The days are getting longer, but winter is far from over. Gardeners are getting itchy to put their green thumbs to work, but working outside really isn’t practical right now. There are things you can do to get started on the gardening season that will satisfy the green thumb until it can get outside. 

Jessica Goodrich, marketing and publicity coordinator for Hidden Lake Gardens, said studying about gardening in the winter is a great way to get ready for spring gardening.

“Winter is a great time for planning and learning,” she said.

Whether through online resources or at the library, you can learn more about gardening and the plants you might want to include in the garden, she continued. She added that there are many videos and gardening websites where information can be found that will help a gardener plan for warm weather.

Winter is also a good time to cut branches from the flowering trees and shrubs you have in your yard, such as forsythia, flowering quince and cherry, and bring them indoors to “force” them into flowering, Goodrich said. Place the branches in a vase of water and place them in a sunny spot to encourage the buds to bloom. 

Gardeners can look forward to the Spring Flower Show at Hidden Lake Gardens, which will be held this year from March 8-23. Bulbs and other plants will be featured in the Conservatory. Hours for the Spring Flower Show are Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 4:30 p.m.

Abby Vittore, marketing manager at Madison Garden Center (formerly Barrett’s Showplace Gardens) said planning now for spring will benefit the gardener once the weather warms up.

“Right now, we’re in a little bit of a lull period, which is nice because this is a great time to start planning everything for this coming spring,” she said. 

Vittore suggested sitting down and planning want you want, making a list of plants of interest, figuring out the size of space you have to work with, and doing research on how much you can fit into that space. That will make the trip to the garden center much easier when the weather warms up. She said to plan the number and style of plants you’re interested in, whether they are vegetables or landscape plants. 

Starting seeds indoors is a good way to get started. Vittore suggested waiting until the end of February or the first part of March to start seeds. Seed packets will be available sometime between the beginning and middle of February, she said. 

Lenawee County is now in Zone 6A of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, Vittore said, which is a change from previous years, when our area was considered to be in the cooler Zone 5. The change to a warmer hardiness zone opens up some possibilities for plants that might not have been recommended before, she said. 

Vittore advised that it’s a good idea to wait until mid-May to plant outdoors, unless it’s something you can bring inside or can cover up if the weather gets cold. This is because Lenawee County has had cold weather and frost around Mother’s Day for the past few years. 

Cool-season vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, can be put outside earlier than other vegetables, Vittore said. Cool-season plants will be available in early April.

“That kind of stuff will actually take a little bit of a frost and be just fine,” she said.