One of my favorite local garden professionals is Lilian R. Jackman, who owns and runs Wilder Hill Gardens in Conway. I met her several years ago when she gave a talk at the Western Mass. Master Gardeners’ Association spring conference in South Deerfield on downsizing the garden. She made many useful observations about how our gardening habits change as we age, and how to decide what to eliminate or cut back on. I knew we were on the same wave length. Lilian comes to help me in the garden once or twice a year. She always has good advice that comes out of years of education, practice and wisdom.
Lilian and I had a recent exchange about her plans for the winter, in which she shared her reliably valuable insights:
Do you ever really stop working outside in the garden?
I usually keep working at least a few hours each day into early December, until the snow covers the ground. I save certain jobs for this odd time, right before the solstice and the annual descent into deep winter. For example, shoveling wood chips onto the nursery stock to protect them from the extreme cold, rescuing all the pots, statues and gazing balls and stowing them in the barn, and even some pruning jobs. Just last week I reduced a giant stand of forsythia by half for a home-owner in Conway and in my own yard I trimmed the old blooms from several hydrangeas and cut back the perennial grasses. Any job that might lighten the work load in April and May is a good idea and get us out in the sun and fresh air for an hour or two.
But I thought pruning after Labor Day was not a good idea!
Well, stick by that Labor Day rule; it was an exception to prune that big, unruly forsythia while dormant, no chance of tender fall shoots. I would never try that with a more valuable specimen, and rather wait until spring, preferably before any leaves emerge. Snipping the old blossoms off the hydrangeas is still a worthy outdoor activity, before the snow pulls them down to the ground. However, if they add anything at all to the winter landscape, in the gardener’s opinion, by all means leave them on.
After the heavy snow arrives, what do you like to read?
Reading gardening books and seed catalogs is obligatory for a winter-bound gardener. I read whatever catalogs make their way to my mailbox; Johnny’s and Fedco for vegetable and flower seed. But I like to make my first purchases from one of our local farm and garden stores. Greenfield Farmers’ Exchange has a long history in the farming community and an extensive seed selection. Buy local! Then I peruse the catalogs, especially for those new and unusual varieties of cut flower and herb seeds. I do lots of flowers for weddings, so I take a look at a bridal magazine once or twice a year to check out the trends. The same with horticulture and landscape design magazines.
For books, I am revisiting 100 Easy-To-Grow Native Plants for American Gardens in Temperate Zones by Lorraine Johnson, as I am planting more shade gardens for clients than ever and expanding the selection of shade plants at the nursery. I also recommend any botany book, for example, Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon… beauty and useful science in one package.
A gardener might use the short, cold days of winter to plan a large or small hardscape project, for the growing season 2019. Local author Peter Jeswald has written a well-illustrated book called How to Build Paths, Steps and Footbridges.
How else do you keep busy?
Cleaning and sharpening tools is virtuous. I spend some time this side of winter planning next year’s crops and classes, and working on landscape designs for clients. This year I am designing a new set of signs to “show” visitors around the nursery and fields of Wilder Hill Gardens. After the New Year the new crop of brides checks in and we plan the floral arrangements for their 2019 weddings.
What do you do to keep your body in tune?
Winter is the perfect time to look after the most important gardening tool you have, your body. I practice yoga and a set of nifty back exercises all year round. But come winter time I will go to a gym and pay attention to keeping all my muscles strong and flexible, not just the gardening and heavy lifting ones. Devoting time to balance, flexibility, and integration pays off all around.
Any fun things lined up?
I make sure some of the winter downtime is devoted to sleeping more and making some art. Lately I’ve been making mosaics of wild and weird gardens. This winter I will seek out some sun in Mexico and take dance lessons for the sheer fun of it. I am sure that in some mysterious way, the salsa lessons will make me a better gardener. My mind always circles back to the garden, just like the seasons.
Mickey Rathbun, an Amherst-based lawyer turned journalist, has written the Get Growing column since 2016.
The second Saturday of every month, the Hitchcock Center in Amherst offers a seasonal nature and science program for children and their parents. On Jan. 12, the topic will be Evergreens and Beyond, how different plants adapt to winter. Some plants die, others retreat unseen below the ground, still others seem completely unchanged. The group will investigate several evergreens to understand their survival strategies. 10 to 11 a.m. The programs are free, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Pelham Auto Service. For more information, go to: hitchcockcenter.org