In the dreary depths of winter, garden lovers console themselves with visions of gorgeous plants that will soon fill their landscapes with glorious color and heady fragrance.

If you are in need of a little moral support to lift your spirits out of the winter blahs, I can point you in the direction of a few plants that might not immediately spring to mind, but could be just what you need to treat your eyes and nose a few short months from now.

Regular readers know that, in spring and summer, Cheryl and I like to start our day by taking our first cup of coffee out to a garden bench where we quietly take in the colors and aromas of the plants as they begin to wake up and stretch towards the morning sun. Somehow, it is a time that is both calming and stimulating, and it sets us up for the hustle and bustle of the day ahead in the nursery.

So let’s start with a shrub that certainly could be the poster child for fragrance-and-color plants.

Mock Orange Philadelphus Innocence x lemoinei

I believe this is perhaps the most fragrant of all the Mock Oranges. For me, inhaling the sumptuously intoxicating orange sweetness given up by the pure white blossoms of Mock Orange Philadelphus Innocence is pure heaven. It has gracefully arching branches and large, 4-petaled white flowers clustered at branch tips.

The Mock Orange Philadelphus Innocence variety is distinguished by its cream and chartreuse streaked foliage with occasional all-gold leaves that extend interest throughout the summer. It grows 6 – 8 feet in height, in full sun. Recommended for USDA zones 5 through 8.

Persian lilac,Syringa x persica
This is a graceful, arching shrub reaching to a height of 4 – 8 feet and half again as wide. The flowers of the Persian Lilac are delicate blend of pale violet and lavender and are very fragrant. The 2 – 3 inch long blooms appear in late spring and bloom abundantly into early summer, attracting bees, butterflies and birds.

The rounded and low mature form makes the Persian lilac a perfect plant to be used in a foundation planting or as a border plant. The blooms can be cut and taken indoors for a lovely scent and floral display. Zones 3 to 7.

Monarda Blue Stocking

Although the name makes one assume the flower color is sky blue, in fact it really has uniquely shaped flowers that are a striking violet/purple and appear in July on erect stems of very fragrant foliage. This perennial grows to about 2 – 3 feet tall and a width of 1 to 3 feet. Monarda Blue Stocking is very attractive, and acts as a magnet to bees and hummingbirds.

They thrive in full sun or partial shade and evenly moist soil. As a bonus, they are quite deer resistant. A good choice for a border plant and nice for cut flower arrangements with its aromatic leaves. Zones 4 – 8.

Buddleia Bi-Color x weyeriana
You probably know that Buddleia is known as the “butterfly bush” but this one is rather special. It is the first butterfly bush to sport two different colors on the same bloomstalk; rich lavender combined with butterscotch yellow. Buddleia Bi-Color is easy to grow, extremely fragrant and will attract tons of butterflies to your perennial border or patio garden area. Buddleia Bi-Color blooms all summer long with most blooms measuring 5 – 6 inches and some growing out to a full 10 inches at the end of the growing season with a jubilant fragrance almost overwhelming to their color show.

The Buddleia Bi-Color reaches 5 – 6 feet in height and by cutting back each winter more branching and more blooms will appear each and every subsequent season. Buddleia Bi-Color grows easily in any sunny, well drained area, while demonstrating fantastic drought tolerance and indifference to extreme heat and humidity. Zones 5 – 9.

Eye-popping color and invigorating fragrance. What more could you ask! Hopefully, I’ve stimulated your senses and lifted your spirits with the suggestions. Take heart, garden lovers. Winter will soon be behind us!

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Greenwood Nursery
www.greenwoodnursery.com

What do these activities have in common: Riding a bicycle. Playing a guitar. Roasting a turkey. The answer: They are all activities that are easy to do once you know how, but are very intimidating when you’re a beginner.

The same is true when it comes to planting trees and shrubs. To an experienced gardener, it’s second nature. He or she probably doesn’t actively think about the various steps involved; it just… well, it just happens.

For a novice, however, it’s a different story, and perhaps it’s one that has happened to you. You would love to have a lush, beautiful landscape so you go online and see photos of plants that would be perfect for you. Perhaps you even visit a garden center and look at the rows of plants, each with a name tag and a price sticker.

But then your nerve fails you. “I don’t have a green thumb,” you say to yourself. “I have no idea how to plant that thing properly. I’ll probably kill it and waste my money.”

Of course, most plants do come with some kind of written planting instructions, but even they can seem a bit daunting. Cheryl and I have received hundreds of e-mails over the years from readers asking for guidance on successful planting, or wondering where they went wrong when a plant didn’t make it. We always try to respond with some helpful hints and sometimes include those questions and answers in this column.

But the easiest way to learn any procedure is to watch someone else doing it the right way. You can see exactly how it should be done and suddenly the task doesn’t seem so daunting after all. Now, I know that might not be true when it comes to brain surgery, but it definitely is when it comes to planting trees and shrubs.

After all those years of answering questions about planting, we decided that it was time for some “show and tell”. As a result, we put together a video showing Cheryl planting a shrub and explaining each step as she does it.

We decided to use a typical plant that you would buy in a disposable container, and then show how to prepare the soil and get the plant mulched, watered and situated for the best results.

We posted the video – where else? – on YouTube so you can find it easily and watch it as often as you wish. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

When you watch the video you’ll see that it really is not difficult, but following a few simple steps can mean the difference between healthy, thriving plants and dry, dead twigs. We plan to make some more “how to” videos which we will also post on YouTube and we’d love to hear from you about any topics you would like us to address. You can drop us a line at steve@landsteward.org

So what would be a good plant on which to practice your new-found skills? Try this one…

Echinacea purpurea White Swan

Its pure white silky flowers could give this Echinacea pride of place in your garden and it is not difficult to transplant from its pot. Cheryl and I have several of the Echinacea White Swans in the garden that contrast with the purple Echinacea that are planted around our raised garden berms.

We have seen White Swans planted as border plants sporting 3 to 4 inch glowing white flower petals surrounding their dark brown/bronze cone centers. Not only do the flowers act as a butterfly magnet, the pronounced seed heads provide a food source for small birds as they mature. It is long-lasting as a cut-flower that begins blooming in early summer and continues until frost.

So if you need to build a little confidence before you plant this spring, take a look at our YouTube video. Go on! You can do it!

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Greenwood Nursery
www.greenwoodnursery.com

Winter is the perfect time to plan for spring planting and for the many years ahead. The bare branches allow you to see the “skeleton” of your landscape and where you need to flesh it out with new plants or perform a little surgery with pruning shears or shovel.

Get outside and do a little landscape maintenance, picking up fallen tree limbs for instance, and at the same time you can look for any damage to arbors, trellises or fencing that you might not have noticed when they were hidden by abundant foliage.

During winter, specific problems can become apparent, as this chilly reader discovered:

QUESTION: “Today the temperature is 7 degrees and winds were 50 mph. We have a new home in rural northwest OH and I’m looking for ideas for trees and shrubs that can withstand that wind. Thanks for any help you can provide.” – Carolyn

ANSWER: You might want to look at creating a windbreak, which generally consists of two to three layers of trees planted to literally break the wind away from the house and other structures.

Generally, there is a row of evergreen trees (firs, junipers, pines, spruces) and up to two rows of deciduous trees and shrubs. For the deciduous trees, consider fast growers such as green ash, tulip poplar, sycamore and elms.

Here is a link from the NRCS which used to be referred to as the Conservation District Office. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/TECHNICAL/ECS/forest/wind/windbreaks.html
This describes the benefits and how to go about planting a windbreak on your property. As it is a long address, you can click on a direct link when you find this column at my Web site www.landsteward.org

The fast growing hybrid willow and hybrid poplar trees are great and will gain a lot of height quickly. However, they should not be considered as long term trees where there are constantly heavy winds. Their lifespan is generally limited to about 10 to 18 years in such areas.

By the way, Carolyn’s question and the response (by my wife Cheryl) first appeared in our free weekly e-mailed newsletter. If you’d like to join the mailing list, drop me a line at steve@landsteward.org

QUESTION “I have a problem: a postage-stamp sized garden plot behind my apartment with crappy, gooey clay soil and about 3-4 hours of morning sunlight, half filtered by large growth deciduous trees.

“I have a good start on a decent garden with some hostas, sedums and lamb’s ear. Columbines, spiderwort, lilies-of-the-valley and vincas give me a little color, but are there any other shade-loving plants that actually bloom?

“How about some variegated foliage plants to add interest? (Coleus seems quite unhappy here). Since I rent, I won’t be building any raised beds. Last year, I added some peat moss, sand and soil conditioner to the ground. We’ll see if that helped. There’s no room to compost. Any other enrichments that you recommend?” – Bridget

ANSWER: As for soil enrichments, I would recommend a product called Soft Soil. It breaks down the ionization of the soil to keep it from running together. You might also use pine bark mulch. It will add organic matter into your soil and break it up a bit. You may want to till it into the soil to start then use more as a dressing around your plants.

As far as what to plant in the wet shady areas, look at variegated hostas, ferns and astilbes.

When it comes to trees: Dogwoods like semi-shade. Low growing trees such as redbud, Japanese maples, flowering cherries. You could add ornamental grasses in different heights for background and even for specimen planting.

You say you are renting your home. I’m guessing this is a long-term rental based on your planting plans. However, consider some plants in large pots for a container garden that can go with you if you move. Beautiful gardens can be framed and accented with plants used in attractive pots.

Similarly, portable fountains, glass gazing balls, concrete formed items will add interest and texture to your garden and can be loaded on to a moving truck in the future.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Greenwood Nursery
www.greenwoodnursery.com

It seems that New Year’s Resolutions are designed to make us do LESS of what we enjoy and more of what we HATE. Drive less, walk more. Eat less chocolate, eat more broccoli. It’s no surprise that most people find it hard to keep to those resolutions, even with the best will in the world.

But for gardeners, making New Year’s Resolutions and sticking to them need not be so hard. After all, you already like your garden, and you enjoy taking care of your landscape, to a greater or lesser degree, right?

If resolutions can feel enjoyable, rather than chores, you are more likely to keep them. I had a friend who used to say, “Avoid disappointment, aim low.” He said it as a joke but when it comes to keeping resolutions, it’s not such a bad philosophy.

So my advice is this: Make resolutions that are (a) within your capabilities to achieve and (b) will be fairly enjoyable to achieve.

Here are some resolutions that will benefit both you and your garden. But remember, to avoid disappointment, aim low! Choose two or three from the list that fit your landscape’s needs and that you can achieve successfully.

In 2010, I will…

Take a soil sample. A soil sample can be analyzed at a laboratory and the results will tell you how healthy your soil is (or isn’t) and what you can do to improve it. You can find a simple explanation of the “how to” at http://soiltest.cfans.umn.edu/howtosam.htm and I found a helpful video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YuA20kZ1EA

Invest in a soaker hose. A sprinkler is great for lawns, but the best way to irrigate shrubs and vegetable gardens is a soaker hose. A sprinkler can cause leaf spots on the foliage whereas a soaker hose puts the water where it needs to go: to the plants’ roots.

Protect plants from frost. To enjoy your shrubs in the spring and summer, you need to keep them safe during hard winter frosts. Cover your most delicate plants with sheets in the form of a tent, so the fabric doesn’t touch the plant, or invest in custom covers such as Frost Protek.

Mulch around trees. Applying mulch to a depth of about two inches has several benefits. It will prevent damage to the trunk caused by power mowers getting too close. Additionally, the mulch allows much-needed water to soak down to the tree’s roots. Do not mound the mulch up against the trunk as that can cause crown rot.

Plant a mini herb garden. The easiest way is to buy two or three containers, place them where they’ll be easily accessible from your kitchen and plant your favorite herbs. Mint, sage, rosemary, thyme and basil are ideal container herbs. As mint can be aggressive, plant it in its own container to prevent it overpowering the other herbs. You’ll be snipping fresh herbs to add to your cooking all summer long… so much better than dried herbs and a lot cheaper than buying one or two sprigs from the supermarket.

Plant some berry bushes. Berry bushes are fairly easy to grow but you will need to commit to maintaining them for best results. If you have never grown berry bushes, start with blueberries. They are among the easiest berry plants for novices to grow and suffer from few problems. You can even grow blueberry plants in containers. Once you get the hang of it, move on to blackberries and raspberries.

Start composting. Composting is a practical way of recycling organic matter and providing great nutrients for your garden. It really isn’t difficult but it helps to get the right carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. There’s an easy to follow guide at http://www.howtocompost.org and you can click on a link to that or any site mentioned here when you find this column at my Web site www.landsteward.org

Buy a bench. Don’t let the only time you spend in the garden to be work time. A bench is the ideal place to sit quietly and enjoy the sights, sounds and aromas of your garden. Plant buddleia nearby to attract beautiful butterflies. Surround the bench with aromatic plants like lavender and your container herbs to provide the pleasing fragrances of nature.

Most of all, resolve to enjoy your landscape throughout the year!

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Greenwood Nursery
www.greenwoodnursery.com

Is all-natural farm manure right for your garden? Could be. But manure is one of those rare things that is better when it is NOT so fresh, as I remind the reader who e-mailed me this question:

QUESTION: My husband owns a landscape materials business and has had a hard time getting “supersoil”. We have access to a large amount of horse manure and were wondering if you can make your own supersoil with manure? It sure would help him out if there is a way! Thanks! Kate

ANSWER: It’s difficult to think of a more “natural” substance than manure! Manure is certainly a great resource for gardeners and landscapers, but you do need to know a few basics to get the best results. Here is a link that will give you more information on using manure around your plants: http://www.ruralheritage.com/back_forty/manure.htm

Manure’s carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is a key factor in making nitrogen available to plants, because it drives microbial decomposition. As Alina Rice, the author of that Web article points out, before putting manure on your soil, make sure it is well decomposed. Let the microbes fight it out while the manure sits in a steaming pile. Well decomposed manure has a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of between 15-to-1 and 20-to-1, depending on what the animal has been eating.

A word of warning from Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture: “Homeowners should not use any manure from dogs, cats, or other meat-eating animals, since there is risk of parasites or disease organisms that can be transmitted to humans.”

Again, if you are thinking of using manure in your garden, I advise you to read the online Rural Heritage article. You can click on a direct link when you find this column at my Web site, www.landsteward.org

Here is question I responded to at the end of last winter. With frost once again threatening much of the country, I thought it might be the right time to include it in this week’s column.

QUESTION: “I am hoping that you can help me out. I have never had any plants hit by frost but this year it got a lot of my plants. I was wondering, will my tomato plants survive the frost or should I pull them up and replant? It also got my potato vines. Will this hurt my potatoes? My tomato plants are still standing (some of them anyway) but they have a lot of browned leaves. Please let me know if you have any ideas on helping me out. Thanks for your time.” – Candy Dove

ANSWER: Generally, as long as the vegetable sets have had a bit of a chance to root in, they usually come out of frost nips. However, extended cold periods can cause freeze damage and kill the plants. As long as air has movement, frost damage isn’t as likely.

Also, if you know that there is going to be frost the next morning, you can either water the plants heavily including the soil at the base of the plants (the water acts like an insulator) or cover them with an old sheet or something similar, forming a sort of tent and making sure that the fabric doesn’t touch the plants. Damage from frost doesn’t happen until the following morning. Do NOT spray water on plants the morning after a frost in an attempt to wash the frost off.

Once the frost has passed, clip off any browning leaves or branches of plants. Sometimes this can take a few days to show up. Most vegetable plants, though tender, are really quite tough when it comes to frosts.

The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org

Greenwood Nursery
www.greenwoodnursery.com