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Getting the Most from Your Garden This Winter Season

Posted by Chris Sabbarese on Mon, Nov, 26, 2018 @ 18:11 PM

The post-Thanksgiving rush is on to get ready for the holidays and the gardening season is quickly becoming a memory. There is still plenty to do during this season including decorating your home with festive decor. Instead of shopping at the same store as your neighbor for the latest yard ornaments, why not create a festive custom look, that costs you next to nothing? Your holiday decor just might be hiding in your backyard. Here's how to make a gorgeous garland with your own greens.  If you don't have greens in your yard, visit your local garden center and ask for leftover tree cuttings for no cost. We've also got some tips for helping out wildlife during the winter months.

Deck the Halls: Greens from your Garden 

Swag Bundles  Swag

 Materials & Supplies

  • Jute twine cut to the length of the garland you want + extra for hanging
  • Floral wire
  • Your favorite Corona Hand Pruners

Instructions

  • Cut 6-inch pieces of greenery from your favorite shrubs and ornamental grasses. Make sure to cut pieces of varying colors and textures. (What you cut depends on where you live.)
  • Make bundles of 3-5 pieces by wiring the cut ends of the pieces together. (You can bundle 3-5 cuttings from the same type of plant together or make bundles with a few different types of cuttings in each bunch.)
  • Tie one end of your piece of twine to a doorknob and hold the twine taut. 
  • Start wiring the bundles to the twine. (Leave enough twine at the end to hang the garland.) Hold the first bundle, cut ends up, and tightly wrap the wire around the twine and the bundle. For the first one it helps to poke the end of the wire through the twine once to hold the bundle in place. Do not cut the wire! Use the same piece of wire for the whole garland for extra strength.
  • Place the next bundle along the twine about 3/4 of the way down the first bundle. Wire the second bundle to the twine and one piece from the first bundle. (This helps hide the twine once you hang up the garland.)
  • Continue wiring bundles to the twine until it is covered. 
  • Hang up and enjoy!

Pro Tip: Hide Your Cuts

Keep in mind that fall isn't the ideal time to fully prune anything, so you're going to want to take a few cuttings from a variety of different shrubs. 

Here's the easiest way to hide your pruning cuts: Cut pieces for your garland from the underside of the branch. Works like a charm! If that isn't possible, try to remove a piece of branch that has another piece drooping over it, so the cut will be hidden. 

 

Bird on Coneflower

Fall Cleanup Part 2: Leave a Little for Wildlife 

Still working on fall cleanup? Make sure not to completely mow down everything in your garden. While that's tempting, it doesn't leave much for visiting wildlife to snack on. Here are our tips for easing up on cleanup so you can enjoy visits from your feathered (and furry) friends. 

  • Allow ornamental grasses to stand until snow or ice knocks them down. Their flowers are a good food source for birds and small mammals.

  • Let perennials dry and stand as well. Goldfinches love coneflower seeds and you'll love seeing their bright plumage in your garden. The insides of these plants also provide winter habitat for native bees and insects.

  • Leave some (but not all) leaves. It's not a good idea to allow dense mats of leaves to form on your lawn or in your flower beds. (Chop them up with your mower or leaf shredder and use them as mulch.) You can move a few piles of leaves to the edge of your property, though, to provide homes for overwintering native insects and butterflies. 

 

Tell us your winter gardening tips 

With so many regions and climates, there are many different activities to enjoy in the garden during the winter. Whether you're planting cool season crops, protecting your roses from the winter freeze or draining your irrigation system, we want to hear what tips work for you. Please share a comment, include your garden zone and tell us what works best for you during the winter garden season. 

Topics: gardening, Landscaping, Winter Garden Prep, Holiday Decorating Like the Pros, holiday

Prepping the Garden for Winter with PW and Corona Tools

Posted by Chris Sabbarese on Sun, Nov, 02, 2014 @ 09:11 AM

FrostOnLeaf resized 600The country-wide switch from Daylight Savings to Standard Time is the annual signal (if you needed one) for gardeners to prepare their gardens for winter. Plant activity is slowing down, and leaves are coloring up and dropping. Winter-blooming Hellebores, Camellias and Edgeworthias are budding up, and holly berries are beginning to redden. It's time to roll up hoses and be sure irrigation systems are drained, as well as to protect plants in nursery pots. Best to rake out and clear away dead (and especially diseased) annuals and vegetable plants from summer, and to protect cold-hardy crops inside winter tunnels in colder climates.   

Perennials are going dormant and tender annuals are history. This is not the time to prune woody ornamentals, but instead make some fresh leaf mold with this year's leaf drop, and fork in well-rotted compost to improve your soil richness. This week on #Plantchat swap some of your area's tips on winter garden prep and get hints from the team at Proven Winners!

You're Invited to Tweet 

Join @CoronaTools and #plantchat co-partner, Stacey Hirvala, Jane Beggs-Joles and Shannon Springer representing Proven Winners @Proven_Winners on this week's topic, Prepping the Garden for Winter. The live chat begins Monday, November 3, 2014 at 11 a.m. PST / 2 p.m. EST, were we come together with green industry experts and fellow horticultural tweeps each week to discuss all things related to plants and horticulture, since 2014.

Discussion Overview 

Winter Prep - in most climates, fall is a time to protect, not prune

 

Mulching - the single most important thing to do for your plants

Value of Leaves - leaves are useful and full of nutrients, so don't rake them away and discard them

Neat v.s. Untidy - Leaving the garden a little “messy” for winter is good for wildlife, soil, and your plants

Planning Time! - if your landscape looks dull, start planning how to improve it for a happier winter next year

Join the Conversation

Plantchat logo on Corona Tools

Don’t miss out on this exciting topic and join the conversation via Twitter. Just sign into #plantchat with your Twitter ID and you can follow the conversation and share with the community. Be sure to add the hastag to all your tweets or join us in the plantchat room on Tweetchat.  They will automatically add it for you and it's easy to watch the conversation as it happens!

If you do miss the live event, you can still access the Storify recap, accessible 24/7 that will be posted following the live chat. The transcript includes all the information and links shared during the discussion. 

About Plantchat

Connect and share with the green industry leaders live on Twitter and 24/7 to learn and share about hot topics in the green industry. Now plantchat is part of the Green Industry Leaders Network (GILN) presented by Corona and its partners.  We are an alliance of professional organizations who are advancing the horticulture, tree care, and landscaping industries.  Register now to get weekly updates of upcoming chats, links to transcripts, chat reminders and more!  Register now on the GILN website!

photo credit Wikipedia

Topics: Corona Tools, #Plantchat, Proven Winners, Winter Garden Prep

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