Winter seems to have gotten a hold of us here in Michigan. This time of year, it feels like it will never loosen its icy grip. But the reality is Spring is right around the corner. We just have to appreciate or endure (depending on your outlook) these last few weeks of the winter chill. Here in the northern climates if we hit fifty degrees and sunny it’s time to break out the t-shirts and shorts!

Time to prepare

I like to have a loose plan of what will need to be done once those few warm days of Spring finally arrive. You may want to look around your garden now and start a checklist. Here’s a few things from my list:

• Check that gardening tools are clean
• Tidy up the shed and or garage
• Clean patio and cement areas
• If you fed the birds in winter, cleanup area to avoid seed germination
• Plan planting strategy (buy seeds, order plants, etc.)
• Clean out planters and decorative containers (recycle old soil)

Make a shopping list

We are all aware of the product shortages we’ve encountered this year. Keep that in mind, things that were always plentiful may be in short supply. You may want to shop sooner than later. I’ll be getting my new gardening gloves early this year for sure.

One final thought, if you’ve been a bit of a couch potato this winter, you may want to start a light exercise routine. At a minimum incorporate more stretching into your day. We’ve all done it, in our excitement to get outdoors and start gardening, we OVER DO IT on the first day. God willing, we will enjoy a long and glorious growing season. Don’t take a chance of sidelining yourself before the season even gets started.