The wind is roaring around the desiccated shrubbery in my front yard, while several robins, their feathers fully puffed, scout the few areas of bare ground for whatever they can find. I am sure they are regretting the irresistible impulse that compelled them to come north so far in advance of spring. I am regretting the fact that winter is refusing to end. It is hard to imagine that in a few weeks the garden centers will have the spring pansies out on the pallets.
Still, the gardening impulse has begun to reassert itself, and not just in the evenings when I page through the day’s haul of catalogs. Last weekend, when the temperatures took flight and ratcheted up into the low fifties, I gathered a number of the houseplants and gave them haircuts, deep watering and new fertilizer spikes. The geraniums were most in need of attention. Every year I overwinter the pots that bedeck the back porch in summer. We have an array of brightly colored varieties, plus a few scented-leaf types. They always look sad and attenuated by this time, even though they get much more supplemental light than I do. Now, thanks to my efforts they look neat and tidy, though not abundant.
I took all of the viable geranium trimmings and put them in glasses and small vases of water. Many will root without any further exertion on my part, enabling me to replace the plants that succumbed over the winter or enlarge the supply of geraniums. Sometimes I use extra geranium pots to brighten things up in the mid-summer garden beds as well, so they come in handy.
I have been thinking of herbs, each time I use my diminishing supply of home-grown, dried basil from last summer’s vigorous plants. The garden centers already have the spring seed displays out, so I bought seeds for chives, lemon balm and parsley. They are now beginning to sprout on the sunniest windowsills. Everyone knows that once you install chives in the garden, they will increase prolifically until the end of time. Next fall, I’ll simply dig a clump from the batch that I have just sown and bring it indoors.
I am dreaming of other things that I can start inside, now that the geraniums have been trimmed back to reasonable sizes. Every year I start a few tuberous begonias in the house, because they need such a long lead time to produce their luscious summer blooms. Tuberous begonias are more properly known as Begonia x tuberhybrida or Begonia tuberosa group. Either way, they are show horses for shade, with big, assertive blooms in a wide array of bright and pastel colors. I love them and recommend them often, even though they require staking, just the right amount of moisture and protection from harsh elements. When properly grown and appropriately cosseted, they are magnificent and well worth the trouble. Today I will brave the wintry winds and trek to the garden center on a begonia safari.
If you are considering major garden changes, start putting together a “look book,” of ideas by using magazine or newspaper pictures and clippings. When dinosaurs walked the earth, I used to do this in scrapbook form. Now it is much easier to store the information on the computer. Some people that I know use Pinterest for this. The ideas are the important part; the media you use to store them is a matter of personal preference.
If weather permits, it is nice to get out and actually do some outdoor work. I am guilty of not cutting back enough in the fall, because I simply ran out of time. Last weekend I trimmed some of the more egregiously wayward shrub branches and tall aster remnants that have long since lost their charms as “winter interest.” The seed heads that provided late fall and early winter sustenance for birds are also long gone. Outdoor work at this time of the year exposes you to at least a bit of sunshine and provides the satisfaction of tangible results. I recommend it, if you can do it without risking frostbite.
And finally, trips to botanical institutions, garden shows and garden centers are a great way to rejuvenate. The Philadelphia Flower Show, mother of all American horticultural exhibitions, is on now. I go every year and would walk from northern New Jersey to Philadelphia, if I had to. This is also the season of orchid shows at botanical institutions all over the country. Visiting one is like a short-term tropical vacation. The high humidity that we curse in the summer seems life-giving when it comes from a climate controlled glass house in the winter. The garden centers are starting to gear up for spring and their greenhouses are refreshing. Make the trip and consider picking up some seeds or begonia tubers. Even if all you bring home is an African violet, it will probably provide more color than you have at the moment. A little inspiration means a lot in this year of perpetual snow cover.