Starting a New Year

I love the start of the New Year with new possibilities!  It is a fresh start, a tweaking of what I did last year, in hopes that this year will be even better.

Welcome to my garden.

As a lover of all things garden, I am always on a search for new combinations of flowers; reassessing my vegetable garden techniques; and thinking about what herbs I want to have on hand to use.   So, I have been searching and planning.  Sometimes things work great, with little help from me.  Other times, I try a different idea each year with the same plant, hoping it will finally thrive.

In North Georgia, particularly North Atlanta, we have a unique situation.  We are on the edge of Zone 7 and Zone 8 on the climate map. The cold from the North Georgia Mountains occasionally reaches us (this can be devastating to some plants, but an advantageous for others); or the hot wind from the South and West can just dry up our humidity.  So, as I try to remind myself - as with many things in life - hold onto things lightly, because they come and go. 

Pansies, Narcissus, Mum and Vinca Major- a four-season pot.

Each month, I have a list of activities, written in a Garden Journal (notebook or on an old calender) that I want to accomplish.  For January, my list is fairly short, because it is mostly maintenance with existing shrubs and flowers that I already have.
My January Activities:

• Prune French Hydrangeas, apply epson salts for feeding and lime for changing color to purple
• Prune Roses to 3 strong canes when the Forsythia bushes blooms
• Feed Shasta Daisies before they spring up
• Trim back Mums and other winter-burned growth
• Pull mild-winter weeds out of beds and gardens
• Research, make plans and sketches of gardens and containers.

 

Herb garden/pots in front of vegetable garden plot in January

Now, you can tell what I have in my back yard.  Depending on what you have in your yard, your activities may be a little different.  If you don't know the bushes or flowers you have, do some research on the internet or take a sample to your local nursery to find out.  Then collect some basic information on each plant, putting it in your notebook or calender to know what to do when.  One of my go-to resources is Month by Month Gardening in the South, by Don Hastings.  Find a good gardening book like this to use as a reference.  I'm saying this only because of the numerous times I have read about a plant in a Martha Stewart magazine or general gardening book and it is information for a different region of the US.  Always keep in mind, our region can have a wet Fall and wet Spring, but our Summer sun can make it drought-like.

African violet on my kitchen counter.

What are you dreaming of doing with your garden this year?  Do you want to expand a little?  Or just get started with the pot on the back step?  I will be here, sharing a little wisdom that I have learned from my Georgia gardening experience.  Hope you join me on my continuing gardening adventure.