Winter Gardening, Including Outdoor Guests
by: Joanne Curley
There isn’t much that needs to be done in your garden in December. It’s a good
month to take off, rest, rejuvenate and think about what you want your garden to
look like, produce, or attract come Spring.
December is a good time to fertilize your grass if you planted Rye or another type
of cool-season grass. 1 If you didn’t, your grass is probably dormant and doesn’t
need fertilizing. Dormant grass doesn’t need watering either. Usually nature’s
rainfall is plenty. If you want specific watering criteria, visit Water My Yard . 2
The months of December and/or January are a good time to prune fruit trees.
Right now is also a great time to plant new trees and roses too. This will give
plenty of time for the roots to become well established before the summer heat
arrives. Just make sure the root balls are kept moist but not wet or over-watered.
One of my favorite things to enjoy are the birds visiting my yard and feeders –
finches, cardinals, chickadees and many more. If you are not seeing many
varieties, it isn’t hard to attract them, especially in December, January and
February as these are the toughest months for birds to find food. 3 By offering
some white millet and/or black sunflower seeds, you should attract quite a
variety. If you are trying to attract goldfinches, you can put out some thistle seed.
Because it can get cold in December and January, you might even try putting out
some fresh water and other treats for the birds such as suet cakes, unsalted
peanuts or you can even make your own and incorporate dried fruit bits, peanut
butter and corn meal. (Note: Do NOT put out peanut butter without mixing it with
flower or corn meal as it can be harmful or even fatal to the birds.)
If you decide to put out stale bread, leftovers or any food scraps, you will NOT
attract songbirds. Instead you will attract crows, starlings, grackles and sparrows.
You will also have a difficult time getting rid of these birds, as once they have been
attracted, they rarely go away. So, be careful what you offer!
3 Texas Agri-Life Extension, Bexar County. Winter Backyard Birding
2 Aggie Horticulture, Aggie-Horticulture.tamu.edu , and Water My Yard by Location .
1 Texas Master Gardener Handbook,7th Edition 2019, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, edited by Jayla Fry, Table 6-11