Hello Friends, 

Thank you for pausing to spend time here with me.   Perhaps you have been feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders.  When the world feels too hard to bear, nature is a solace.  Like a bird, may hope land softly like a feather, and help us remember all is not broken or lost.   Your garden is already growing.  You just can’t see it yet. 

In this newsletter, I will offer ways to care for yourself and learn about creating your own haven this year. I hope you enjoy!

RVA IMMERSE 

• I had the most fun this month making a Botanical silk pillowcase with under the direction of artist and entrepreneur Elizabeth Few.  She helped us create our living works of feminine glory and we met at the delicious wine shop Celladora.  Your can purchase your own pillowcase here or reach out to Elizabeth about your own work of art. 

•  Please join me and friends from Capital Trees at the REACH Exhibit from 9:30 - 11 am at the Bond Millen Gallery for a special conversation with artist Jackie Battenfield on March 5th.  RSVP here if you would like to attend. Limited Spaces available.  Love to see you! 

• Take this class at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.  Learn how to plant a Cutting Garden with Connor Parrish of Bloomistry. Or this class on perennial gardening... so fun! 

• Tickets are on sale now for Historic Garden Week, Virginia’s largest open house in April 18-25th.  Come visit me in the beautiful and historic Churchill Tour on Wednesday.  

• Go See Undeniable…The Designs of Christian Siriano and artist Ashley Longshore are on exhibit at The Branch until March 22nd. Designer Christian Siriano and artist Ashley Longshore believe fashion and art should welcome everyone. Their work encourages people to show up without apology.  YES!

• Visit the Virginia Daffodil Society Show at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.  Hundreds of delightful prize-worthy daffodils and expert growers on hand.  Held on Saturday, March 22, 2 – 5 p.m. and on Sunday, March 23, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.  Free admission to show. If you wish to visit inside the Garden, you must pay admission. 

GARDEN GUIDANCE FOR THE LATE WINTER GARDEN  

As Winter shifts into Spring, the lines are blurry about what to do and when to begin.  Things are looking messy and brown.  We are learning to take our cues from the garden instead of coming up with an arbitrary date to get started. I am learning that sometimes the most helpful thing we can do in the Garden is LET IT BE.

Does the garden need our care? I encourage you to see how you can support your garden versus clean it up.  An ecologically minded gardener has a mindset of care versus maintenance.  We care about what we love, and we maintain our cars.  This is a shift in thinking, and be gentle with yourself as you go. 

If you are making the transition from clean up to caring, let’s recap the steps we made. Last Fall, we intentionally left our leaves and saved our stems in planting beds to provide habitat for overwintering pollinators, and to feed our soil.   We removed invasive plants like English Ivy and reduced our use of pesticides in the garden to allow birds and insects to flourish. 

If you are like me, you are loving the shift to warmer weather and longer days. You can gently remove leaves from your lawn, and assess what will need care next month. When the ground is thawing and soft or muddy, try to keep your feet on mulch, stone or gravel paths, and off the lawns and out of beds to save the soil. If you love to get out in the garden, here are some garden tasks for the Late February Garden below.  

February Garden Guidance  

• Assess and Address Winter Damage, and Tips to Help (see below). Write down what was damaged or take a picture to help you remember to take preventative measures for next winter.

• Asses your Garden Beds and make note if you will need to refresh Mulch next month.  Start thinking about your plan.  Usually around 2-3 inches is good. Mulch is needed in your garden beds before weed seeds start to germinate if you have bare ground. If you have left the leaves, or have a dense perennial coverage, you may not need it.  Trees make the perfect mulch for their feet.  Perennials and deciduous shrubs do too.  You can “Chop and Drop” Perennials foliage to create a perfect mulch next month. If the stems are hollow, leave the stems 12-18 inches high for solitary nesting bees and wasps. 

• Groundcover Cut back. Cut back established Dense Evergreen groundcovers like Liriope and English Ivy before new growth emerges IF they are looking ratty.  Both are invasive, but I have them and see them all over covering banks in our area.  Make sure if you have English Ivy, that is off any trees or shrubs.  Use your hand pruner to roots and remove from trees.  I have made an effort to reduce or remove these two invasive plants from my garden.   

• Pruning Roses. Drift roses should be cut back hard, just before new growth emerges. Cut the entire plant back to 4–12 inches above the ground to promote a dense, bushy shape and boost blooming. Remove any dead, damaged, or crossing canes to improve airflow.  Remove old foliage from Ornamental Roses and remove crossing canes to allow air flow with sharp hand pruners. Tie up climbing rose canes horizontally instead of vertically to produce more blooms. 

• Wait to Cut back Grasses. This is hard if you love to tidy, but I advise you wait as late as you can bear.  If we have a surprise snow, or a freeze, this can cause crown rot in a newly sheared grass.  Your old foliage is a protection.  I would wait until next month to cut back.  Ideally you cut back just before new growth emerges. Wait until early March at least. 

Assess and Address Winter Damage in your Garden

The icy winter storm affected my tender evergreen shrubs this year like Osmanthus, Camellias, and Laurels.  Branches were broken on foundation shrubs, and some boxwood branches were damaged.  After the ice storm, your plants may be looking a little rough.  Feel free to clear away debris from around the plant so you can asses any damage. Practice gentle pruning with hand pruners to give first aid to broken branches, and heed these helpful tips. 

• Do Not PANIC PRUNE.  If you have a broken branch from evergreen or deciduous (no leaves) shrubs, prune above the broken area.  Leave heavy pruning for later in the season. Think manicure, not buzz cut. (Note that if this is a Spring Blooming Shrub like azaleas or lilacs you will be removing this seasons blooms.  You always prune Spring Blooming Shrubs and Trees AFTER they bloom. More on this next month.)  

• DOA? Wait until Spring to decide. Before you remove a plant, wait until next month to see if it starts to put our new growth. Some things that you swear are dead may recover.  

• Call An Arborist. If you can safely remove a broken limb, do so.  If its near a power line call an arborist.  Now is a great time to schedule a Spring tree canopy assessment.  Need a recommendation?  Please reach out to me.  I love to recommend our local arborists. 

Take Note and Learn from Your Winter Garden 

If you saw a lot of damage to your trees and shrubs, I'm so sorry!  Take pictures, and try to figure out where you need to make adjustments.  A trusted fellow gardener or nursery staff can be helpful if you need to fine tune your plant choices.  Plants native to Virginia and to zone 7 are going to be your best bet. Or perhaps your Fall Garden Care could use a tune up.  Below are preventative measures completed in late Fall.  If you saw a lot of damage in your garden, assess and see if these are some adjustments you can make this coming year.  

• Check Your Mulch in the Fall.  Shredded hardwood or fallen leaves is blanket of insulation protecting the root zone from sudden changes in temperature. It also prevents fall-planted plants from heaving out of the soil during brief winter freeze-thaw cycles.  

• Make sure to Water Well in Late Fall. Well-hydrated plants are more resilient in weather extremes.  This is especially true of evergreen plants. When the ground freezes, plants cannot take up water.  Winter burn or leaf desiccation occurs due because of lack of water in leaf tissue.  You can add an anti desiccant called Wilt Pruf to your vulnerable evergreens. 

• Stop Pruning in Late Fall. Pruning stimulates new growth on plants. To prevent new growth from being exposed to damaging winter weather, avoid pruning five to six weeks before your first frost date. New plant growth needs time to mature and harden off before the cold weather hits.

What to do Before a Storm or Late Freeze

I hope we don’t get another winter storm or a late freeze in Spring.  If we do, here are some steps to take to protect your garden.

• Protect Vulnerable Plants. Wrapping tender evergreens or young plants plants such as gardenias, osmanthus, budding hydrangea or boxwoods in burlap can help protect vulnerable plants from an early freeze or snow.  You can also spray with an anti desiccant called Wilt Pruf or Wilt Stop to prevent leaf damage.

• Relocate or Protect your Containers. If its dipping below freezing, move container-grown plants into a garden shed, enclosed garage for protection from wind and cold temperatures. These spots are often several degrees warmer than outside. You can also cover them with burlap if you are worried about a late freeze. 

NATIVE PLANT SPOTLIGHT

Like a beautiful surprise, Virginia Bluebells emerge as one of the first harbingers of Spring.  They are one of my favorite Spring Ephemeral Perennials, and are usually found in the wild.  I love finding them around the James River Park System in moist areas under the trees.  You will not be able to miss the electric blue color and nodding bell shaped blooms. Emerging in early Spring, they are a critical pollinator lifeline when little else is blooming. Spring ephemerals bloom, set seed, and die back before the trees overhead block the sunlight with their leaves.  By June, the plants have utterly disappeared, and will come back next Spring. 

It’s not to late to dream, to plan, and to create a plan for your Spring Garden!!  Now is the perfect time to begin a garden journal, or sketch a plan.  Gardens are nature’s love notes, reminding us to care for ourselves.  Please reach out if I can help you create your haven at home. 

-See you in the Garden, Wendell