Monthly Archives: January 2023

January Container Gardening Recipe 2023

January 18th, 2023 by earthworksjax Container Garden Recipes

January Container Gardening Recipe 2023

Turn the Winter Blues into Something Beautiful!

Inspired by the freeze, this beautiful speckled blue pot, and the electric blue of delphinium, we created this icy-cool combo for our January Container Gardening Recipe 2023.

Delphinium – A compact variety Ideal for containers, the rock garden, and for edging the sunny border. Remove faded flower heads regularly to encourage repeat blooming. A summer perennial in cold climates, we consider it a cool-weather bloomer.
Lobelia Laguna Dark Blue- A rare true-blue flower, this variety can take the heat and will bloom consistently. They do not like wet feet, so be sure your container drains well between watering. A haircut will encourage new growth and more flowers if they go out of bloom. Plus, it can trail up to 24″!
Dusty Miller– Their silvery leaves look stunning when paired with blue flowers. Winter hardy in our zone and drought tolerant, this plant can go all year long in the Florida sun. They will grow 1-2′ tall and wide.
Alyssum- Mounding and growing 6″ tall, makes this plant suitable for borders and pathways. Alyssum is also a fragrant addition to combo planters and containers. They are heat tolerant, deer resistant, and a butterfly attractor.

January Container Gardening Recipe 2023 Icy Blues

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January Lawn and Garden Tips 2023

January 2nd, 2023 by earthworksjax Garden Tips

January Lawn and Garden Tips 2023

The January Lawn and Garden Tips focus on opportunities to improve your landscape after Jacksonville’s six freeze days from Winter Storm Elliott and early winter chores and preparations for Spring.

Landscaping Impacts of Winter Storm Elliott
Ten days into winter 2022, Winter Storm Elliott caused widespread plant damage in Northeast Florida resulting from six days below freezing between December 23 through 28 of 2022, one of the Top 10 coldest 5 days in 151 years of Jacksonville history.

The record low was officially 20F for Jacksonville on Christmas day, 21 degrees below average and the coldest in 12 years. While many residents were traveling over the holidays, their landscapes froze some days for 12 or more hours. Although the low temperatures were within our USDA hardiness zone ranges for 8b at 15-20F and coastal 9a at 20-25F many landscapes include plants with ideal growing conditions found in warmer climates.

Native plants along with many varieties of hardy shrubs, fruit trees, and palms were unaffected by the cold weather. Many property owners will gain a greater appreciation for the relevance of cold hardiness in adjusting their landscape design. Some treat winter dieback as an opportunity to remove and replace damaged plants with those lush tropical plants. Regardless of your position, Earth Works Landscape Design & Gardens has the plant material and design expertise to deliver your vision in 2023.

Winter 2023 Forecast
Meteorologists project our third La Nina Winter with a waning of La Nina as the associated lower-than-average sea surface temperatures are rising. “La Niña is the cool phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (“ENSO” for short) climate pattern,” according to Climate.gov. “La Niña is expected to continue into the Winter, with equal chances of La Niña and ENSO-neutral during January-March 2023. In February-April 2023, there is a 71% chance of ENSO-neutral.”

The better our understanding of our climate and weather conditions, the better we can plan and care for the long-term success of our landscape designs.

Tree Pollen Coming Soon to Northeast Florida
February is the month pollen typically is at its worst in Northeast Florida. However, warm winters bring pollen as early as December. In 2022 Jacksonville ranked 31st worst city for Spring allergies by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. This is the time of year that our stately oak trees shed their leaves and pollen filled catkins and immediately replace the leaves with new.

Pollen allergy symptoms include itchy throat, congestion, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and headaches. As of the first week of January, pollen from trees, grass, and ragweed is low, but mold particulates are high. “During peak season for tree pollen, keep your windows and doors closed, especially on windy days,” according to Accuweather.com. Avoid outdoor activities in the early morning, and be sure to shower and change clothes after coming indoors.”

January Plant Pruning In Jacksonville and Northeast Florida
Many of your woody stemmed plants that suffered dieback from the December freezes won’t need pruning. Still, January is the time to prune roses and deciduous plants, including crape myrtles, pears, and plums. Your Double Knock Out roses that bloom every 5-6 weeks from Spring to Frost have likely stopped blooming and are ready now through early Spring for annual pruning. Evergreens, in general, can be pruned any time of year.

Prune your azaleas after they bloom, which can vary widely depending on the variety. “Bloom times are divided into three flowering groups of early, mid, and late or fall flowering varieties,” wrote Lorna King for Garden’s Path. “The early group starts to flower in late Winter to early Spring, roughly from February to April. Midseason is comprised of late Spring and early summer or May and June. And the late or fall group flowers from midsummer and into fall, mid-July to October.” Reblooming azaleas should be pruned after the Spring bloom only. If pruned after the Fall blooms, that could stimulate growth put at risk by Winter cold.

Planting Choices for January
Offset the drab look of plantings that have died back with Winter annuals, including Pansies, petunias, snapdragons, violas, and dusty millers. We still got a good selection of Camellias, the Queens of Winter, with many still putting out blooms heading into Spring. The Earth Works greenhouse is full of houseplant options suitable for your unique lighting, humidity, and temperature conditions. And planting shade trees, fruit trees, and palms are less stressful, with less shock potential during these cooler months. Visit Earth Works Gardens or set up a landscape design consultation with one of our designers to bring your vision to life in your landscape.

Prep Soil In Winter For Beautiful Spring Turf
Please take steps to ensure a beautiful Spring lawn by planning to complete your soil AERATION & TOP DRESSING, or schedule it with Earth Works Lawn Care before Spring. Our naturally sandy soil requires nutrient replenishment for your best Spring & Summer lawn. Proper care of your lawn during dormancy will make for a healthy, vigorously growing lawn turf that holds up to threats from pests and pathogens. Schedule a visit by Earth Works Lawn Care for an AERATION & TOP DRESSING quote. Our lawn service, including lawn pest & fertilization spraying quotes, is free online.

Schedule Your Pond Clean Out In Winter
For Aquascape ecosystem pond owners, we recommend an annual winter pond cleanout. Earth Works designs and builds low-maintenance ecosystem ponds that collect the majority of debris in the skimmer basket. Still, some waste settles to the pond bottom, requiring a periodic cleanout. Unserviced pond debris buildup is a water quality concern, particularly as the water temperature warms up, fish grow larger, and feeding increases. Thus, Earth Works recommends that you schedule your annual winter pond cleanout service be completed before Spring. Don’t wait. Contact us to book today!

Get Your Landscape Design Scheduled In Time for Spring Outdoor Living

Our January Lawn and Garden tips would not be complete without encouraging you to book your landscape design consultation sooner than later, as it will be a busy Spring! Then spend some time gathering the pertinent documents and photos of landscapes you like that represent the vision you create with your designer. Please don’t wait until it’s too late to get your choice of project completion dates. Check out our landscape design consultation video to better understand our process.