Cold Climate Gardening

I'm reporting on the results of last year's experiment, when I wintered over a bunch of plants from my summer containers, hoping I can grow them again next year, even bigger and better. Some died, some struggled, and some did pretty well. I don't have ideal conditions, but I won't know what works and what doesn't unless I try. Read along to find out how I'm storing over a dozen different plants.

Eeny-meeny-minie-mo: there's more hardy, easy-care hydrangeas for cold climates than you ever dreamed! Here's some of the ones I've grown, and how they look in September. Quit coveting those bodacious snowballs of blue--you have choices!

Every gardener does it at some point: deliberately plant something in the garden that turns out to be a thug that takes years to remove--if ever. Read on to learn more about the plant I'm struggling with.

The mystery rose that came from my neighbor's garden started sending up suckers throughout the bed, threatening to take it over. What did I do? I sent it to Rose Purgatory.

Do you know fly honeysuckle? It's blooming in my woods right now. A humble, modest plant--but I treasure it. Read my blog post to find out why.

Spring is right around the corner, and I've been going through photos of the garden bed adjoining our back deck. My, has it grown up--but it also needs tinkering. If you're looking for some flower power to get you through mud season, c'mon over and check this post out. Who knows? Maybe you'll get some ideas for your own spring renovation.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thank goodness my “desperate measures” are already in place. I’ve been planting early blooming bulbs where the snow melts first for several years. And every time the snow starts to melt, I check all those places for signs of emerging sprouts. Do you want to see what I found during our most recent thaw? It's easier than you think to have flowers blooming sooner than your neighbors.

Challenging myself to learn more about plants by trying new techniques and by researching and growing unfamiliar plants helps me grow as a gardener--and as a person. It's all about being a hardy soul and not letting winter get the best of me. Read what I've been up to the last month and let me know in the comments: What cabin-fever-fighting tricks do you have in your arsenal?

It's cold outside and warm inside, but you've read through and marked up the seed catalogs, going through each one twice, and even placed some orders, so-now what? Read some books, like the two I review here and even more linked to at the bottom of the post.