December Garden Checklist: Prepare, Plant, Protect

Prepare

Order bulbs, plants, and seeds as soon as catalogs arrive. Request that live material be held for spring shipping or the proper planting time for your zone.

Plant

Brighten winter with potted fancy-leafed scented geraniums in a sunny window—they come in a wide range of colors, sizes, and fragrances.

For a long-lasting arrangement, place a pot of blooming amaryllis, clivia, orchid, paperwhites, or poinsettia in a large plastic-lined basket surrounded by low, spreading houseplants with attractive foliage like Christmas cactus or creeping fig. Add a small star-shaped aloe or agave, and cover exposed pots with Spanish moss or conifer sprigs.

Maintain

Check soil moisture of shrubs and trees planted last season by inserting a screwdriver 2 inches into the soil a few inches from the trunk. If the blade feels dry, water with a bubbler until the rootball is evenly moist.

Prune overgrown arborvitae, cedar, cypress, fir, holly, juniper, pine, and spruce. Save trimmings for holiday decorating indoors.

Protect

Move potted plants that overwinter outdoors to a sheltered spot on the east or north side of the house. Wrap containers in several layers of bubble wrap to prevent frost damage.

After the holidays, recycle your Christmas tree by cutting off boughs and laying them over flower beds, small shrubs, and rock gardens. Overlap branches to protect plants from winter desiccation.

Harvest

Clip rose hips from pesticide-free roses for tea. Wash thoroughly; use five hips per cup and steep about 10 minutes.

Feed Wildlife

Drape a garden tree or shrub with garlands of unsalted popcorn, cranberries, and pinecones slathered with peanut butter and rolled in birdseed.