Cool Season Gardening
by: Christy Lewis

The calendar may say itıs still winter, but this El Nino weather has gotten everyone thinking Spring! Balmy temperatures, blooming crocus and snowdrops, emerging tulips and daffodils, and the spring songs of robins and red-winged blackbirds are all powerful calls to the gardener. But letıs not get ahead of ourselves--after all, it is only
early March, and we are still in Wisconsin.

However, this is the perfect time to start planning our ³cool season² plantings. This planting season generally starts around mid-April, and consists of flowering and foliage annuals and vegetables that are able to withstand light frosts, and that thrive in the cool temperatures of spring. Here in Wisconsin, where our winters are usually so long,
and the growing season so short, utilizing the cool season can add six precious weeks of color and life to our gardens.

At Olbrich, most of our cool season plantings are done in containers, for the ground is often still too cold and wet to be workable. We use a bagged soilless potting mix in our terra-cotta containers, and this light planting mix easily warms up in April's feeble sunlight.

So which plants are suitable for this planting season? Probably the most popular and enduring cool season flower is the pansy (Viola x wittrockiana). At Olbrich, when I plant out that first container full of pansies, the excitement of
visitors and volunteers is electric, as that bright, cheerful pot of blooms is usually the only spot of color in an otherwise still brown and gray landscape.

Pansies come in an unbeatable range of colors, from soft pastel pinks to bright blues and yellows, both with and without 'faces', or blotches.
Favorites at Olbrich are 'Crystal Bowl True Blue' and 'Crystal Bowl Yellow', from a series of pansies in true, clear colors, many of which are fragrant. Another popular pansy is 'Paparadja', a 1991 All-America Selection, famous for it's eye-popping bright and clear orange color.

Closely related to the pansies are violas (Viola tricolor), smaller and daintier versions of their pansy cousins. Violas come in beautiful shades of purple, lavender, yellow, and white, and include many bicolors and tricolors. These cheerful little beauties bloom ceaselessly throughout the cool season.

For lovely foliage effects, I would be lost without lettuces and swiss chards. These ornamental (and
edible!) vegetables come in an incredible range of colors and leaf forms, and make wonderful backdrops for the bright colors of spring flowers.  Both these plants are extremely cold tolerant, and in fact cold temperatures actually intensify the leaf colors.

Some of my favorite lettuces have included 'Valeria', sporting bright red frizzy-edged leaves, and 'Lolla Rossa', a deeply curled lettuce with rose colored leaf margins. 'Royal Oak Leaf' produces lovely deep green rosettes with large leaves of a pronounced oakleaf shape. 'Red Salad Bowl' is its red-leafed twin, and the two pair up beautifully
in containers. 'Reine de Glaces' is unbeatable for its lobed leaves of frosty green, and 'Red Sails' is an All-America Selection with an open form and deep red color. Iım looking forward to trying several new varieties this spring, including 'Merlot', a deep burgundy hued variety, and 'Freckles', a lime green romaine type flecked with wine red.

Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) is the other can't-do-without cool season foliage plant. I love it for its tall upright form, bold leaves, and brightly colored stems and leaf veins. I am excited about trying 'Bright Lights', this seasonıs newest Swiss chard variety. This 1998 All-America Selection boasts broad stems in an intense rainbow of colors including gold, red, pink, purple, yellow, orange, and white, all complemented by those marvelous crinkled green leaves! Other tried-and-true varieties include 'Vulcan', with its bright red stems and deep green leaves, and 'Monstruoso', a large leafed chard with brilliant white stems.

One of the best cool season flowers is calendula (Calendula officinalis), also known as pot marigold.  These bright beauties come in cheerful shades of yellow, gold, cream, and orange, and make great cut flowers. An Olbrich favorite is 'Touch of Red', an old variety in which each petal is edged with deep red, giving the blossoms an antiqued look.

For fragrance, I like to include both stock (Matthiola incana) and sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima).  'Appleblossom' stock is an elegant addition to the cool season lineup with its lovely pink and white double blossoms, glaucous blue-green foliage, and sweet perfume. Sweet alyssum forms little mounds of tiny flowers in
white, lavender and purple, perfect for edging beds and containers. What sweet alyssum lacks in size it makes up in scent, as this little darling will fill the air with its sweet fragrance, so be sure to plant some next to the sidewalk or front door.

For height, consider growing either snap peas or sweet peas on a trellis. Edible snap peas (Pisum sativum) make an unusual centerpiece to a cool season container planting. The foliage is a lovely dusky green, the flowers are pretty, and the pods are highly ornamental-- and also make a tasty snack for the hard-working gardener! This season,
I am trying the French heirloom variety 'Carouby de Maussane', a six foot tall vine noted for its exquisite purple flowers.

Sweet peas (Lathyrus odorata), which are not edible, are vines grown for their richly colored flowers and famous fragrance. There are many, many wonderful varieties of sweet peas, just be sure to choose one which promises fragrance, as many modern hybrids have gained larger flowers at the expense of that fabulous perfume! Sweet
peas do especially well in containers, as they appreciate a deep, loose, rich soil. They will bloom lusciously until the heat of summer hits, and provide armloads of cut flowers for your home.

Most local nurseries carry a good selection of these and other cool season varieties. And wouldn't it be grand to enjoy a pot or two (or three or four...) of blossoms and greenery on your front porch, as you wait for the tulips to bloom?