Winter Greenhouse Gardening

You can grow a garden during the winter months indoors or in your greenhouse. This year I bought a freestanding 5-shelf greenhouse from Walmart.com and set it up on my enclosed front porch. The porch was an excellent area for the greenhouse because it has windows that face south and a grow light above.

The perfect location of this portable greenhouse will allow the new seedlings to grow in the sun and in a room that has an average temperature of 70 degrees. 

This location is beneficial to the plants and it saves on energy because if I had left it on my outdoor patio I would have had to heat it due to the bitterly cold weather.

Presently I am not growing many plants. I have a container of chocolate mint and spearmint, rosemary, a palm tree, and Christmas cactus. All are doing well.

If you enjoy gardening you may want to shop for a portable greenhouse that you can set up in your home next to a southern window or under a grow light.  I find my plants are growing well in a cooler room with the heat from the sun and a grow light above for use when on days when the sun is not out.

Planning Summer Wildflower Gardens

Keeping busy during the winter months is easy as long as I am planning my summer gardens. This winter is colder than normal, with snow on the ground and temperatures so cold that we have alerts that tell us to stay indoors. I have plenty of time now to plan my summer wildflower gardens, paths, and raised gardens.

Attract wildlife with a flower garden

A few months back my husband and I bought more land and we plan to build a deck on the side of our house that would have a view of this land. Presently the land is not eye appealing because it is a cut-down pasture with a few cedar and oak trees. There is a rock boulder to the far west that is interesting because the jagged edge looks like steps. The dirt in this area is shallow and I am thinking of planting a creeping sedum in the cracks and crevices.

Attract hummingbirds with bee palm, this is a photo of my wildflower garden

The liriope/lilyturf needs to be transplanted this spring and I have it in my plans to encircle the oak and cypress trees in this patch of land. The liriope is a good choice for this area because deer tend to leave it alone. Plus there is room for it to grow.

Since the deck is intended for relaxation I thought I would turn over the soil as soon as the soil thaws, and work the soil so it is ready for planting 1000 square feet of perennial and annual wildflower seed. I like the blend of seeds that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

on the sunny side of the land and plant 1000 square feet of wildflower seed that will attract birds and butterflies. I bought some seed at Amazon last year and it grew well. The directions said to plant in the fall but I planted it in early spring and had a good crop of wildflowers.

Planning your summer garden is a fun activity for the winter season. You have time to research the perennials and annual plants and choose a color scheme.

Winter is a good time to write down your ideas in a notebook and to create a priority list for early spring gardening. I find when I start planning my summer gardens in the winter that my planting season is more organized.