Bedner's Farm & Greenhouse

Wintertime Garden Dreaming Tips

Winter is a great time to be planning your garden. Put time and thought into your garden dreams and goals now, so that your time gardening this spring will be more productive and enjoyable.

Look through photos and take notes

Hopefully you took a lot of photos throughout the last year to refer to. If not, start this year! Take photos each season, even during the winter, to capture and record what you love most. Take photos around your own landscape and also when you are out walking or visiting other gardens.

Questions to reflect on

As you look through your photos, consider the following questions. If you don’t already have a garden journal, start one now! A simple spiral notebook will do, or you can splurge and buy a pretty journal with a hardcover. This is a good place to keep a plastic baggie with any plant tags that you saved from previous plantings. So many of us have trouble remembering exactly what we planted, so between taking a lot of photos and saving plant tags, we can access our gardening history.

  • What did you love most in the garden last year?
  • What plants do you want to grow again?
  • What do you want to add?
  • Which plants need moved?
  • Is there a new area of gardening that you want to try this year, like growing vegetables or herbs?
  • Do you need any updates or upgrades to your hardscaping, like pathways, a firepit, or retaining walls?
  • How much do you want to budget for gardening? Do you need to start saving now for spring purchases or larger projects?

go on virtual garden tours

Grab a cup of tea or coffee, get cozy, and visit three homes from our Garden Tour last summer! The videos on are YouTube, so pull them up on your television for better viewing. Take notes when you see specific design ideas or plants that you like, and bring them to the garden center with you this spring!

watch all garden tours


Get help and advice from experts

Planning the garden of your dreams might seem overwhelming, or sometimes you just want to get insight from an expert. Our Garden Coach or Landscape Design services could be just what you need. We highly recommend scheduling an appointment with us in the fall or winter. Our spring and summer schedules fill up quickly, and often times our Landscape Team is booked at least six months out.

Garden Coach: you come to us for a one-on-one, 60-minute consultation at the garden center to assist you with any of the following— plant selection and care advice; specific plant requests; simple design ideas.

Landscape Design Services: we come to you for a site visit to learn more about your vision and property. After the site visit, a complete computer-generated design can be created for you with one round of revisions included.

Click here to schedule a Garden Coach appointment or to fill out a Landscape Request Form.

The time to plan is now!