If you’re an active Bergen County, NJ plant enthusiast, then you likely already know that colder weather doesn’t have to mean the end to your gardening efforts. In fact, a large number of plant species thrive just as well indoors as they do outdoors. These indoor plant types include begonias, fuchsia, geraniums, boxwood and myrtle, caladium, and coleus, among many others
now it’s time for the landscape maintenance that is necessary after the brutal winter season we experienced. There is the wind damage to shrubs and trees to tend to, soil needs replenished from becoming saturated with salt and chemicals over the winter and the usual debris from two blocks away that blew in one brisk and breezy wintry night.
Think pollinators. Butterflies, dragonflies, beetles, worms, starfish, mussels, and crabs are but a few of the millions of invertebrates at the heart of a healthy environment. Invertebrates build the stunning coral reefs of our oceans; they are essential to the reproduction of most flowering plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and nuts; and they are food for birds, fish, and other animals.
Sure its cold out, but there has to be something going on in the garden beds. Often I can hear the birds chirping outside while working inside, and after 4 1/2 inches of powdered snow, they have to be looking for something to sustain them. I toss birdseed everywhere whenever I am out. And the squirrels are still active, bustling and scampering here and there all day long.
Landscaping with plants which are both attractive and produce food has been gaining in popularity over the last few years and is called “edible landscaping” Typically most of us keep our vegetable garden separate from our flower beds. And if we grow fruit we usually relegate fruit trees to a corner of the yard or have a berry patch. But what if we intermingled them in the landscape?
Jeez, there is only 34 days and 2 hours until Spring and then we’ll have all of the “spring cleanups” to get done. I need to make sure everything works properly and in a safe manner.
Now that I get to spend more of my time inside catching up on the latest in landscaping and getting ready for the big push that is coming with the spring thaw that is less than two months away, I find myself in my spare time reading about the various house plants that surround me.
Trees and shrubs have a special place in the landscapes. There are many sewer safe trees that can be used when planting within the vicinity of sewer lines that reduce your chances of broken water pipes.