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Nothing Is Easier
Copyright (C) 2001 by Connie Krochmal
Blame my dislike for winter on genetics. Each year my mother seems to dread it even more. In the autumn as I check her supply of thermal underwear and winter tights to see what she'll need for the coming season, she tells me, "I know we have to have winter, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
As a gardener, I find winters in upstate New York so confining. The frigid temperatures keep me indoors for months. Yet, winter is doing some good.
These chilling times are needed to overcome dormancy in the purple coneflower seeds I planted last fall. They need at least four weeks of winter to germinate next spring. I could have put them in my refrigerator over the winter. But planting them outdoors in the fall where they will experience a natural chill leaves me with less to do in the spring.
Apart from the fact that the purple coneflower seems to be misnamed-it sports pink petals-I find no fault with this native species. With my erratic water supply, I prize its drought tolerance. My busy schedule as a Master Gardener and volunteer for Cornell Plantations makes me appreciate its carefree, undemanding nature. Its virtual pest and disease resistance means I can remain an organic grower.
The votes of the nectar sippers are definitely counted in my garden. And the purple coneflower is high on the preferred list for both hummingbirds and butterflies. That's why I collected seeds from the plants I already had to expand my nectar garden.
In late summer I listen to the flocks of chattering goldfinches as they feast on the seeds. I delay cutting the stalks back until I know they've finished feeding, which is usually late fall.
Each season in my garden is preparation for the next, and the winter is no exception.