By Felder Rushing

Gardening Columnist

Winter weather’s effects on the garden getting to you? Not this jaded horticulturist, who has been here before.

It’s another mess alright. I had to explain to shocked new neighbors from a northern state about how our relatively mild early winters don’t give normally hardy plants time to produce natural antifreezes, so sudden drops into the teens or below catches them unprepared. People, too.

Looks like I have lost some stuff myself. Again. Usually-winterproof evergreen shrubs are shedding, the lower bark has split on an azalea, camellia petals not stuck tight in brown buds color the ground. Elephant ears are mush, daffodils, pansies, and snapdragons not sure whether to flower or wilt. Blueberries, zapped – again.

Luckily, decades of philosophizing over my and my gardening friends’ bad weather experiences, I’m not all doom and gloom. I’m making myself simply take stock, wandering around the yard and neighborhood inspecting the bad and celebrating the still-good, enjoying as much as I can find (fragrant winter honeysuckle is still providing succor to warm-day bees!).

And otherwise doing as little as possible, for now. What’s the rush? While it may not be too early to prune my roses and fig bush, I usually make myself wait til next month because I’ll need something to do then to stave off the impatient desire to start summer stuff too early.

Lotta gardeners jump the gun on summer stuff with grow lights and all that jazz, but we both have plans for lettuces and other cool season stuff to plant next month, and we know from experience that starting seeds too early usually leads to leggy, weak seedlings compared to the stocky, sturdy ones grown closer to actual planting time in April.

Again, what’s the rush? It only takes five, maybe six weeks to get ready-to-plant seedlings going, and planting summer stuff in March often leads to root or stem rot, or risking our inevitable late frost. Is it really a race to have the first tomatoes and peppers ahead of the long summer ahead?

I’m checking out favorite heirloom seed suppliers, like Baker’s Creek, Seed Savers, and Southern Exposure, though my daughter Zoe has already ordered seeds of seven different kinds of a special heat- and drought-tolerant flower she fell in love with last summer. She says she will share some if I will get her more pots and soil mix and show her how to pre-sprout English peas which can be planted soon.

Which is good because now is a great time to tour local garden centers, whose staff is appreciative of midwinter visitors. I’ll stock up on supplies, see what fruits are already being stocked. Maybe have a cup of coffee with managers and talk about what new plants they hope to get this year, assuming the stock is okay because, once again, their wholesale growers got hit hard as well.

So, I’m just knocking around for now. Mostly pulling up dead flowers, cutting down mushy stuff, picking up dropped branches, and corralling fallen leaves on the patios and walks towards the composting leaf pile. Might be a good time to empty and clean the water garden for a fresh start on the new year and inspect wooden decks and steps in case any need repairing.

Time to Stoic up, stop dwelling on losses and frustrations of what can’t be changed, start planning something new. Being thankful for greens, browns, textures, and whatever I find in bloom. Toss a little bird seed on the ground and pot up some lettuce and violas to set on the porch.

Spring will just have to wait its turn.

Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.