Gardening involves things that can be done routinely at the same time every year. Weather, however, may influence timing of these jobs.

Cleaning and clean-up:

By now you should have cleaned your tools, disconnected hoses, sprinklers and any other water features.

If you have not done these things, this is the last opportunity before a hard freeze. It is also a good time to sharpen your tools or have them sharpened.

Winter times:

Winter is often described as cold, dark and dreary. The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way. We are lucky to live in a region with several native plants that offer winter color.

During this bleak time, a colorful native garden just might be the remedy for those cold and dreary winter days.

The perfect plant to add in the spring is a winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata). You will need a male and female. It is a compact native shrub that loses its leaves in autumn, showing bare branches bursting with crimson berries throughout the winter months.

Another wonderful plant for winter is a red twig dogwood, the red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), with its beautiful red stems. It grows well in sun or shade, has a compact habit of about 5 feet, and tolerates a full range of soils. The plant should be pruned heavily in the spring every three years because the brightest color is on the new wood.

Our feathered friends:

Shrubs with colorful berries provide excellent nutrition for winter wildlife and birds. Other excellent choices are northern bayberry, southern arrowwood and chokeberry.

Food for birds becomes scarce once plants go dormant and water freezes. Get a heated birdbath as it will be a huge help to birds. Heated birdbaths are designed to just keep the water from freezing, not make the water hot.

Evergreens for the holidays: As a general rule, evergreens require little pruning. Resist the urge to go into your garden and take off branches. Never prune a pine in winter. It could seriously damage or kill the tree.

Purchase your greens from your local garden center. Don’t risk harming a wonderful tree. You can snip off a few holly stems from your garden to bring inside.

Catalogs season:

December brings the first new catalogs and communications from seed suppliers for next season’s gardens. It is fun to browse them, looking for new items to grow.

This is a good time to look for sales on garden tools and supplies as well. Check your local garden centers for sales, too.

Gift-giving:

Remember your gardening friends when planning your holiday giving. You can get them tools, garden gloves, gardening books or other publications, journals, and even a heated birdbath. Any of these items will be hit.

“Growing Green” is contributed by Diane Dorn, Lehigh County Extension Office Staff, and Master Gardeners. Information: Lehigh County Extension Office, 610-391-9840; Northampton County Extension Office, 610-813-6613.