Hello everyone! It’s your friendly gardener on Main Street, coming at you with another wild and wacky gardening thought. Just for a minute, let us role play, shall we? Let’s say you are in your tenth day of quarantine this winter. You have stayed inside and watched everything Netflix has to offer, and you are either going to start swinging the frying pan at the nearest household member, or you’ll just lay down and cry. Perhaps the short, overcast days have you down and you need something to perk up your wintry rest. Well, I have a solution for you: weed. You might think me crazy, but why not? 

If this winter trends toward the mild, or if we “thaw” a stretch of mild weather heading our way  (see what I did there?), weeding is a golden opportunity you might not want to miss. Buried beneath the snow and ice, those pesky winter annual weeds are just waiting for spring to arrive so they can spread like wildfire throughout the flower bed. Why not get a jump on the spring season and do a bit of weed removal now? Of course, if the ground is frozen, or otherwise unyielding to your strenuous efforts, then obviously you will need to catch them later.

Weeding is not the only “out of season” thing you can do in your garden during a winter thaw. Late fall through very early spring is a golden time to spread compost in the garden. Plants have died back and the ground is cleared, making spreading humic joy an easier task. Wellfield staff often utilize that time frame to spread compost and mulch on a large scale.

Whatever your situation, there may be some good opportunities heading your way to get a head start on those weeds and make your neighbors jealous this spring when they are frantically pulling weeds while you are catching up on your streaming.

Josh Steffen, Horticulture and Facilities Manager

Missed any of Josh’s latest posts? Here are some recent ones:

• 
  In Defense of The Monarch ButterflySeptember 5, 2022
  Seen any Monarch butterflies lately? As an endangered species, we need to care for them. But there’s more to it than just planting more milkweed.
• 
  A Beginner’s Look at Japanese GardeningJuly 31, 2022
  Japanese gardens have a style and feel all their own. Cody takes a look at some of the different concepts he works with in our Japanese-themed Island Garden. Have you noticed any of these when you’ve visited?
• 
  Family-friendly Sensory GardensJuly 24, 2022
  Sensory gardens engage and excite the senses; they can be large or small, and can be created for kids and adults of all ages to enjoy.
• 
  Setting Fire To Burning BushJuly 9, 2022
  Invasive species are everywhere! Today, Cody helps you identify them in your environment and studies why they are deemed invasive.
• 
  Dances with FlowersJuly 2, 2022
  Quilt Gardens are a big deal in Elkhart County – and this year is special, as it’s the 15th anniversary of Quilt Gardens on the Heritage Trail. Take a look at Wellfield’s process that led to our beautiful 2022 installation: Fresh Connections.

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