Apply some slow release fertilizer and keep them deadheaded for continued bloom. Pansies planted in the fall provide early spring color. If you can find it, "Tuscan" kale makes a nice addition to the fall/ winter garden. It is a gray/green textured leaf upright plant which lends color and structural interest in the border.

Flowering cabbages and kale deepen their colors with colder weather; unfortunately they tend to rot with ice and snow and extreme cold. Cabbages that survive the winter actually bloom in the spring, and their airy yellow flowers are a good compliment to spring bulbs.

Many Fairlington residents complain about the squirrels eating their bulbs - especially tulips.

Some ways to keep tulips safe from these critters are (1) planting them with daffodils (all parts of which are poison), (2) spraying the bulbs lightly with rodent repellant when planting, or (3) sprinkling dried blood in the hole and on the surface. If you plant the bulbs six to eight inches in depth, usually the squirrels can't get them!

Top off the bulbs with some slow release fertilizer and install some pansies - you will be amazed at the spring show this will produce.

Sometimes you can find some real bargains on tulip bulbs, just before the appearance of Christmas items. If you have some "holes", but some and plop them in!

Planting bulbs in large containers also gives portable color in the spring. The container needs to be large enough (24 inches deep) to prevent freezing.

Layering bulbs - tulips on the bottom, small daffodils next, and crocus on top - gives flowering over a longer period of time than just planting one kind of bulb. To prevent the container from getting too cold, place them against the brick of your residence.

When you see them sprout in the spring, move into direct sun. Usually container bulbs bloom earlier than those planted directly in the ground.

Clean up your border. After the glory of summer and fall, a clean, well mulched border provides a visual break from the abundance of summer. Cut down perennials; remove annuals; trim any dead or overgrown shrubs, and apply a light mulch to carry you through the winter.

Tidiness and cleanliness in the border are essential at this time. Raking the mulch and freshening it a bit with some new provides a well kempt look.

Many grasses, if you don't object to their informal look, add winter interest up to late January and early February when they tend to become "winter weary" (as do we all). But that is the time to shear them off before new growth begins, so they, too, give us a multi-season interest.

The larger grasses are inappropriate for our spaces, but there are some smaller growing varieties which add grace and movement to the winter landscape.

Check the labels for plant size and growing conditions and you will probably find some you can grow.

And don't forget to buy some of those plant bargains and create some container plantings for the patio. Small boxwoods and dwarf conifers mixed with some pansies and smaller grasses in larger containers look great on the patio. Just don't forget to keep them watered. One overlooked plant that does well in containers is "sweet box" (not boxwood). It is an evergreen that has small blooms in the early spring which smell heavenly.

"Coral Bells", in their unlimited variety of leaf colors, also look great (and do well) in containers. They may look a little ragged in the depths of winter, but are usually attractive especially in the protective patio areas.

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