February - The Garden Wise Journal - Newsletter

Garden Wise Guy

The Garden Wise Journal

Gardening is more than a hobby. It is a lifestyle.

Welcome to The Garden Wise Journal

Here in Colorado the garden is tucked under snow, but the gardening spirit is wide awake. February is the month for dreaming, planning, sorting seeds, and giving houseplants a little extra attention under the grow lights.

It may look quiet outside, but this is when ideas take root. Seed catalogs, pruning plans, and indoor plant care keep our green thumbs busy while we wait for spring. The days are slowly getting longer and that quiet excitement every gardener knows is starting to build again.

Feature Article of the Month

Grow a Garden That’s Always in Season

What if your garden never had an off season?

Most landscapes explode with color in spring and summer, then quietly fade into the background. With the right plant choices that does not have to happen. Some plants do much more than simply bloom. They offer color, texture, berries, structure, or striking stems across multiple seasons.

Keith shares how to spot these workhorse plants and how to design beds so there is always something interesting to see, even in the dead of winter.

Read the full article

Plant Profile

Helleborus niger, The Christmas Rose

What if your garden could bloom at Christmas?

Helleborus niger, known as the Christmas Rose, pushes out bright white flowers in the heart of winter, often when snow is still on the ground. Its glossy evergreen leaves provide structure in the garden year-round, and the blooms slowly blush to soft pink as they age.

Keith loves this plant for one simple reason. It shows up when nothing else does. It thrives in cold climates, asks for very little care once established, and looks right at home in woodland edges, shaded borders, and beneath trees.

Discover this month’s featured plant

Monthly Tips

Start seeds indoors for onions, leafy greens, cole crops, herbs, and early flowers.
Hold off on tomatoes and warm season crops until closer to spring.
Prune trees, grapes, vines, and many shrubs while they are still dormant.
Walk your beds on thawed days and reset plants pushed up by freeze and thaw.
Give houseplants attention and begin planning your spring garden layout.

See this month’s full checklist

Garden Myth Busting

Do rocks in the bottom of pots help drainage?

Keith Funk demonstrating perched water table — illustrating the container drainage myth.

It sounds logical. Add rocks to the bottom of a container so water can drain better. The problem is it actually does the opposite. Research shows this creates a soggy layer of soil that keeps roots wetter for longer.

Keith explains why this old gardening tip does more harm than good and what actually improves drainage in containers.

Read the full myth breakdown