In the Garden

Are you suffering from the mid-winter blahs? More importantly, are your houseplants?

There is something about a bowl of warm soup on a cold winter day that warms the heart and soul, as well as filling the tummy.

I recently asked a few readers, garden friends, and tree experts a question: “What is your favorite tree in winter?”

I hate to be the one to give you bad news, but some seed companies are already running out of seeds. Don’t panic: there are, in fact, plenty of seeds out there. And if one company doesn’t have your favorite tomato or zinnia variety, chances are that some other company will.

If you are like me, you buy new perennials, trees and shrubs every year. Most plants sold locally are hardy, but not all.

by Henry Homeyer CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – This is a good time to be outdoors exploring the fields and woods.

Our gardens are put to bed for the winter: veggie stalks are pulled and composted, perennials are cut back, weeds pulled, leaves raked. Everything is a snug as a bug in a rug. But I’m not done quite yet – and you might have a few chores to do before deep snow arrives, too.

By now many of us are providing seeds to the neighborhood birds. Of course the seeds we provide are just a part of the diet of a wild bird. It’s important to grow a diverse selection of native trees, shrubs and perennials to help provide shelter and nesting places for our wild friends, and to provide food all year long.

I love the holiday season: the lights, the carols, the cookies, and more. It’s a good antidote to the news, and to the gray and chilly weather. Last summer many gardening necessities sold out as so many people were quarantined at home and took to gardening.

CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – I’ll have to admit that I see many fewer volcanoes of mulch snuggling up to trees in public places.