By Julia Hillegass

Public Involvement and Community Outreach Administrator

Cold, dreary days got you down?  Need a little color and sign of spring?

There are plenty of ways to make a beautiful garden that is also good for the environment:

• Test your soil--once it thaws!
• Plant native plants
• Create buffers around waterways
• Use plants that provide food for butterflies, birds and other wildlife

And there’s no better time to get started--January is National Mailorder Gardening Month!  The National Mailorder Gardening Association has all sorts of resources to help you plot, plan and place your order, but unfortunately they won’t plant it for you.  There are links to various e-newsletters, catalogs (old school and online versions) and vendors.  You can find plant information by zone and plant type.  They even have mailorder garden shopping tips to get you started . . http://www.mailordergardening.com//shopperTips.htm

The Hampton Roads Water Efficiency Team  also has a FREE Waterwise Landscape Guide  that you can download, which gives informative tips on using water wisely in your landscape, as well as a list of drought tolerant plants.  Going native?  The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation also has a great brochure  on the importance of native plants to the environment.

So get out of the winter blahs by planning for spring gardening season—you’ll be glad you did!

(Photo Courtesy of Stonehouse Elementary School)