It’s too early to plant but not to plan

While it is getting tempting for many of us, it is still a bit too early to begin starting seeds indoors for the upcoming growing season, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot dream.

Right now is the best time of the year to head to your local garden center to pick up seed of some of your favorite plants, as well as new varieties on your wish list. Seeds don’t last long in the stores. If you wait until April or May to shop, they will be pretty well picked over. So, head out now and gather your seed, even if you have to wait several more weeks to plant them.

Vegetable seeds have been extremely popular over the last few years since the virus pandemic began. More and more gardeners are discovering the joys of growing food at home. They are snapping up the seeds fast. Gather your favorites now, especially heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, carrots, beets and others.

Speaking of garden dreams, this may be the year that you want to completely overhaul your garden. Try a new design. Do some sketching of the areas in your yard and garden where you plan and see what new options you can come up with. It’s always fun to try a new garden design or a new garden outline and what better time to indulge your dream garden design than right now while snow still blankets the yard.

Don’t let the perfectionist inside you intimidate your garden passion. Your garden design doesn’t have to be perfect. Search out examples online and piece together elements of different garden designs that interest you. Make it fun.

Winter is also the perfect time to take a closer look at your garden and see what’s missing. Do you have plenty of berries and seed heads available for overwintering songbirds? Do you have enough sheltering space for these birds, such as evergreen shrubs? A brush pile or discarded Christmas tree, perhaps? Is there enough winter interest in your garden in the form of grass plumes, dried hydrangea blossoms, seed heads of various flowers, the bark of trees, colorful winter shrubs, even your own garden art?

Now is the time to make a list of what’s missing and what you want to add to the garden next year to make the garden in winter an even more inviting place, for yourself, as well as our wild friends.

If you are really antsy, now is a great time to pick up one of the tabletop or desktop hydroponic gardens where you can instantly begin growing lettuce, herbs, even seeds indoors. Most of these have their own lights built in, so you don’t even need to worry about providing an adequate light source. Pick one up and enjoy the fun. You’ll be eating fresh greens in a matter of just a few weeks.

The winter dreams of many gardeners are brought to life in the form of house plants and indoor blooms. Houseplants are a huge and popular trend right now, boosted by online sites, such as Pinterest and TikTok. A whole new generation of plant lovers are beginning to enjoy the beauty and benefit of growing indoor plants. With more and more young adults living in apartments, the house plant boom is happening.

From succulents and orchids to foliage plants and lush, hanging gardens, the demand for house plants is driving up prices and many classics are becoming harder to find. Houseplant growers continue to hybridize more and more tantalizing choices to tempt indoor plant lovers.

Whatever your garden dreams, now is the time to act, and to begin to prepare for the new growing season just a few short weeks away.

Find Rob Zimmer on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RobZimmerOutdoors.