The Weekly Gardener 1

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Arctic Blast

Spoke Too Soon

Winter Skies

Forget the heat wave; the freeze is upon us. A massive winter storm is on its way, promising to bury us in ice and snow with temperatures likely to plummet below zero.

It is unnerving when it gets this cold. Nature imposes an eerie silence, which gives one the inescapable feeling that all life's movements have come to a halt.

Everything looks frozen in time; nothing moves anymore, not a breath of wind, not a single sound. Deep in their burrows, the tiny animals are hidden, and the birds have fallen silent.

The heavy snow silences all sounds, like an anechoic chamber, and everything is still.

Looking on the bright side, since I'm confined indoors all weekend, I'll have ample time to review plant catalogs and design next year's garden.

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Garden Planning

Winter Skies

The focus this summer will be on color and fragrance, which means an abundance of annuals, fragrant herbs, and scented lilies.

Aromatic plants such as heliotrope, licorice hyssop, bee-balms, mint, and holy basil are never missing from the garden, and this year will be no exception.

Nature seems to favor zinnias this growing season, as indicated by the plant catalogs, so I expect plenty of bright color.

With the aster family flourishing this year, I'm confident in planning for more calendulas, daisies, heleniums, black-eyed Susans, tickseed, and garden mums as well.

The thorough bulb planting from last fall promises to reward me with a stunning display of tulips, mostly red, with contrasting daffodil accents.

As for the vegetable garden, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, and eggplant are always the go to crops. This year, though, a more diverse selection of herbs and colorful flowering runner beans would be a welcome addition.