“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.” ~ Sydney J. Harris
January, the month of winter sleep, offers gardeners the opportunity to dream, plan, and imagine. There is not much work to be done in our gardens, but we can still begin to chart the days ahead so that we’ll be able to share the bounty from our efforts. The new year is a time to re-evaluate everything we do. As gardeners, we can begin anew, too.
Once you’ve finished a few gardening chores, make time to relax and refresh. Curl up with a cup of tea brewed from your homegrown Meyer lemon, lavender, and spearmint, grab your favorite seed catalogs or garden books, and discover new water-conserving cultivars for the year. You can plan patio hardscapes incorporating rocks, bricks, and cobbles instead of flower beds. If you have the space, design a meditative maze in your garden. Prune a few budding branches from your peach or crab apple tree and put them in a vase to watch their blossoms unfurl.
Cut a bouquet of narcissus for a scent-filled room of sweetness, or pick those final fragrant rose blooms to place by your bedside for the deepest tranquil rest. For kindness to our fine-feathered friends, design a “Bird Branch” on a deciduous tree or an old stump, hanging feeders, and nests for those cold winter nights.
Every new year, I ask myself, “Why do I love to garden?” I know my reasons. Ask any gardener, and you’ll get a multitude of various answers, but a few are universal. We garden because it feeds our bodies, minds, and souls. Gardening offers us a way to connect, to remember, and to share.
January offers us the chance for a new beginning. To your list of resolutions, include spending more time in nature while you drink in the beauty. Decide to compost, recycle, collect rainwater for watering, and grow organic vegetables, herbs, and fruits. Exercise your body, mind, and soul by digging deep. Be grateful for what we already have. Relating to the earth reminds us that despite turbulent times, we can survive and thrive. Go into the garden to be nurtured by nature.
Perform the necessary chores, then take the time to chill out! It’s winter. Nature is sleeping and you need to take a break, too.
Hello 2025!
Cynthia Brian’s Goddess Gardener Garden Guide for January
FERTILIZE the entire landscape with a slow-release all-natural fertilizer.
ADD better drainage to any potted plants you received as holiday gifts by removing the wrapping paper. Trim the spent blossoms, water deeply and fertilize.
BRING budding cymbidium orchids indoors to display.
APPLY elemental sulfur to the soil around your acid-loving plants such as the azaleas, citrus, and camellias. This will break down slowly over the next year and will help keep the soil in these areas at the optimal PH for plant color and health.
PRUNE roses, crape myrtles, and deciduous fruit trees by the end of the month.
BUY bare-root rose bushes. Soak them in water for a day before planting. Cut off any damaged or broken roots. Plant the bud union three inches above the ground.
TREAT houseplants with a warm shower and shake. Indoor heat dries the roots, leaves, and fronds, especially those of ferns.
PICK ripe and tangy navel oranges, Meyer lemons, and tangelos, and use the rest of your persimmons.
WATCH for snow plants to sprout in the Sierras.
PERUSE seed catalogs available now to determine what you want to plant in spring.
ADD a bowl of freshly picked Meyer lemons to your countertop as a useful culinary display.
REMOVE the longer canes from wisteria.
COVER frost-tender plants with burlap, sheets, newspaper, or straw. Be on the alert for swift temperature swings.
FEED the birds. Baby, it’s cold outside and our birds need food and shelter. Make sure to clean your birdhouses and feeders regularly.
WATCH for rats and mice. As the cold weather begins, vermin seek a warm bed and easy-to-find food.
CHECK plants brought inside for the winter for any insect infestation.
APPLY organic snail and slug bait (Sluggo), as these mollusks are active during winter.
CLEAN the dead leaves from the bearded iris to prevent rot and insect hideouts.
PLANT a cover crop to increase nitrogen and protect against winter erosion. Fava beans, clover, vetch, and mustard are excellent choices. To find seeds visit www.rareseeds.com or www.sowtrueseed.com.
GIVE the gift of my book, Growing with the Goddess Gardener, twelve months of inspiration and gardening tips to sustain your inner gardener with a full year of kindness and happiness in nature. Buy directly from www.cynthiabrian.com/online-storewith proceeds benefiting charity PLUS you’ll receive extra goodies and an autographed copy.
Happy Gardening. Happy Growing. Happy New Year!
For more gardening advice for all seasons, check out Growing with the Goddess Gardener at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/books. Raised in the vineyards of Napa County, Cynthia Brian is a New York Times best-selling author, actor, radio personality, speaker, media and writing coach, as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Be the Star You Are!® 501 c3, which was just honored as the 2024 Nonprofit of the Year by the Moraga Chamber of Commerce. https://www.BetheStarYouAre.org. Tune into Cynthia’s StarStyle® Radio Broadcast at https://www.StarStyleRadio.com. Her newest children’s picture book, Books in the Barnyard: Oh Deer!, from the series Stella Bella’s Barnyard Adventures is available at https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store. Hire Cynthia for writing projects, garden consults, and inspirational lectures. Cynthia@GoddessGardener.comhttps://www.CynthiaBrian.com
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Good tips and I'll definitely look at my wisteria... didn't know you need to cut the long canes!! Thanks!