Often in February there is a surprisingly warm day. Everybody sheds their coats and puts a bounce in their step. Sure, sometimes on the next day they hear a snow plow at 4 AM. But the brief warm up gets you thinking “what is there to do in the landscape?” If it even "looks" warm and sunny out that window a gardeners mind starts to wander toward green leafy growing things. (better known as plants)



Here are a few late winter ideas to keep you busy.

Check out your garden tools, patio furniture, window boxes etc. Paint, repair or discard so you are ready to go when it’s really nice out! Wouldn't it be nice to have a nice, clean, sharpened and organized collection of tools when spring arrives?

It’s a good time to propagate some house plants. Abundant sunshine is on its way!

Order Seeds! Hey that’s always fun. Try something new this year!

Prune decidous trees that need it. Remove dead or problem branches, crossing branches and basal sprouts. Make sure you know the proper way to do a pruning cut and get an arborist for the big jobs for safety and future health of the tree. The ISA consumer site has great advice at

Try forcing the bloom on some early spring flowering branches. Forsythia is a common choice for this; but pussy willow, quince, spirea, and dogwood can be forced forced to bloom also. It’s easy and gets you out in the garden for few minutes! Gather your branches and when arranging them make slanted cuts to help with water absorption. Put them in a vase and keep the water fresh, changing it a couple times a week.

Contact your local landscape service now for any spring projects. In a few weeks they are going to be very busy!