Review the last garden season for clues to what to do next year

Did your daisies droop in last summer's drought? Did October's rain rot your pumpkin patch? Of course, Minnesota's variable weather always affects our gardens. But this year's weather extremes might just lead you to change a few of your garden practices. Here's a quick look at the garden year in review and some suggestions about how you might want to prepare for gardening in 2008:

Last spring's cold surprise

Despite a chilly February, last year we had another relatively mild and snowless winter. Warm March temperatures -- including some 70s and even 80s late in the month -- had many gardeners convinced that the Twin Cities should be reclassified as Zone 5.

But in early April, reality set in. For well over a week, temperatures dipped below freezing, sometimes even into the frigid teens. Plants that had been teased into early growth by March's mild temps got a rude shock. Emerging foliage and even the flowers of early spring bulbs such as crocus and daffodils were frozen. The abrupt cold also zapped early-opening flowers and swelling buds on some trees and shrubs.

The take-away message from that cold snap: Surviving winter means more than making it through the coldest night. It also depends on how acclimated a plant is to a given temperature at a given time. Even hardy native plants can suffer damage from abrupt temperature swings, especially early or late in winter.

Oh, and as for those frozen daffodils, providing a layer of winter mulch over the bed would have kept the ground colder in March and possibly prevented early emergence and the subsequent freezing damage.

Summer spurs smart watering

Summer turned out to be hot and devastatingly dry in most of the state. Gardeners spent hours moving sprinklers, dragging hoses and hauling watering cans to keep gardens, lawns and container plants growing. The hassle alone had many of us thinking about ways to reduce water use. Here are some wise water ways:

• Select drought-tolerant plants. They'll weather dry spells without lots of extra care.

• Reduce large lawn areas. Grass needs lots of water, so replace little-used sections of lawn with tough groundcovers, masses of shrubs, drought-tolerant perennials or even a swath of prairie.

• Apply mulch. Just a few inches of wood chips, shredded leaves or other mulch works wonders for holding in soil moisture.

• Water carefully. Water early in the morning, avoid runoff and be sure to fix any leaks in sprinklers, faucets and hoses.

A welcome wet fall

Fortunately, rain returned in the fall. In fact, we had one of the wettest Octobers in state history. Even though the rain came at the end of the growing season, gardeners felt a palpable sense of relief. Recent dry autumns have been tough on plants heading into winter, so it was great to see trees, shrubs and perennials get a thorough soaking. The only downsides were a few rotten pumpkins and some rather dull fall colors (in part from the lack of sunny days).

November was mild, but dry. The yard could actually have used a watering or two, but nights below freezing made it risky to leave hoses connected. (One burst water pipe from a frozen faucet taught me that lesson.) Gardeners who sowed a late crop of spinach, lettuce and other frost-tolerant greens were rewarded with fresh salad almost until Thanksgiving.

Let it insulate!

Just when the mild fall had us lulled into thinking we'd have another Missouri-like winter, boom! The other snowshoe dropped.

Several snows the first week of December left us with a significant layer of white. As temperatures plunged to unseasonable lows, gardeners could at least rejoice that Mother Nature had nicely protected the roots, bulbs and crowns of plants with that wonderful layer of insulation.

That snow might disappear in a freakish January heat wave. So if you didn't mulch before the snow, you'd be wise to protect garden beds with a layer of winter mulch. (You can spread it right over the snow.)

Will next year's weather be kind or cruel to our gardens? Who knows? But for now, we can settle in with a stack of garden catalogs and dream of the perfect gardening season.

Nancy Rose is a horticulturist with the University of Minnesota Extension. To ask her a gardening question, call 612-673-9073 and leave a message. She will answer questions in this column only.