Fragrant Winter Shrubs

One of the most overlooked aspects of the garden is fragrance. Add a little perfume to your yard to lift your spirits. Shrubs such as wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox), shown at right, offer delicate blossoms and a light scent on 10-foot-high, 6-foot-wide plants. Winter daphne (Daphne odora) has powerfully fragrant blooms. It is an elegant evergreen that grows 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. Winter honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) offers a familiar summertime scent on 8-foot-high and -wide plants. All of these blooms are especially fragrant on sunny winter days. To maximize their effectiveness, add them near entry points into your garden. They are available now at garden centers, or you can order by mail from Woodlanders nursery, www.woodlanders.net. -GENE B.BUSSELL

INDOOR FLOWERS

African violets offer easy blooms and are an affordable way to have lots of color inside when the days are cold outside. Care is simple. Place in bright, indirect light away from cold drafts and heating vents. Soil should be well drained and kept slightly moist. Do not allow plants to sit in saucers of water. Other flowers to purchase now indude Reiger begonias, Cape primroses (Streptocarpus sp.), kalanchoes, fairy primroses (Primula malacoides), and cyclamens.

GARDENING RESOLUTION

This is a great time to stay near the fireplace and plan your dream garden. Scan magazines and catalogs for inspiration. Order vegetable and flower seeds for your spring garden. Try something new this year, such as planting tomatoes in containers or adding a new perennial to your border. The best way to learn is from experience, so get ready to get out in the garden and grow a little.

COOL HOUSEPLANTS

The beautiful green-and-cream leaves of 'Brasil' heart-leaf phiiodendron deserve a special spot in your home. Place where its trailing habit can be appreciated. Caring for your plant is simple: It prefers bright, indirect light. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings.

PANSY AND VIOLA CARE

The bright blooms of these flowers can get a little weary with cold weather. Remove spent blossoms, and trim leggy, discolored leaves with scissors. Use a liquid fertilizer such as 10-15-10 to feed and perk up your flowers.

HARVEST

Continue to gather tasty leaves of collards and kale from your vegetable garden. The cooler weather only sweetens the leaves. Harvest regularly by pinching off the leaves from the bottom up so the plants will continue to grow new ones.

FOR MORE INFO

Online "Around Your Garden" archive: southernliving.com/january2008

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jan 2008
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved