Winter may seem like a quiet time in the landscape – in actuality, it’s anything but. Along with keeping an eye on plants and prepping garden tools for use in spring, taking a closer look at invasive plants while they’re in a dormant state and creating a garden plan for implementation in spring allows you to start with a clean slate and dive into the upcoming growing season with ease and excitement!
Take Control of Invasive Species
The best time of year to remove pesky invasives from the landscape is now, while they’re in their dormant state and before the native plants emerge. Invasive plants spread to wetlands and other natural areas crowding out the native plants that birds depend on. A few common culprits to be on the lookout for include – Garlic Mustard, Oriental Bittersweet, Multiflora Rose, and Japanese Knotweed.
Getting Creative in Winter
One of our favorite things to do during the winter months is to create personalized landscape designs for our clients. When approaching a re-design, a revamp of an old garden, or updating a site that offers a clean slate, we first carefully take into consideration our client’s goals and at the same time observe and understand the location and its unique conditions. By looking at plant material both naturally occurring and previously planted, observing how water flows throughout the site (including drainage and topography), and assessing the health and location of large trees – we are able to create a design that’s perfect for the site and also fulfills the property owner’s vision.
Now is the Perfect Time to Focus on Tree Concerns
Check out our latest ad featured in the Newtown Bee
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
Did you ever notice how cool bark REALLY is?
There’s a lot more to bark than meets the eye – it’s similar in many ways to our own skin and plays a pivotal role in a tree’s survival by keeping moisture in and infection out. Bark also provides endless benefits to a host of other species within the forest ecosystem and adds aesthetic beauty to the landscape including the depths of winter when its texture really comes to life.
Sweet Dirt
Welcome to Sweet Dirt! In this section of our newsletter, you’ll find links to safe local activities to seek out, books to read, movies to watch, and other tidbits – all with a nod towards the horticultural world we love.
Consider taking a short drive up the road to NYBG! Among many horticultural happens both onsite and online, here is a mesmerizing opportunity not to be missed!
KUSAMA: COSMIC NATURE
Saturday, April 10 – Sunday, October 31, 2021
Public tickets on sale: March 16, 10 a.m. ET
Experience Yayoi Kusama’s profound connection with nature
Contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is one of the most popular artists in the world, drawing millions to experience her immersive installations.
Exclusively at NYBG, Kusama reveals her lifelong fascination with the natural world, beginning with her childhood spent in the greenhouses and fields of her family’s seed nursery. Her artistic concepts of obliteration, infinity, and eternity are inspired by her intimate engagement with the colors, patterns, and life cycles of plants and flowers.
Speaking of fungi… here is a book that comes highly recommended you may want to check out.
“Merlin Sheldrake’s marvelous tour of these diverse and extraordinary life forms is eye-opening on why humans should consider fungi among the greatest of earth’s marvels. . . . Wondrous.”—Time
In keeping with our mushroom theme, we recommend this award-winning documentary film about the secret world beneath our feet.
