The calendar designates March 19 as the beginning of spring. Perhaps that can be taken seriously somewhere, but certainly not central Oregon. The same goes for advice on pruning roses; March may be the time to prune roses, somewhere, but not central Oregon. The marked date imprinted on the calendar is a reminder we should start prioritizing our garden lists.

This is a good time to access your landscape and garden to help make new decisions. A good guideline to use is to sit indoors in your favorite spot and look outside. What do you see? What would you like to see? Is it more color, more shape, less shapes? Would you rather be looking at a productive kitchen garden? What seasonal fall and winter features are there for birds?

We can easily be seduced by the colorful pots of blooms on our first spring walk through at a nursery or garden center. Having a plan will help make wiser decisions and perhaps save some money.

One of my regrets of past years is that I have never concentrated on finding plants with multiple season interest. Several suggestions from the “Water-Wise Gardening in Central Oregon” publication include:

• Cranberry Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster apiculatus is an evergreen shrub. Dark, shiny leaves change to red in fall. Pink flowers are followed by red berries for winter interest.
• Barberry, Berberis species, various foliage colors from purplish red to gold followed by red fruit adding winter interest.
• Grape Holly, Oregon, Mahonia aquifolium is our native Oregon State Flower. The hardy shrub bears yellow flowers followed by blueish-black berries. The low growing variety Oregon repens, is an excellent choice for a ground cover under a grove of trees. Ground covers also provide coverage for problems areas on slopes providing interesting foliage and color, plus being valuable as an aid in erosion control.
• Deadnettle, Lamium species is efficient as a ground cover for full shade areas. The foliage is variegated with colorful blooms through most of the season. Plus the water requirement is low, deer haven’t bothered mine, and the plant is listed as fire resistant.
• Curlicue Sage, Artemesia versicolor “Seafoam” is best known for it’s beautiful mounding growth. Plant in full sun in a stand alone site to fully appreciate the color and mounding shape. Does not spread like other varieties of Artemesia.

Multiple season plantings are visuals for our own pleasure. Consider them also as a food source for birds during the winter.

Kitchen gardens

Over the past few years growing your own vegetables has become more popular. Called a kailyard in Scotland and potager in France, a kitchen garden is a place closely connected with your kitchen and everyday life.

Your kitchen garden can be as small as a collection of garden boxes or containers on your patio or deck. Even without an in-ground location, delicious food can be grown in containers. The important considerations would be sunlight exposure, good potting soil, and easy water availability. Full sun exposure should be at least 6 hours of sunlight per day.

The one vegetable I never have in the refrigerator when I need it, is a bunch of green onions. Or to be correct, scallions. This year I will plant a short row in the greenhouse as an experiment, and several pots for early spring experimentation.

Climate criteria

In early summer I will pot up several more pots. Territorial Seed, in Cottage Grove has two varieties that will fit the criteria of our climate. Both have maturity dates of 50-55 days. Guardsman is a “very hardy winter variety.” Summer Island is listed as “cold hardy.”

Over the years, many vegetables have been developed to grow in containers. A winning combination would be flowers mixed in with the vegetable plants. The flowers will draw in the insects to aid in pollination and will also give the gardener some eye candy.

I have been guilty of what was noted as shotgun color. Plant a yellow plant here, another one over there, here a plant, there a plant. Lots of plants here and there but not enough to hold them together to be a powerful sight. A good combination might be the pot of vegetables with a trailing flower around the edges and close by a pot of colorful flowers to draw attention.

For March listings of Gardening Classes offered by OSU Master Gardeners in Redmond, Prineville & Bend check: extension.oregonstate.edu/deschutes