Cold and snow don’t mean the garden work is done

If the dusting of snow you may have had on your garden last weekend led you to believe that, like it or not, the gardening season was over, I have news for you — there’s plenty of time to do more.

Depending on how you were feeling about the state of your garden when a short stretch of unseasonably cold weather settled in, that’s either welcome news or completely deflating.

The real end of the gardening season comes when either the ground freezes or the weather gets so inhospitable that it’s too miserable to get much done, and the two are closely related. 

At the risk of being repetitive, the mostly important task that can and should still be done is watering, even if that means having to haul out the hoses that you put away a week ago. I focus watering efforts especially on evergreens and any new trees or shrubs planted this year. 

A mulch check is also a good idea, with a 2 to 3-inch thick layer on the root zone of recently planted trees and shrubs along with any that are borderline hardy. Mulch should never touch the trunk of a tree or be piled up around. Some questionably hardy perennials can also benefit from a layer of mulch, but this is best applied after the foliage dies back and on top of the plant, then gently pulled back in early spring. Fallen leaves are excellent for this purpose.

Speaking of leaves, you probably have more than a few around. Raking them off the lawn is a good idea — by removing them or mulching them into the lawn — but don’t worry too much about leaves in garden beds. Although you don’t want huge piles sitting on plants, they do have ecological benefits when left alone. Excess leaves can be cleaned out in spring but the rest will serve as mulch.

Cleanup is more a matter of personal preference and your own tolerance for a bit of mess, but keep in mind cleanup is easier in spring when plant material is dried up and breaks off easily. I usually take a targeted approach, cleaning up the areas closest to frequently traveled paths and around the patio and leaving the rest to stand for winter interest.

If you happen to have perennials still sitting around in pots, get them in the ground, either planting them properly or just planting them, pot and all, and then you can move them in spring. Throw some of those leaves on top of them, too. 

Don’t forget to protect pots. Plugs should be removed from self-watering pots and others should be emptied and put in a protected area to prevent them from cracking unless they are frost proof. No matter what, lift them off the ground or concrete so they don’t freeze at the bottom.

And of course, there’s still time to plant spring-blooming bulbs. If you haven’t picked some up, you can probably get a great bargain on them at garden centers now.

Leaving the garden in good order will not only make it more enjoyable to look at through the long winter, it will also pay dividends come spring. And that’s only six months away.