This month can be full of surprises. It may be cold and icy, mild and fall-like, or a combination of both! Evergreens, once worshipped for their enduring qualities, are particularly prominent in the landscape now.

Putting a grand finale on the growing season, leaves turn to crimson, gold, and orange, dropping to the ground around the time of the first fall frost. 

October weather grows cooler, encouraging root growth that aids in establishment of new plantings. Trees such as dogwoods and burning bushes change into their flaming autumn colors and bright berries glow on hawthorns, yaupon and other hollies, pyracantha, and crab apples.

This month begins warm and can start to cool off toward the end, providing a distinct preview of fall.  Butterflies may be drawn to late flowers on butterfly bushes and to blue-flower plumes of bluebeard,

Is it hot enough yet!  When temperatures rise above 85 degrees F, all but the most heat-loving plants can become stressed.  Tomatoes may stop setting fruit; annuals may stop flowering or may fizzle out entirely. 

This month can be hot, humid, and also quite rainy. Tropical plants thrive, as do natives such as coneflowers, coreopsis, sunflowers, and ornamental grasses. 

As summer officially arrives this month summertime heat will soon follow.  This can be a time of abundance and challenge in the garden.  Annuals, summer-blooming perennials, vegetables, and herbs can be reaching their prime.

Warm-season heat combined with generally abundant moisture encourages lavish growth this month. Beauty abounds, with flowers lighting up roses, impatiens, petunias and much more.

Except for an unusual season, the mid-Atlantic will see its last spring frosts this month…we can only hope! Temperatures are generally pleasant, ideal for planting geraniums, cannas, azaleas, camellias, and lantanas.

Great growing weather arrives in March.  With the mild days we’ve been seeing it is time to start those seedlings!  As we enjoy the mild weather, we are taking into account that we will not necessarily be frost-free.  Rain generally falls in abundance, encouraging root growth and plant establishment before the heat of summer. 

February plays with gardeners, sometimes coming on mild and other times clinging to its winter ways. It may seem mild enough plant trees and shrubs, but for perennials it’s safer to wait until March to plant. The earth is likely to continue to be wet, soggy enough to make sown seeds rot in the ground, never to appear. To minimize this problem, garden where soil is drained or in raised beds.

January may be the coldest month of the year, one that will test the hardiness of the landscape. During short January days, the sky may be cloudy more than sunny. To that end, January is a time of renewal, as nursery catalogs arrive and inspire new ideas for the gardening season to come!