It is time to take down the “Shhh, The Garden is Sleeping” sign. I put that sign at the end of my walk every fall as a reminder that there is still activity during the winter months. However, the garden is definitely awakening now. This past week, the earliest daffodils began blooming at Sandhill Gardens. The hellebores continue to put on a great show. Each day, it seems another clump bursts into bloom. I have been very busy getting the old foliage cut away, but still have some clumps to attack. It really is the only thing I have to do to the hellebores each year, so, although it is time-consuming, it is worth it.
As we turn to March on the calendar, there are a lot more garden chores to do. Over the weekend, I had some very capable help in the garden, and took advantage of that to put down cardboard and mulch in the bosquet I planted last fall. (For those who may not have read that column, a bosquet is a circle of small trees, planted to create a garden room.) A table made from a treadle sewing machine base is now in the middle of the bosquet. I plan to place a bonsai specimen or some other potted plant there when the weather gets warmer.
You have probably seen articles and social media posts urging you to wait until temperatures are consistently in the fifties to clean up the garden. The reason is that many insects over-winter in the debris from last year’s garden, and will not emerge until temperatures warm. However, if I were to wait until temperatures reach that level, which will likely be in mid-April, I would never get everything done before it is time for other activities. Therefore, I have started the clean-up. However, most of the debris will be stockpiled at the edge of the woods, where the insects will still be able to live. I may later chip up the debris and add it to a compost bin.
The fifty-degree rule is really a good suggestion, but gardeners should not feel obliged to wait to clean up the garden. Do not feel that you are doing something wrong by cleaning your garden. It is, after all, your garden. I do encourage everyone to do what you can to help the environment, but cleaning your garden is not going to destroy the planet. There are still going to be plenty of wild areas, at least in rural southern Indiana, so your garden represents only a small portion of the environment. As for me, I will clean up areas near the house first, and move out from there. The wildflower meadow and other edge-of-the-woods areas will be the last and will probably not be touched before the insects emerge.
My garden tends to be a little messy, but that means good habitat for the local fauna. It is a certified pollinator garden and wildlife habitat. However, that is my preference, and I would not expect everyone else to garden this way. I have a friend who loves plants, birds and butterflies, but cannot stand clutter. Her garden is very different from mine. She likes individual plants to stay where planted, and the garden is more a plant collection than a habitat. That is what she likes, and that is OK.
My point is that no individual home garden is going to wreck the world. With the internet, there are crusaders who cling to a particular view and seem to wish to tell everyone else how to garden. One of these issues is the planting of native plants versus using non-native or exotic plants. My hellebores, hostas, daffodils and peonies are all non-native plants, but they are an important part of my gardens. Even though I choose to include exotics in my landscape, I probably still have more native plants than the average garden. After all, my favorite flower, the purple coneflower, is a native.
My advice remains to garden in a way that pleases you. I do encourage you to limit the use of chemicals and avoid truly invasive plants, but do not feel that you have to garden in any particular fashion. After all, any garden is better for the earth than no garden. Have fun and enjoy this coming season.