It’s cold. It’s grey. It’s slushy. It’s winter in the city.

But if you find some spicy tea and curl up in a big woolen scarf, there is lots to love about this cozy, reflective time of year. There are plenty of ways to connect to nature too.

We’ll help out by posting tips and tricks for surviving winter, starting with some of Evergreen’s most avid gardeners and how they get their fix during these long, cold months.

Leave a comment and share your strategies!

Winter kale. (Photo: Rebekka Hutton)

Tip #1 Keep Gardening
I asked Evergreen’s Rebekka Hutton, an avid urban gardener who runs community gardens around Toronto, how she makes it through. Not surprisingly, she is still gardening. “I’m still eating kale, thyme, sage and oregano from outside,” she says. “If the leaves look good, I just brush off the snow and bring them in.”

She says that these hardy species just pull through on their own, without much help. Just leave them in the fall and let them be. She has even used a pickaxe to liberate carrots from the frozen ground. “They thaw out at room temperature and taste great.”

Tip #2 Read and Learn More
Rebekka also says that winter is a great time to read all the great gardening books she doesn’t have time to read during the growing season. “Right now I’m reading Eliot Coleman’s Winter Harvest Handbook. It’s really inspiring and is giving me lots of ideas for next season.”

Tip #3 Reflect and Plan
Doing a seed inventory in preparation for seed exchanges is another way Rebekka connects to her garden and plans for the season.

And with the new year just beginning, Rebekka says it is the perfect time to start a fresh garden journal. When the season begins she’ll be ready to jot down her thoughts and experiences to review this time next year.