What do you do when you can’t garden?

By Eric Barrett

OSU Extension educator

What a silly question, eh? You can garden year-round, even though you don’t get your hands dirty outside. And yes, you can have houseplants and even a greenhouse, but that’s another article.

Most of you have already completed the first part of next year’s garden when you planted your spring bulbs. This flush of color in spring will get you in the mood for gardening. There is still time to plant bulbs, even though it is not the optimum time.

What you need to be doing now is planning out what new garden space you will work with next year and what problem spots you will want to fix. What things haven’t worked in the garden? What spots are bare in the lawn and landscape? What is difficult to mow around that could be made into a flowerbed? Was there too much this year? Even downsizing is a plan to be sure we are not overwhelmed.

Take time during this chilly part of the year to notice what looks good and what does not look good in the landscape. Many of us have beautiful yards and gardens, but there is no interest other than holiday lights, come December. Consider what you might plant in those bare areas come spring.

Seed and plant catalogs will begin to arrive in the mail before you know it. While these help us cope with the winter weather, be sure to do your homework before making any decisions. Circling the new varieties you like is a good way to get started. Then, do some internet research to see if the plants might be an All-American Selections Winner (a measure of how good the plant will perform). Also, check to see if any credible sources have grown or are growing the plant. This could be a botanical garden, metro park or university extension report. One good way to find out more about the plant is to search for it while adding “university extension” to the search. You will be able to see if any Extension programs across the country have worked with the plant.

The seed catalogs offer all kinds of new varieties and some of the favorite heirlooms. Be sure to read the light and soil requirements.

The other major thing in the catalogs is learning about gardening in general while you have a little extra time. At OSU Extension, we have information on everything from native plants to composting to creating new raised beds in the garden.

For more information on plant propagation, call us or attend one of our programs. So when spring comes, you’ll be ready to go!