A Year of Gardens - Day 6

It's winter in Tennessee. It's finally raining in California. It's been snowing in Washington non-stop. It's crazy cold in Chicago and New York.  Shoot, it's even cold in Texas! What's a gardener to do?
Here's my top five tips of things to do this month when the winter blues are wearing you down:

1. Take inventory of your garden tools, clean them well, and sharpen them. My buddy Martha Stewart has a good short video on that subject called How to Clean and Sharpen Gardening Tools. (A tip she is passing on just in case you land in prison and someone hides a hack-saw in your birthday cake.) For more detail on cleaning, check out University of Vermont's Dr Leonard Perry's "Cleaning Garden Tools" article. 

2. Order seeds and plants from all the catalogs that are filling your mailbox. Some of those unique plants sell out quickly so order now for delivery later. A few of my favorites: Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., Brent and Becky's Bulbs, Botanical Interests Seeds (btw - they have a super fun coloring book you can download for grownups or kids based on their seed package covers! perfect for a snowy night by the fire), Plant Delights (true confession - I have every one of their catalogs from the last 10+ years...), Renee's Seeds (her website is chock full of great info), and Lee Valley Tools. There are plenty more great catalogs so feel free to chime in with your favorites!

3. Visit local garden centers and see what they have growing in their greenhouses or shops, talk with the folks there about what you are looking for in plants, supplies - like more Crescent Garden planters and outdoor garden items ;), or events you's like them to have, tell them how they have helped you in your gardening, buy a gardening gift for a friend. I'll have a later post on great garden centers that I am discovering.

4. Find out if your state universities have a trial or test garden and you visit it. (Check out yesterday's post.) And thank your extension agent for their hard work educating the masses.

5. Go to a garden show or seminar. A few of my favorites are the Calloway Garden's Southern Garden Symposium, Northwest Flower and Garden Show, San Fransisco Garden Show, and Nashville Lawn and Garden Show.

And here's a pretty picture because that what is expected on a gardening blog:

My friend Helen Battersby beautiful garden