WINTER GARDENING

Winter gardening. Another way to love winter. Or tolerate it. For those of you who long for the warm sunny days, try this little project to jump start your spring and help ease the cold winter days. And you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home. Rosemary Topiaries. If you love the charm of a topiary, this is a project for you. With a few of these fragrant plants gracing your home, thoughts of the winter blues will melt away. Spring and the warm sunny days will be here before you know.

Rosemary topiaries. Growing these topiaries will take time. Months, maybe. But they are easy to grow, and with just a little care, they will bring beauty to your home. Watch and grow.

This is what you need to start your rosemary topiary-

Potting Soil

Seed Starter Pots

Clear Plastic Cups

Bamboo Skewers

Scissor or Small Pruners

String

Rosemary Plant

Clip a few stems of your rosemary plant, if you are lucky to have some surviving, if not, your local nursery’s greenhouse should have stock. Clip a few stems with a pair of small pruning shears or a pair or sharp scissors. Carefully remove the bottom leaves, leaving about 1 1/2" to 2” of clean stem.

Place a small amount of fresh water in the plastic glasses and place your new stems into the water, keeping the top leaves out of the water.

Place in a warm spot, out of direct sunlight. You will have to change the water every couple days.

In about two weeks small roots should start forming at the bottom of the stems.

Time to transfer your stems into a seed starter. Fill pot most of the way up with potting soil, and carefully place your stem in a pot. Fill the rest of your pot with soil. Place inside small clear plastic cup. Trim a bamboo skewer and place alongside your stem. With care, tie a small piece of string to support the stem, tie the knot on the skewer.

Find a sunny spot and water. Water regularly, but do not let plant dry out or sit in water.

In time, as your mini topiary start to grow, you will need to transfer to larger pots.

Here are a couple of mini topiaries I started a few months ago. Nice to see something grow right before your eyes. Every now and then you can prune the leaves to encourage a ball shape. These are ready for their first pruning.

Before you know, they grow into these! For the winter, find a sunny spot and enjoy the simple beauty of growing something so elegant. When the weather warms, you can take outdoors.

 But for now, a very nice project to keep your mind of the winter chill.