LANDSCAPE/GARDENING
How to Turn the Brown Season Around by Karina Mae Our snow-covered winter days seem to be dwindling on either end of the season’s edges—the brown season of dormancy stretching on longer and longer each year. Plants and trees need soil temperatures to be above certain degrees for any growth to occur, so despite our lack of the fluffy white stuff, our growing season won’t extend quite the way our brown season will. Brown season starts as early as March and can extend until mid-May, returning by late October and lasting until the end of or past December. This potentially adds up to four months of the year, with the growing season being about the same amount of time. Given we only have a few inches of snow cover as I write this on an early February day (with 40 degrees Fahrenheit on the way tomorrow), this leaves us with some room for creative additions if we want to keep the landscape interesting. There are many ways to keep the brown season thriving, and incorporating just a few can alleviate that muddy feeling we all have in November and April. Four-season interest items would include things like stones or rocks, artwork, people spaces, 18 Additional photos at homeelementsandconcepts.com
