Winter Gardening

When you experience a chinook for 14 days then you are deceived into thinking that spring is just around the corner.  Then wham, you get hit by another snow storm and then a deep freeze comes in.  Nevertheless, the armchair garden can find plenty to dream about as she pulls out the gardening books, looks at garden and seed magazines and considers what is possible in the months ahead.

It’s important to realize that we in southern Alberta are in a Zone 3 area which means our options on plantings is quite limited.  I’ve long since given up on attempting even Zone 4 plantings as it is disheartening to discover dry twigs the following spring.  I’ve patiently waited until almost September in the hopes of seeing a little green sprout but alas, it was not to be.  Now I find myself going to those tried and true plants that come back year after year, peonies, lilies, daisies, delphinium, and irises.  I have moderate success with globe thistle and bleeding hearts.   I also go for my reliable annuals like petunias and geraniums and then take the seasonal selection of pansies, snapdragons and lobelia.  I’ve discovered some nameless vines that I put in my hanging baskets and seem to overwinter very well, as do the geraniums. 

I adore roses and have planted at least a dozen but find that even my shrub roses struggle to survive.  However, this is one plant that I find hard to give up and will attempt some new bushes again this spring since I lost my 2 heirloom bushes to construction last summer.

For shrubs and bushes I like lilacs and honeysuckle as they are dependable, colourful and have interesting berries afterwards.  I've also discovered an interesting, spindly little bush whose name I don’t remember that seems very dependable and is very attractive even in the winter time.

For the last 10 years I’ve had a program of planting evergreens and only wish I had begun much sooner.  They are slow growers but they are so worth it when they come to a size where birds are harbouring their summer and winter.  I have had great success with larch and find them extremely attractive during the summer and their shedding needles do not make a mess during the winter like leaves do.  Junipers are very dependable but can be quite invasive so you have to plan them very well.  Junipers also are very alkaline so you need to plant them where they will be compatible with your other plantings.  Junipers also seem to attract ants so that can be a bit of a problem.

As I flip through the books I wonder when I should start seeding indoors for spring containers and when should I bring the geraniums up from the basement.  Is it spring yet?