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North Region Tips: January

Winter provides time to refresh, reflect and ready ourselves for spring. Here’s how I’ll be starting off the new year.

• Indoor tropical plants slow their growth in response to the rhythms of reduced sunlight, so check the soil before watering. They may not need as much as you think this time of year. Hold back on fertilizing until they begin to actively grow again in March or April.

• Dream and design your next garden, remembering which of your favorite plants you'd like to repeat and noting new ones you'd like to try this year.
  
  
• If possible, keep your perennial flowerbeds covered with snow to protect the plants’ crowns and roots. Snow helps to keep the ground insulated and frozen, which is important during winter warm spells.
  
  
• Finalize your seed orders so they will arrive at the right time. Store seeds in a cool, dark, dry, protected place until you need them. Remember to mark your seed packages with the year to keep track of their viability in case you have leftovers after sowing
  
  

North Region Tips: February

• The quiet stillness of winter affords an unrushed opportunity to plan next spring's garden.Here’s where to begin and pass the time until spring arrives.
  
  
• First, pin down the purpose of your garden. Your purpose drives your plan, and a well-thought-out plan keeps you organized. It’ll also save time and money when the weather warms and it’s time to get back outside.
  
  
• Review and update your garden journal with the successes and lessons learned from last year. Incorporate those new insights into this year’s garden planning.
  
  
• Check any stored perennial bulbs or tubers for rot, mold or dehydration. Discard any rotted bulbs and rehydrate the dry ones. Some tubers, like cannas and dahlias, may be repotted back up again in late February. 
  
  
• February weather is unpredictable from coast to coast in Canada, and more perennials die from our fluctuating freeze-thaw cycles than perhaps any other reason. Be prepared to protect perennial beds with additional snow, mulch or evergreen branches if the snow melts too soon around vulnerable plants.

North Region Tips: March

• Premature snow loss on perennial flower beds is always a concern in colder regions of Canada, so keep those beds topped up with snow or mulch, and watch for drying soil once the snow has melted.
  
  
• Late winter and early spring offer a window of time to prune trees and shrubs before they have leafed out. Be sure to research correct pruning times and techniques for your specific trees and shrubs.
• Avoid digging into perennial roots as the weather warms, which can cause irreparable damage. Let perennials awaken at their own pace.
  
  
• March is a good time to give plants a head start by getting seeds sown or planting spring bulbs, corms, and tubers.

North Region Tips: April

• In warm Canadian gardening zones, this is the time to prune trees and shrubs before they leaf out, after researching correct pruning techniques for each specific variety.
  
  
• Let soil dry down before walking through perennial gardens to avoid compacting vital air spaces and let perennials emerge undisturbed.
  
  
• Monitor warm, south-facing perennial beds for moisture levels as they tend to dry out quicker than we expect.
  
  
• This is a good time for intentional, strategic garden planning. Narrow down your goals, know your gardening environment for sun and wind exposure and water movement, and match plant choices to thrive in those conditions.

    

 
North Region Tips: May

• May is the time every gardener waits for to get planting in the garden as soon as possible! Allow the garden warm and dry down from the snow melt and give pollinators time to wake up and move on from their hibernation spaces before doing any trimming or cleaning.
  
  
• If you left perennial stems standing for the winter, trim back old dried stalks to 5-8 cm (2-3") once the new green growth emerges from the plant crowns.
  
  
• Prepare tools for their work: rinse out hoses, clean rain barrels, wash tools with warm soapy water if you hadn't done it in the fall, and sharpen pruners.
  
  
• Pace your plant purchases strategically to avoid harbouring a garage or dining room full of plants until the weather is warm enough to plant. Get the plants you would prefer to not live without first, and add to your collection as needed and explore new plant options. Who knows? You may find a new favourite soil mate!
  
  
  

North Region Tips: June

• The threat of frost is over in June and it's gardening on all cylinders in the colder regions of the continent!
  
  
• In the perennial flower garden: trim as needed, guide perennials through supports, monitor hydration, add new perennials, and replace perennials that didn't come back.
  
  
• In the annual flower garden: place hanging baskets and containers, and finish planting annuals to add consistent pops of colour to your gardening space and to complement perennial cycles of bloom.
  
  
• Monitor for signs the '3 bad bugs of spring': Scarlet Lily Beetles, Delphinium Worms, and Columbine Worms, and take action to reduce the impact they have on your plants.
  
  
• Pick some early flowering perennials (like Peonies) & share your gardening Joy with friends!

North Region Tips: July

Unless you're embarking on building a new garden or doing a garden renovation, July is more of a maintenance month for established gardens.

• Check gardens daily for hydration status and keep gardens, hanging baskets, and container soil evenly moist. Mulch is a great help with moisture retention.
  
  
• Fertilize annuals regularly with weekly applications of water soluble fertilizer, particularly those growing in containers and hanging baskets.
  
  
• Deadhead annuals and perennials that aren't self-cleaning to keep annuals flowering and to strengthen perennial roots after they've blossomed. So grateful for Supertunias that don't need this!
  

• Enjoy your garden, savour its beauty, and share it with a friend.

North Region Tips: August

Each gardening months has its own personality, and August can be marked with some fatigue.
Continue to take in the magical moments of your garden!

• Some people wind down regular weekly annual plant fertilizing, but I prefer to squeeze every drop out of the gardening season, and I continue to fertilize my annuals to the end of August.

• Trees, shrubs, and perennials, however, should grow without fertilizer in August, allowing them to get their seasonal cues from shorter days and cooler nights to slow down growth and prepare for the upcoming winter.

• Cut the overgrown flowers back and take out weeds to reduce water and nutrient competition to keep plants strong and healthy through to the closing weeks of summer.

• Don't be afraid to call it quits on plants that have lost all hope to lessen your garden workload.

North Region Tips: September

Celebrate the beauty of this new season with potted fall mums! 

• Celebrate the beauty of this new season with potted fall mums! And they can be transplanted as a perennial for gardeners living in zones 6 or higher. Double check tags for hardiness before you plant so you have the right match for your growing space.\

• Collect fall bulbs like Allium, Daffodils, Tulips, and Muscari, all hardy at zone 3 and above, for planting. Watch the weather and get them in the ground 6 weeks before the ground freezes up.

• With the cooler weather lowering plant metabolic demands, Fall is a great time to edit the garden. Move & divide perennials, and plant new perennials, trees, and shrubs to fill in bare zones in the garden.

• Fall garden clean up starts earlier in cool zones than warm zones. Deadhead flowering perennials to allow them to direct their nutrients to bulking up and strengthening their roots for the upcoming winter. Remember to keep the biennials (Delphiniums, Hollyhocks, Lupines) up to develop their seed pods, vernalize the seeds, and scatter them during the cold months.
    
  
  

North Region Tips: October

October gardening activities focus on preparing the garden for the upcoming winter.

• This is still a good time to plant new perennials, trees, shrubs and to complete perennial garden edits dividing and moving flowering perennials.

  Plant fall bulbs like Crocus, Daffodils, Hyacinths, Tulips, and Garlic (not a bulb) as the daytime highs lower to the mid-teens Celsius. As you plant, stop filling the hole with soil midway to water thoroughly, and water again when the planting hole is completely filled to ensure complete soil hydration.

  Fall dehydration is a leading factor in perennial, tree, and shrub winter die-back, so check them regularly and water thoroughly when the soil is dry.

  Perennial fall garden prep is ideally started after the first frost to take advantage of every drop of photosynthetic activity. Sculpt your winter garden, cut back any infected foliage, and add mulch if needed.

North Region Tips: November


November is a time when most prairie gardening activities have been completed, but milder areas of Canada still have some time to finish up fall gardening tasks.

• Fall bulb, perennial, tree and shrub plantings should be wrapped up for the prairies, but warmer areas still have some runway to complete planting in November. Aim to get everything in the ground by at least four to six weeks before the ground freezes.Protect perennial flower beds from frosty winter temperatures with the powerful insulating properties of additional layers of snow as you shovel sidewalks and driveways. Also, it’s toboggan time!
  
  
• Continue to irrigate perennial gardens, trees and shrubs in warmer zones. Evergreen plants, as well as anything planted this year, are particularly important to keep watered until the ground freezes.
  
• Winterize garden watering equipment: disconnect and bring sprinklers, drams, on/off valves indoors to keep them from freezing; drain and wrap hoses; overturn rain barrels so they don't collect water or snow; clean out and store bird baths; empty, clean and put away self-watering AquaPots. If you don't have frost-free spigot valves, turn off the indoor water valves, then open and drain outdoor spigot valves to release water that could potentially freeze and crack the hardware.
  
  
• Top up mulch on perennial flowerbeds, particularly in places where the snow tends to melt during the winter thaw such as south-facing flowerbeds next to buildings, fences, sidewalks or driveways.
  
  
  

North Region Tips: December 

As the winter season settles in, embrace its rhythm of rest, recharge and renewal – a time I refer to as “wintering”. Here are a few wintering activities I’m doing this month. 

• Fresh winter greens are homey, festive and fancy. Choose greens that are fragrant, have vibrant, dark green, flexible needles that stay on the branch as you pass your hand over them.
  
  
• Protect perennial flower beds from frosty winter temperatures with the powerful insulating properties of additional layers of snow as you shovel sidewalks and driveways. Also, it’s toboggan time!
  
  
• If you have bird feeders, keep them well-stocked during the harsh winter months when natural food sources could be scarce for our feathered friends.
  
  
• It's never too early to snuggle up to seed and plant catalogues with a warm beverage to start some preliminary dreaming (and ordering) for next year's garden.
  
  
  

ABOUT SHARON MURPHY
Sharon Murphy is a third-generation grower and experienced gardening educator based in Alberta, Canada. With deep roots in horticulture, she creates practical, approachable content designed to help gardeners succeed in cool-climate growing zones. Sharon is especially passionate about equipping gardeners of all skill levels with the confidence to grow, while also fostering a love of plants in the next generation through education and storytelling.

Check out my Cold + Bold Canada articles on provenwinners.com.