By Mark and Ben Cullen
(apologies to Red Green)
Winter is the perfect time of year to work your handy-person muscles. After all, come spring there will no time for it, with all the gardening that needs to be done.
Here is our top 5 list of winter garden projects:
1. Cold Frames
A cold frame is a season extender: earlier out, later in. You use it to get an early start in spring and to make late autumn more productive. They are great for overwintering dormant perennials. Essentially, any box with an angled top and a clear lid works well. Seek out plans online or work randomly with what you have available. Mark used a series of single pane glass windows for the “solar panelling” of his cold frames. Whatever recycled glass or plastic you can get your hands on can set the dimensions for the base, which should be about 30 cm tall on the short end and up to 80 cm on the tall end. The angled transparent top maximizes exposure to the sun, perfect for hardening off seedlings in the spring and protecting greens in the fall.
2. Bird Houses
With bird habitat under constant pressure, it’s almost impossible to have too many bird nesting boxes. Mark has over 40 throughout his 10-acre garden, and at least 30 of them are inhabited each spring. Birds Canada recommends drainage and ventilation to prevent the build up of harmful mold. We find the best designs have a hatch door on the back or bottom which allows for easy cleaning in the fall. A large metal washer – 1” to 1 ½” – mounted around the entry hole will prevent predators like red squirrels from chipping away at the wood and threatening your bird residents.
3. Potting Bench
A potting bench will help you get the most out of your yard space or in a garden shed. Basic two-by-fours and decking screws will give you years of service. We prefer designs that have shelving under the tabletop for storage of pots and soil. It also helps anchor the table to prevent wobbling while you work frantically potting up in the spring. A stainless-steel bowl or plastic tray that you drop through a cut-out in the table is useful. We find it handy for holding potting soil and for watering plants without making a mess. Use the wood cut out as a lid that will sit flush to the bowl or tray.
4. Trellis
An opportunity to get creative. Consider an unsightly view in your yard as the perfect opportunity to place a trellis. A climbing rose or clematis is much nicer to look at, no?
When Ben’s sister Heather, a landscape architect, was building her vision for her east-Toronto backyard, she sent the specs to her dad – “Japanese-styled” rectangular boxes, hollow to contain an ugly metal post with horizontal slats for training morning glories and climbing roses. Simple, 90-degree cuts for a sophisticated look – at a fraction of what it would cost to purchase. But then, nothing beats the cost of Dad’s handiwork.
5. A Place to Play
Our family continues to grow. Mark has been made a grandpa (and by extension, Ben an uncle) four times in the last four years. That’s four little ones running through the garden when we all get together.
One of the highlights at Grandma and Grandpa’s place is the kid’s playhouse. Built by Mark in four separate pieces last winter, the four walls made from scrap timber and leftover barn board, and were hammered together outside on a warm spring afternoon. Not only does it make for a fun “architectural” feature in an otherwise empty corner of the property, it is providing hours of outdoor entertainment.
This winter, think like Bill – look around to see what materials you might have lying around and put your hands to work for something to enjoy in the garden this gardening season.
TAGLINE: Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster, tree advocate and Member of the Order of Canada. His son Ben is a fourth-generation urban gardener and graduate of University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen.com, @markcullengardening, and on Facebook.
