Time to review gardening experiences, plan for 2018
We are finally in the winter season and already have passed our shortest day of the year. Our coldest and hardest winter weather is still ahead of us, but the days are getting longer, and before we know it, we will be preparing for another spring planting and growing season.
These cold, dark days of winter are a good time to think about the year gone by and plan for the year ahead.
Remember your garden and landscape successes of the past year, and decide which you want to repeat or improve in 2018. Recall your failures and disappointments, and decide whether to try those plants again in a different spot in the yard, plant at a different time of year or water or feed differently.
Plants are living things and will thrive in some conditions while battling for survival in others.
If a plant you really want in your yard struggles with the heat or full sun, you can try in the partial shade, full shade or on the north or east side of your home or business. If a plant has been leggy and stretched out with weak stems, it may have been in too much shade and you can try again in a sunnier area.
There are, of course, thousands, even hundreds of thousands of different kinds of plants, shrubs and trees, so you can just pick different plants to grow next year. Your local nursery or garden center, the county extension office or local master gardeners can help provide really good advice to select the right plant materials for your location and to improve your chances of gardening success.
This is the time of year when many of us get lots of seed and plant catalogs or emails from catalog and mail order nurseries full of exciting and enticing
pictures of plants we want to try growing. There are numerous choices of annuals, vegetables and perennials that you may want to try this next year.
It is fun to make a wish list and then see which of these plants may be available this season at your local nursery. If you can’t find them locally you may want to order some plants, but they usually will be bigger, fresher and healthier if you can find locally grown plants. It always is good to repeat some of your past successes and to experiment with a few new plants to add the excitement of discovery and pioneering to your gardening activities.
This is a great time to draw some rough sketches or plans of your yard and flower beds. Are you happy with the garden space you have, or do you want to add any new flower beds, garden spaces, planters or decorative containers for this next season?
Do you want to add new trees to your property?
Do you want to add any new hedges or new shrubs around your home or out buildings?
Do you want to plant any fruit trees, add some berries or grapes or create a vegetable garden to grow your own fresh fruit or vegetables?
Do you want to create an herb, butterfly, rock or kitchen garden?
Do you want to start or expand a water garden?
Do you want to add a cold frame or hobby greenhouse to expand your growing season?
These are just a few of the many ideas you can consider to add to your gardening experience as you dream and make resolutions for 2018. We hope you, your family and friends had a great Christmas season and wish you all the best as you plan and get ready to enjoy this new year.
Rodd Moesel serves as president of Oklahoma Farm Bureau and was inducted into the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame. Email garden and landscape questions to rmoesel@ americanplant.com.