{"id":6889,"date":"2021-12-15T09:48:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T14:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=6889"},"modified":"2025-08-24T14:21:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T18:21:34","slug":"winter-in-maine-as-gardeners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2021\/12\/15\/winter-in-maine-as-gardeners\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter in Maine as Gardeners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maine\u2019s landscape is rich with beautiful gardens, state parks, farms, greenhouses and nurseries. For the plant lover, there\u2019s inspiration everywhere. Whether that be picking wild blueberries along a hiking trail, visiting the gorgeous coastal landscapes or visiting botanical gardens throughout the state, there are plenty of opportunities for Mainers to connect with the natural world. Maine winters can be long and tough. Knowing that the beauty of spring, summer and fall will come make it all worth it to a plant lover here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For property owners such as Sharon and Denis Suzor, using resources offered to gardeners online and through organizations throughout the state helped them immensely to learn how to garden in all four seasons.\u00a0 Winter is a great time for them to step away from the manual labor in the garden and focus on education. Denis Suzor is a farmer with a knack for vegetable gardening. He and his wife, Sharon Suzor, own a small property in Naples, Maine. Sharon Suzor enjoys flower gardening, as well as caring for houseplants.\u00a0 In the past 15 years of owning property here, they\u2019ve learnt a lot about how to survive the winter as gardeners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When discussing the issues they faced when gardening in Maine, the first struggle they spoke about was the long winters. Sharon said, \u201cFor someone who loves to garden outside and plant annual flowers, winter can be so dreary.\u201d She learnt how to care for houseplants to combat the gray, dark winters. \u201cBringing nature in has helped. I currently have 32 plants and no plans of stopping,\u201d she giggled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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A holly shrub on Denis and Sharon’s property in Naples, Maine, adding winter interest to their gardens. Captured by Deanna Suzor, November 2021.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Denis, who has farm animals as well as a large vegetable garden, also spoke about the tough winter. \u201cPipes and hoses freeze. The animals\u2019 watering tanks freeze. Branches get heavy with snow and can become a hazard. Trees and shrubs can get damaged. There\u2019s a lot of work going into the winter. But I\u2019ve found ways to be prepared.\u201d He shared <\/span><\/p>\n

his strategies. \u201cBurlap wrapping the shrubs helps. As well as doing a hard fall pruning and making sure all dead branches are cleaned.\u201d Although winter can be hard, Denis said, \u201cWe love the four seasons here. We pay attention to the structure of plants and the colors of the bark and berries.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWinters in Maine can feel long. But the beauty of spring gardens here is worth it,\u201d Sharon said. This November, she planted 100 tulip bulbs to look forward to when that season comes. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot to look forward to. And knowing those are waiting in the ground make it all worth it,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people with a love for the natural world are often inclined to take up their own gardening efforts. Luckily, there are a lot of resources in Maine that can be helpful along the gardening journey. Winter is a perfect time to take advantage of them. Mainers can educate themselves at many of the classes and workshops, farmers markets, local nurseries and libraries. Sharon said, \u201cThe resources are ready and available for people interested. All they have to do is be willing to learn and grow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One helpful resource is the Maine Landscape and Nursery Association. This organization puts on the Maine Flower Show during the winter months. It also has many educational resources and news available on its website. Another great resource is the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. This organization offers classes, meet ups and fairs all about organic farming and gardening. It\u2019s a great place to learn more and network with others who share similar interests. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is another amazing resource for people interested in gardening. The botanical garden is one of the highest rated in the country. It offers many different networking and educational events.\u00a0 There\u2019s a lot of effort that goes into making sure there are plants with winter interest in the gardens. The botanical garden also does a large lightshow throughout the season. Investing the time to check out these resources is well worth the effort and will provide gardeners with a great sense of inspiration and community during the darker months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cEven during the winter, I try to spread the message of the benefits of gardening,\u201d Denis says. \u201cIt increases the health of individuals and communities and preserves the landscapes Mainers love.\u201d With such a short gardening season, gardeners can still find \u00a0 plenty of beauty in the winters as well. It\u2019s important to embrace the season and enjoy the downtime.\u00a0 \u201cBefore we know it, we\u2019ll be complaining about all the weeds in the garden and the heat of August,\u201d Sharon laughed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maine\u2019s landscape is rich with beautiful gardens, state parks, farms, greenhouses and nurseries. For the plant lover, there\u2019s inspiration everywhere. Whether that be picking wild blueberries along a hiking trail, visiting the gorgeous coastal landscapes or visiting botanical gardens throughout the state, there are plenty of opportunities for Mainers to connect with the natural world. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8223,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6889\/revisions\/8223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}