants for sunny spots
Sun-loving and fragrant winter-flowering shrubs include witch hazel
varieties (Hamamelis), white-flowering paper bush (Edgeworthia)
and Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ with its continuous parade
of tiny pink blossoms from fall to spring. Rose hips, seed pods and berries
give color highlights to winter gardens. My favorites include ‘Bonica’ rose
(orange rose hips) and Callicarpa bodnierii (metallic purple berries).
Plants for shady corners
Shade-loving selections include sweetbox (Sarcococca),an evergreen
shrub whose flowers perfume the air in January and February, and evergreen perennials Helleborus
x hybridus and Pulmonaria that flower mid-winter through early
spring. Also consider the evergreen perennial, Iris foetidissima, for
its brilliant orange seed pods.
Plants for soil that stays damp
Vibrant winter stems of blueberry plants and yellow or red-twig dogwood shrubs
are striking in sunny spots and do well in damp soils. Eye-catching and
versatile, golden-variegated sweet flag (Acorus gramineus ‘Ogon’)
does well in shade, partial shade or full sun. For sun to light shade, consider
the grass-like rush plant (Juncus). |
Get ahead of next summer’s weeds
Despite cool temperatures, weeds continue to grow during
the winter. And some weeds, like winter cress, bloom profusely in wintertime,
enabling them to rapidly multiply. A day or two of weeding now will save you
weeks of spring and summertime toil.
Here’s what I do to prevent endless summer weeding:
- Hand pull weeds during winter when the moist soil makes
removing them quick and easy. Roots tend to come out intact rather than breaking
off to re-grow as happens in summer. It is essential to pull winter-growing
weeds, like winter cress, before they set seed and become a gardener’s
nightmare.
- Blanket freshly weeded areas with two to four inches
of mulch. Favorite mulches include compost, wood chips and composted manure.
In addition to suppressing weeds, mulch is a natural source of nutrients
for plants. Come summer, the mulch will help hold moisture in the
soil, so that you won’t need to water as frequently.
- Plant groundcovers into the mulched soil. As they grow,
they shade the soil, reducing the likelihood of weeds. Groundcovers with
winter beauty include brightly colored Euonymus fortunei for sun,
and the red berries of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) for
light shade.
Take time to stay inspired
Putting some time into your garden this winter is an
investment in all seasons to come, including the traditionally “dormant” winter
months. But now is also an excellent time to learn and be inspired.
Visit the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden at Washington
Park Arboretum to see several of the plants I have suggested. You may also enjoy the design
and conservation-oriented classes in February at the Northwest
Flower and Garden Show in Seattle.
Or, just curl up with a cup of tea and a plant catalog when the weather outside
keeps you indoors.
Whatever you do, enjoy your garden in winter.
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Put Carbon
in the Ground: Master Composter/Natural Soil Builder Training
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Application deadline: February 22, 2008
With a new focus on climate change, volunteers will learn how
compost and mulch can help with carbon sequestration, assess
their own carbon footprint, and create a personal climate change
action plan. Extensive training will also cover reducing
water and pesticide use. For more information, go to http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/
Yard/Composting/SPU01_003320.asp or
call (206) 633-0097. This program is for Seattle residents. |
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RESOURCES
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| Featured
Gardening Guides
Natural Yard Care in English & Spanish
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 It’s
a good
time to read our overview before gardening activities make
you too busy.
English or Spanish |
Rain Garden Handbook for Western
Washington
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Plan for next year’s rainy season. |
Featured Hotline
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What Happened to the Natural Lawn & Garden Hotline?
Nothing but a name change! For the convenience of gardeners all around
King County, we are now the "Garden Hotline". And we have a new
logo. So, next time you have a gardening question, make a bug line for
the phone and call (206) 633-0224 or e-mail help@gardenhotline.org
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Featured
Public Gardens
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Witt Winter Garden at Washington Park Arboretum
 Walk
the path through fragrant witch hazel trees, bright yellow and redtwig dogwoods
and abundant hellebore blossoms. Full plant list: http://depts.washington.edu/wpa/hilights.htm
Join Iain Robertson, Assoc Professor
Landscape Architecture
for a Witt Winter Garden tour.
Meet at the Graham Visitors Center.
Sunday, February 24 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
FEE: $10 SUGGESTED DONATION
NO PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Details at http://depts.washington.edu/
urbhort/html/education/events.php
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Milton Sutton Dwarf Conifer Garden and Coenosium
Rock Garden at South Seattle Community College Arboretum
Now is one of the best times to see their extensive collection of conifers
that are well suited for small urban gardens.
http://dept.seattlecolleges.com/
brarboretum/miltonsuttonmap1.html
Join SSCC horticulture faculty member, Van Bobbitt on an arboretum tour.
Meet at entrance.
Monday, February 4 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
FEE: FREE
NO PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Details in college class catalog, pg 78 http://www.southseattle.edu/programs/
classCat/pdf/winter08.pdf
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Featured Seasonal Tip
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Bare Root Tree Planting
If you didn’t plant last fall,
now is a good time to plant bare root trees. Like any
new trees, they’ll need summer watering for the first
three years. If they’re planted now instead of spring,
they’ll have more time to develop roots that better
withstand dryer days ahead. Bare root planting takes
special care. Roots must never dry out before being
planted. It is essential
to plant the root flare of the tree no deeper than the surrounding
soil level. Watch the National
Arbor Day Foundation planting video or read the how-to
steps from the University of Florida. |
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Natural Lawn & Garden Series
Learn how to have a healthy and beautiful garden with our guides.
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Choosing the Right Plants |
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Natural Pest, Weed & Disease
Control |
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Natural Yard Care (summary of above) |
View these guides online or to request a Natural Lawn & Garden
Guide, contact the Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224 or at help@gardenhotline.org |
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Saving Water
Partnership List:
Cedar River Water and Sewer District
City of Bothell
City of Duvall
Coal Creek Utility District
Highline Water District
Water District 20
Water District 45
Water District 49
Water District 90
Water District 119
Water District 125
City of Mercer Island
Northshore Utility District
Olympic View Water and Sewer
Seattle Public Utilities
Shoreline Water District
Soos Creek Water and Sewer District
Woodinville Water District |
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The
Garden
Hotline
For environmentally friendly
answers to your garden questons
(206) 633-0224 or at
help@gardenhotline.org |
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| We welcome your suggestions. Please share them by emailing
Liz Fikejs, Seattle Public Utilities at liz.fikejs@seattle.gov |
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Photo & garden credits:
Photos by Jacqui James Photography taken in the gardens of Stacie Crooks
Garden Design. |
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How to subscribe or remove name:
To add or remove your name from our subscription list, please go to:
http://savingwater.org/
outside_newslettersignup.htm |
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View our fall
edition:
http://savingwater.org/
savvygardener\archive\fall_2007\default.htm |
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