Christmas wreaths can help winter gardens after the holidays

Q: We hung two evergreen wreaths this year for the holidays. You’ve guided us on how to dispose of the cut Christmas trees, but we’re wondering if we can take the wreaths at the same time to get them treecycled? — H.D., Albuquerque

A: Since the wreaths are probably wired onto a wire frame, then no, please don’t add them as is to a treecycle pile. They’ll be separated and more than likely trashed because of the wire frame. You could unwire the boughs from the frame and ask if you can place them with the tree as you are treecycling, but remember, no other yard clippings need to go into the Christmas tree pile.

Since the boughs that will become separated from the frame are quite manageable, you might consider using them as a covering mulch to lay on top of gardens to help keep the soil in place and aid in moisture retention. This coming spring you could bundle them and add them to the spring greencycle when you get ready to open up and uncover the landscape for the new year’s growth.

If you are the type to decorate with what I call “green rope” — the garland made out of cut evergreen — those also need to stay segregated from the treecycle pile. The twine involved in tying up the lengths of greens would wreak havoc on a mulching machine, so please be thoughtful, ethical and responsible when tending to the outdoor decorations you’re needing to remove.

Remember that treecycle runs through Sunday, Jan. 7, giving you plenty of time to continue enjoying your holiday decorations.

Dear readers: Well, 2023 is near history. It’s been a challenging year for those that tend to gardens and landscaping for sure.

To me, I’ll always remember 2023 as the year of the blue-tailed lizard and the terrific yucca bloom. I was thrilled by a bumper crop of blue-tails at my home and at work. It seemed for weeks, almost all summer actually, there were blue-tails everywhere. Such busy wee creatures that are quick to avoid being captured by cats have always made me happy.

Then the yuccas that threw up proud bloom stalks, as if to say we’re still here and we’re staying. Standing next to a clump of yucca in bloom and listening to the birds and bugs they were feeding did my heart good. Nowadays if you look around you can still find landscaping where the spent blooms are still standing tall as a reminder of what had been.

This time of year, it is best to take stock of your surroundings. Allow yourself a bit of rest, like the plantlife you have in your world. If you keep a gardening journal, take the time to complete the notes to be able to remember which plant worked best where, when you planted that new tree or shrub, how the sun tracks through your grounds to have a better idea of what to plant where.

Next, take the time to search out new plantlife that might fill in a specific spot in your landscaping. (Having kept a bevy of notes that will help inform you as to better choices.) Type in 2023-2024 seed catalogs and send away for a few. You just might find a new and perfect plant for you to grow to offer so much enjoyment this coming year. An absolutely beautiful website, High Country Gardens, is chock-full of plants that for the most part grow well in this area and can offer color galore. More importantly, the information High Country Gardens offers is invaluable. Become an investigator and you never know what you’ll find.

This time of year I suggest you take a much deserved break. Be like the landscape and rest.

Most of all I want to wish you all a healthy and happy 2024 because soon enough we’ll be out there Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.