Cold Weather Gardening

Oh the snow has come..and with it...temps in the twenties and teens.
The most important thing I have already done in my garden was to have layered mulch onto my bulb beds and fragile plants.
Many of my perennials were still growing...as we had not had a frost yet. Even the nasturtium was still growing strong!
But, with the cold snap looming, my biggest concern was my potted plants and my roses. I placed plastic bags over my pots, even the winter ones and the baby Japanese Maple tree..hoping to shield them.
My Roses, well, that was tricky and I'll have to see if it works. I have them in a lovely bed, with red, volcanic rock covering the floor and I was hesitant to put a bunch of mulch over the root balls and mess up the whole thing..besides our winters have been so mild the past few years..well that was a mistake. Since I was short on time, I wrapped plastic bags (yes, this is one way I recycle them) around their root balls and bases..which I hope will shield them from damage. I won't know until this cold snap passes though. So..roses owners take note! Always put mulch down around the base and mound it over the root ball..then you won't fret like I am!

The other potted plants I was able to move into the garage...I'm trying to winter over my pots of petunias...we'll see if it works! I also have jasmine growing up a portion of our back fence, rooted in pots and they are sensitive to the cold as well. The best I could do was to again, wrap the bases in bags. I will probably lose some of the vines.

The other thing I would encourage all gardeners to do during these snowy, frigid days, would be to remember our feathered friends. Toss out some wild bird seed for the ground feeders like Junco's and sparrows. Set out a feeder to help the year round residents and mountain birds like Chickadee's, who come down during the winter months. We placed our feeder outside the dining room window and it's fun to teach the kids about what kind of birds are visiting.

Enjoy our chilly winter!