Holiday time is approaching, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time to get a little gardening in between the shopping and entertaining. Since the sun is shining less brightly, the soil has started to cool. Lower light and shorter days mean less productivity for plants.

Here are some ideas for winter gardening:

1. Plant for the Coming Cool Season

Winter vegetables include everything in the cabbage family: broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, and everyone’s new favorite—kale. Any of these can be grown as row crops for the kitchen, but consider putting a few in a half barrel or other container for both their edible and ornamental uses. Colorful rainbow chard is another great choice.

2. Consider Color

Cool season flowers like bachelor’s button, stock, sweet alyssum, calendula, foxglove, Iceland poppies, and pansies all thrive as winter approaches. Pick a color palette of similar or contrasting tones and group different types together in the container of your choice. Only one or two colorful pots will lend a festive air to your patio or deck. If you tuck in a few dormant bulbs, they will take over as the annuals wane. Narcissus and all its forms, gladiolus, lilies, tuberose, Mexican shell flower, and rain lily all fit the bill.

3. Compost in the Cold

Compost all the trimmings from your garden. Even in the cool months, bacteria and fungi will be doing their magic to produce beautiful planting amendments for spring. Use one of the patented composting bins, build your own, or just layer the materials in a corner of the garden. If you are ambitious, turn the pile once or twice (a good way to monitor the moisture level) or simply leave as is.

Mulch and water your favorite trees and shrubs. Much editing is going on because of the drought, but these are ways to nurse these larger shrubs along.

4. Gifts for the Wildlife

Don’t forget the birds and beasts, too. A shallow bowl of water will give them a welcome drink and a cleansing splash. Place the bowl in a quiet place where visitors have a view of the surroundings and potential threats. Keep filled and flushed with clean water as needed.

If you have ever felt yourself in need of inspiration for your garden, we can provide some beautiful visuals brought to you by the hands of Jennifer Voss of Gardefacts and Arianna Jansma of Dramatically Different Landscapes.  These two local award-winning designers have transformed a formerly cluttered area at Eye of the Day into four separate gardens, each with a different theme.  Jennifer and Arianna have combined an excellent array of plants of all sorts with terracotta, stone, concrete and metal planters, statuary, fountains and benches from our huge selection at Eye of the Day, resulting  in some incredibly artistic displays.

An old granite millstone standing on its edge acts as the focal point of an Asian inspired garden filled with a mélange of succulents.  Arianna paired our Terrecotte San Rocco with plants featuring bronze and terracotta-colored foliage.  There is also a cottage garden and a blue-toned garden teamed with English lead components.

Of course, just visiting Eye of the Day will give you multitudinous ideas for your outdoor area,  but seeing the work of these two gifted designers featured at Eye of the Day seems to bring it all together.

Taking a leisurely stroll through Eye of the Day can set the imagination on fire.  We see our customers taking that stroll every day.  The dreamy look in their eyes, the contemplative slow-walk they do through the terracotta low bowls, trying to decide what to plant in them, the recognition that the blue of that French  Anduze vase would be so complimentary to the trim on their home.

Two dynamic designers, both long-time customers of Eye of the Day have transformed an area of our Annex into four distinct garden rooms, allowing  imagination to travel into reality.  Jennifer Voss of Gardefacts Landscape Design and Arianna Jansma of Dramatically Different Landscape Design, with skill and creativity,  have combined beautiful Eye of the Day merchandise with perfectly complimentary plant material to produce a Fantasyland of gardens. The use of lead planters from Belgium, terracotta from Italy, a hand carved French stone table and an antique stone millstone all make imaginative statements in a garden setting.

Whether you are a garden professional or you just want to create your own garden Fantasyland, Eye of the Day will give wings to your dreams.