Skip to content

Top Navigation

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Home
  • Garden
  • Holidays
  • Videos
  • current issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Midwest Living

Midwest Living Midwest Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      7 Fresh Places to Eat, Drink, Play and Stay This Winter

      Hot off the minds of Midwest travel writers: a fresh look at where to eat, drink, play and stay around the region. Read More
    • Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      Meet Five Midwest Cake Creators (and Try Their Recipes)

      One has conquered the world of plant-based baking. Another runs a microbakery from her home. Two own businesses with their spouses. And the fifth is a James Beard finalist chef. The common thread? Absolutely delicious cakes. Read More
    • The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      The No-Fail Relish Tray Recipe is Here

      For many Midwesterners, holiday feasting kicks off with a relish tray. We dare not mess with an icon—at least, not too much. Read More
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    Why Wisconsin Supper Clubs Just Keep Getting Better With Age

    At Wisconsin supper clubs, the steak is served rare and the traditions are well done. Like the brandy in an Old-Fashioned, these timeless institutions only get better with age.
    • Weekend Getaways
    • Family Travel
    • Around the Region
    • Beyond the Region
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Missouri
    • Nebraska
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • South Dakota
    • Wisconsin
    • Free Travel Info
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    Tomatoey Parmesan Beans

    This sleeper hit of a weeknight dinner comes from Food Network star Molly Yeh's cookbook Home is Where the Eggs Are—and is basically a vehicle for Parmesan and garlic toast. No complaints! (The alternate version, with ham and cream, is excellent too.)
    • Comfort Foods
    • Desserts & Baking
    • Breakfast
    • Quick & Easy
    • Chicken
    • Soups & Stews
    • Midwest Favorites
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Grilling
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    Avid DIYers Transform a 1929 Chicago Home One Project at a Time

    With visions of dinner parties and game nights dancing in their heads, a Chicago couple renovated their historic (and first) home, one DIY project at a time.
    • Quick Decorating
    • Featured Homes
    • Organizing & Storage
    • Outdoor Living
    • Seasonal Decorating
    • Room Decorating
  • Garden

    Garden

    See All Garden
    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    How to Care for Flowering Houseplants

    Author Lisa Eldred Steinkopf shares how to make blooms last longer—and repeat.
    • Container Gardens
    • Flowers
    • Featured Gardens
    • Midwest Gardening Calendar
    • Garden Ideas & Inspiration
  • Holidays

    Holidays

    See All Holidays
    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Unique Midwest Light Displays to See This Winter

    Buses, trains and very few automobiles—check out these out-of-the-ordinary holiday lights displays.
    • Easter
    • July 4th
    • Thanksgiving
    • Halloween
    • Christmas
    • Valentine's Day
  • Videos

    Videos

    See All Videos
    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Chef Jorge Guzmán's Step-by-Step Guide to Making Tamales

    Tamales are a project, but many hands—even tiny ones—make lighter work.
    • Brighten Your Front Door with This Colorful Easter Egg Wreath
    • These DIY Orange Beeswax Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing
    • Ring in the New Year with This Glam Star Garland
    • How to Make a Modern Fruit Cake Box
    • An Eye-Catching Oval Treat Box You Can Make
    • Make a Colorful Paper Raffia Wreath to Welcome Fall
    • How to Make a Dried Floral Arrangement
    • How to Make an Easy Pina Colada
    • How to Make an Amazing Pavlova
    • How to Make Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake
    • How to Make an All-Butter Pie Crust
    • DIY Pistachio Wheat Stalks for Fall Decorating
  • current issue

    current issue

    See All current issue
    About Us

    About Us

    • March/April 2022 Issue
    • January/February 2022 Issue
    • November/December 2021 Issue
    • September/October 2021 Issue
    • July/August 2021 Issue
    • May/June 2021 Issue
    • Summer 2022 Issue
    • Fall 2022 Issue
    • Winter 2022 Issue
  • Sweepstakes
  • Road Rally
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Email Preferences
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Win Your Dream Getaway!
  • Give a Gift Subscription
  • Magazine Issues
  • Destinations
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Midwest Living
  2. Garden
  3. Midwest Gardening Calendar
  4. January Garden Calendar

January Garden Calendar

By Veronica Lorson Fowler Updated December 16, 2019
Skip gallery slides
Pin
Gather ideas for spring

Forget about winter for a while and start planning for spring.

Start Slideshow

1 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Gather ideas for spring

Gather ideas for spring

Start spring planning. Just about the time you put away the Christmas tree, the seed catalogs will start hitting your mailbox. Enjoy the chance to begin your grand plans for warmer weather. Supplement the lists of new products with ideas from garden books and magazines.

Corral your ideas into a garden notebook that will be handy for toting to the garden center come spring. Dedicate pages for notes and photos of favorite ideas. Include pocket folders for articles and notes, and a zip pocket to hold spring receipts and plant labels.

Make online and mail-order purchases early. Supplies of the most popular items tend to start running out in March or so.

1 of 4

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Primp indoor plants

Primp indoor plants

Boost humidity around houseplants. It's one of the best things you can give them this time of year. Misting doesn't help, but a tray filled with pebbles and a quarter inch or so of water will be most appreciated. Also, turn up your humidifier as high as you can (without creating condensation on windows). Both people and plants will feel better for it!

Evaluate houseplants. If they're struggling, it's probably time to pitch them and replace them as needed. Otherwise, give plants a good rinse in the kitchen sink or shower, trim off brown or problem parts, and top off the soil with fresh potting mix. But don't fertilize houseplants this month. With less daylight, their need for food is reduced.

2 of 4

3 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Care for bulbs and seeds

Care for bulbs and seeds

Check on bulbs that you are forcing. Keep soil lightly moist. And once the bulbs have sent up shoots a half-inch to 1 inch high, take them out and put them in the sunniest, brightest spot possible.

Check on bulbs or corms you dug up and have in storage. If you dug up some tender bulbs last fall to store over the winter, uncover and examine them. They should be firm and healthy looking. If any are shriveled or mildewed, pitch them now.

Start seeds of slower-growing plants, such as parsley and onions. Don't be tempted to start other seeds too early (follow label directions or read on up on them online). If you jump the gun on planting seeds, the seedlings will languish indoors too long without the powerful natural sun and get leggy and diseased. The vast majority of seeds should be started 6 to 8 weeks before your region's last average frost date. For most of the Midwest, that means starting seeds in March.

3 of 4

Advertisement

4 of 4

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

A few outdoor chores

Include colorful plants

Keep walks and plants safe. Instead of sodium chloride rock salt for your icy walks and drives, use calcium chloride, sand or even kitty litter. It's less harmful to concrete and plants.

Mulch with snow. Perennials love snow. When shoveling, as long as the snow doesn't have salt in it and isn't slushy, don't worry about tossing it onto perennials and small shrubs. Fluffy snow insulates against weather extremes.

Evaluate your landscape for winter interest. Note good places to plant native grasses, evergreens or shrubs with interesting bark in the spring.

4 of 4

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Veronica Lorson Fowler

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 4 Gather ideas for spring
    2 of 4 Primp indoor plants
    3 of 4 Care for bulbs and seeds
    4 of 4 A few outdoor chores

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Midwest Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Help
    • Free Newsletters this link opens in a new tab
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Customer Service this link opens in a new tab
    • Renew this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Affiliate Program
    • Free Travel Info this link opens in a new tab
    • Special Promotions this link opens in a new tab
    • Sweepstakes this link opens in a new tab
    • Video
    • Home Advisor this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMidwest Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Midwest Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.midwestliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    January Garden Calendar
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.