North Coast Gardening | Add Splash Of Color To Winter Garden

We are now starting the new year with a thirsty garden for months. Daffodils grow through mulch when a severe winter storm hits the garden. January is a wild month. Here's what you can do during storms to keep your lawn healthy.

Rose Care: When roses start to go dormant, it's time to start winter. Pruning, inert spraying, and mulching are on the list. Clean up fallen petals and leaves before adding new mulch.

Plant Feeding: This month, local nurseries began offering a variety of fruit and vegetable plants. Strawberries, cane berries, fruit trees, rhubarb, asparagus, and artichokes are available for planting this month and next day. Check out our garden plants section for beginners such as Asian greens, leaf lettuce, and spinach.

Feeding: If you have citrus fruits, now is the time to start feeding them. Take advantage of the winter rains and start feeding bee-friendly grasses and ground covers this month and next. Apply it one day before the next heavy rain. What is bee-friendly grass? Contains herbs, English daisy, dandelion, self-healing and alfalfa. All kinds of pollinators and butterflies love this type of grass.

Focus: It won't take long for the grass to really start growing. Now is the time to bring your electric garden tools in for a check-up and setup. And if you upgrade to a lithium-powered garden tool, you won't have to do that greasy, gassy, and noisy thing.

Pruning: This month and the next, it's time to prune your fruit trees, canes, and blueberries. Are your pruning shears sharp and clean?

Adding Color - One of the best ways to stave off the winter blues is to add color to porches and patios. Cyclamens, chamomiles, marigolds, pansies, and violets are hardy plants that provide good color in the cool, dry months.

Terry Kramer is Webmaster of the Humboldt Botanical Garden and is a horticulturist and journalist. He has written a gardening column for The Times-Standard since 1982. Contact him at terrykramer90@gmail.com.