Help Your Home Garden Survive Winter

It’s a little after 7:30 a.m. as the sun rises over Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and Jason Holmes leans over a purple mustard plant, pointing out how the fan of deep purple leaves have gone mushy. Frost has struck and done its damage.Holmes, curator of the Doris Duke Center Gardens, begins monitoring seven-day forecasts in late November to determine when temperatures are expected to drop below 32 degrees. If so, a mass exodus starts: tender plants such as poinsettias, orchids, palm trees and agaves, whether they’re in the ground or in a pot, are moved to the Gardens’ greenhouse space for protection. “They’re all like children and each one has special needs,” said Holmes, who has worked in Duke Gardens for 11 years and has about 1,000 plants in his home garden. “You attend and tailor to the needs of each, and that’s what we do on a daily basis.”The arrival of winter doesn’t mean Duke Gardens goes dormant. Staff and volunteers plant bulbs in the ground, which will eventually bloom into a colorful array of spring flowers. In the meadow area of the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden, daffodil bulbs lie in wait, only a few of the 60,000 bulbs that were planted throughout Duke Gardens in November and December. Holmes and Duke Gardens horticulturist Lindsey Fleetwood share their tips on how to keep home gardens healthy during the winter season: Locate plants in colder garden areas Shady areas and lower-lying areas of a garden will have more trouble with freezing temperatures since cold air sinks, Holmes said. Plants in the Historic Terraces section of Duke Gardens, near the Fish Pool, are more susceptible to shade and frost. At home, Holmes recommends putting potted plants in the house until the morning after a hard freeze. If plants are in the ground, cover them with old blankets or sheets right before the freeze hits.Choose tough vegetables to plantFleetwood, the Duke Gardens horticulturist, plants cabbage, kale, collard greens and turnips in her garden plot at home. “You want to have more thick-leaved cabbages and kale, plants that are going to survive better,” she said. Fleetwood creates a “hoop house” out of flexible piping and hog wire fencing to wrap winter fabric, or white fabric, around the plants to protect them from freezing temperatures and wind. In the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden, a sustainable, organic food garden, staff members maintain cabbages and kale, mustards and other leafy greens such as spinach and lettuce, Holmes said. Many of the vegetables are planted in rows in raised beds, and in colder weather, staff will place metal hoops over the plants and cover them in the winter fabric. Add mulch for extra protectionDuke Gardens adds a ground or fine leaf mulch to garden beds. The mulch provides extra nutrients, winter protection, and helps the soil retain moisture, Holmes said. Home gardeners also can pile yard leaves in their garden beds, around the base of their plants to protect the roots. Pick plants that like the coldCut back certain perennials, or plants that live longer, to protect them from frost-bitten leaves that become diseased, Holmes said. His favorite winter-hardy plants include Lenten roses, camellia shrubs, conifers and Siberian squill, which produces blue flowers that look like bells and withstands cold temperatures. Cacti and succulents have the most trouble in lower temperatures. “It’s knowing your plants,” Holmes said. “If you know your plants, everything else can fall into place.” Prepare your garden for springtimeThe first day of spring is March 20, but Holmes said he tidies up his home garden through the winter months by removing dead or mushy foliage. He suggests leaving leaves around the garden to serve as mulch, and by the end of February, add different mulches or compost to reintroduce nutrients to the plants and surrounding soil. Holmes tends to plant his spring perennials beginning in late March and through May.“I like to see how they interact with other plants,” Holmes said of new additions to his garden. “I like to see my older plants start to grow. It’s the chance to see all these things that you’ve forgotten about come alive again.”