Veronica "Georgia Blue" is a bright and early riser. It begins blooming as soon as it thaws out in March and sometimes it starts sooner. It has brilliant blue flowers in abundance early in the season when a lot of things are still sleeping. Low growing, it spreads to about 18" generally evergreen through the winter, it is a great ground cover. It doesn't bloom much in the hot part of the summer but it is a nice dark green background for the abundance of summer flowering plants which are taller than it. It drapes over edges beautifully and makes a great container plant

It's seed catalog time of year. The stack of catalogs next to the couch is just waiting for you. Your biggest challenge: not buy more seed than there is time to plant and room for in the garden. For those who like instant, we have a great selection of seed at the shop and you don't have to wait for the post office to deliver them.

If you are going to grow sweet peas from seed it's time to get them in the ground. Soaking the seeds overnight in warm water with a drop of bleach helps them germinate sooner. Once they are growing, if we have a hard front, cover them with pine straw or place compost over the bottom inch or two of the plants to help them through.

During the winter, sometimes the most difficult thing for birds to find is unfrozen water. Thaw some ice for your birds.

Antiques in the garden will be held Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17 from 9 to 5

Add a little tropical flavor to your fruit plantings with Kiwi. We have both the hardy and fuzzy kiwi varieties available for the first time in good quantity. Kiwis are large vines which are decorative as well as fruiting. You need both a female vine to produce the fruit and a male vine for a pollinator. One male vine can usually produce sufficient pollen for up to three female vines. Hardy kiwis are small smooth skinned and green inside. Fuzzy kiwis are larger, fuzzy brown on the outside and green inside. They are the traditional ones found in the grocery store.

Sometimes, when it is cold and dreary, spring seems a long, long time away. Try a few windowsill plants to help brighten the day; Start an avocado seed in a vase. Sprinkle some sprout seed in a saucer. Force some hyacinth bulbs in a little gravel. Make cutting of a houseplant and try to root them in water in jelly jars. Germinate tomato seeds in paper cups. Bloom twigs from early spring flowering shrubs by bringing them in and placing them in containers of warm water.

Once the frost has taken the pretty out of most of your perennials it's time to cut them back. Most can be cut back to an inch or two. If you are adding new plants make certain you can locate the original ones so you don't dig them up. This is also a great time to relocate and divide perennials which are too large for their space. Moving them while they are dormant is the best time. This is also true for roses and shrubs. Once you've planted, water everything in. Even if the ground it moist and it is cold, you need to settle the soil around the roots of the plants so there are no air pockets.	January, February and March are important months for the garden. They are when you get the garden tidied up, the perennials cut back and moved and lime sulphur and dormant oil sprayed, the seeds ordered and germinated, start this year's gardener's note book, and begin your spring vegetable garden. If you want snow or English peas they can be planted at the end of January, Lettuce and cool season crops can go out in February along with potatoes and onions, then comes the summer vegetables in April.	Our winterberry (Ilex verticillata) in the front garden is still a bright spot of red berries. Even the mockingbird has no yet managed to eat all the berries and she is giving it her best shot.
		The Southern Garden Symposium will be at Callaway Garden Jan 28 to 31. They always have a great line up of speakers. It's a real way to start the gardening New Year.
If you missed planting spring blooming bulbs in the fall, we will offer some potted in the spring. The good thing is you can see what the flowers look like in real life and not just a picture.	Cory and Walker had great success in our home vegetable garden this will with 'Winter Density" lettuce and Lacinata Kale. They are both still producing in January. Feeding both us and the bearded dragon 'Eragon'. If you're interest in vegetable gardens in the South check out a book Gene discovered called 'The Southern Kitchen Garden' by William D. Adams and Thomas R. LeRoy.