Cures for Cabin Fever

Cabin fever often strikes this time of year.

In gardeners, one common symptom is compulsively counting down the days until spring—despite the fact that anyone who’s lived in Michigan for more than a year knows full well that the weather doesn’t catch up with the calendar until May. Late May. So, counting down the days, minutes and hours to March 20, at 12:31 am is a madness of sorts, since those expecting warm breezes, tulips and sweet-scented crabapple blooms are almost certain to be disappointed.

This season’s late arriving and rather intermittent winter weather has made it a little easier to cope. I won’t claim that 45 degrees and rain makes my spirits soar, but the frequent changes—a snowstorm, some sunny days, some warm days, rain—do help break up what can otherwise seem like an unrelenting drone of sameness.

Nonetheless, it’s good to have some strategies to keep the shorter, darker days of winter from wearing us down.

Do some garden planning.

Browse gardening books, mail order catalogs or the internet for inspiration. And outside the frenzied rush and candy-shop temptations of a greenhouse in May, it’s a little easier to think things through. Your preparations will help you’ll make better decisions on new plants or projects to tackle—and in the meantime you’ll have something to look forward to.

Give your houseplants a spa treatment. Lord knows they will be neglected when the weather warms up!

Take them, one at a time, to the kitchen sink. Trim any damaged leaves or scraggly branches. A gentle shower will rinse away dust from the leaves and let light reach their surface. A whitish crust on the soil surface means that salts are accumulating from fertilizers or minerals in the water. Gently remove the top layer of soil and rinse the rest by pouring water slowly over the soil surface until it runs out the pot’s drainage holes, let rest for a half hour, and repeat. Dress the top with some fresh potting mix. If blooming or pushing new leaves, fertilize according to package instructions. Repot if needed.

Visit a greenhouse or florist. Surrounding yourself with green, growing and blooming things will do you some good. Consider taking one home—and be sure to have it wrapped well so it travels safely.

And short of a vacation trip south, the most extreme therapy is to take a trip to a public garden. Many have conservatories that can be visited year-round and have special displays to reward winter visitors.

I recently visited the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. It was pleasant to stroll through the arid garden plantings of desert plants, with agaves, succulents, euphorbias and cactus, some in bloom. The tropical conservatory did not disappoint either, with large palms, banana trees, bromeliads, lush, exotic foliage and colorful blooming orchids. I especially enjoyed the seasonal display greenhouse, a large space with natural-looking plantings of spring flowers. Not just a handful of forced bulbs, but blooming azaleas and rhododendrons, perennials including epimedium, columbine and cranesbills. To be surrounded by warm, humid air and the scent of flowers and fresh earth does a world of good.

Take it up one more notch by visiting a tropical butterfly display. The greenhouse must be tropics-warm to keep the colorful insects happy and moving, and abundant blooms to keep them fed.

Meijer Gardens opened their exhibition March 1 and it runs through the end of April. Other options within reasonable travel distance include Dow Gardens in Midland from March 4 - April 17, and MSU’s butterfly house near the Children’s Garden, March 15 - April 30.