When you look out your window in February and see something that looks like this, its hard to imagine that this is actually the right time of the year to start preparing for your spring garden. First of all, by this point in the calendar, many people across the country have already endured several months of bitter cold and freezing weather. What’s more, for many people there are still several more months of winter weather to come. Many of us are in a “winter mindset” where warm sun, flowers and tomatoes growing on the vine seem like a distant dream.  But the truth is, that there are actually a lot of things you can be doing right now to get ready for your spring planting.

We here at Woodlawn Landscaping are already hard at work preparing for spring and we are excited to help you get started on your own personal gardening journey as well!  First and foremost, it’s important to have a plan in place. To prepare for a spring garden in February, start by planning your garden layout and selecting plants suited to your climate. In order to get this process started, there are two important questions you need to consider. First of all, “What do you want to grow?” There’s no point in going to all the trouble of starting tomato plants from seedlings, transferring them outside, staking, watering, fertilizing, mulching and harvesting the plants if no one in your house really likes tomatoes.  This may seem obvious, but sometimes people get so caught up in what they “think” a garden should have they forget that there is no recipe for an ideal garden.

The other thing to consider is what can you grow?  The answer to this question will be dictated by the space you have for planting, the time you have to dedicate to maintain a garden and the climate you live in. For example, do you currently live in an apartment and plan to grow plants in large pots on your balcony?  Or are you part of a gardening cooperative and have lots of room in which to plant?  Or maybe you are super lucky and have a big yard with virtually unlimited space for creating a large summer garden? Whatever your particular circumstances, you need to first think about your garden space and how you want to leverage what you have. Of course, you will also need to consider how much time you have to dedicate to maintaining a garden.  I have neighbors who plant and nourish a huge, beautiful garden in their backyard each year.  They have sunflowers that reach to the sky and every type of vegetable you can imagine. Every year as I watch across my yard, I confess to feeling pangs of “garden envy”.  But then I remind myself that both husband and wife are retired and that they obviously love to garden. In fact, they are out in their garden for hours each day in the spring and summer months (and even well into the fall), and that is something I simply don’t have the time for right now in my life.

The final thing to consider is climate. Where you live in the U.S. will determine what you should consider planting and when. The entire country is divided into climate zones, and your zone will tell you a lot about what plants and trees will grow well.  But how can you find out what zone you live in?  The United States Department of Agriculture has this nifty site where you can look up your climate zone by zip code. Once you identify your zone, you can use the information to learn more about what grows well in your area.   

Our Plant ID Cards will also help you with this. On the back of each card you will find a lot of practical information about the plant or tree, including the climate zone it grows in. For example, our Yarrow card tells us that this plant will grow in zones 3-9 and will bloom in the spring and the fall.  

So, once you figure out which plants to choose, the next step is to plan out your gardening calendar. When should you start planting ? We can help with that too!    We have some hacks that will help get you on your way that we can share in Part II. . Of course, you can also give us a call if you live in the central Oregon area and would rather have some hands-on help  We are open year round and are happy to help you in any way we can!  Feel free to reach out to us at Woodlawn Landscaping. And stay tuned for more gardening insights.  …….