VOA健康报道2024--Winter Work for the Gardeners

For people in parts of the world with seasons - especially cold ones - winter might seem like a time to rest and to take a break from garden work.

But it is not, says Associated Press gardening expert Jessica Damiano.

Autumn and winter are the best times to attend to your garden's needs and prepare for the next growing season. There is much to do for both outdoor and indoor plants.

Outdoor care

For people who want flowers like tulips in the early spring plant the bulbs that produce them if your soil is not frozen¹. If you can still dig, plant tulips, daffodils and other bulbs.

Cover them with about eight centimeters of mulch, leaves or dried grass. This will prevent freezing and melting temperatures from forcing them out of the ground over the winter.

During winter months, even in more temperate² areas, some plants need protection from the cold. These include some fruit trees, like citrus, dahlias and many plants that bloom in the spring. In winter conditions, a cloth cover called burlap can help limit the damaging effects of wind.

If snow builds up on the branches of evergreen³ trees and shrubs⁴, remove it. The heavy weight can damage branches.

Keep a record of plants you mean to move from one place to another in your garden. The notes will guide you in early spring: a time that is best to move plants that bloom early in the season.

if you have extra seeds, consider trading them with gardening friends or at a gardening event. Store and organize seeds for the future in glass containers in cool places without light. Make sure to write down what they are and when they were collected.

If insects or diseases were a problem during the growing season, use winter months to read about companion plants that can ease the problem in the coming year.

Indoor care

The cold winter months also affect houseplants. Bring houseplants near a south-facing or west-facing window to get the most sunlight possible. Turn the houseplants about one fourth of a turn each time you water them. This will support more even growth.

If you are buying poinsettias for the holidays, be sure to examine them for whiteflies before bringing them home. If you do not, you could bring home insects.

If you plant Amaryllis bulbs indoors now, they will bloom during the coldest months of the winter. Plant them with their pointed⁵ ends reaching out of the potting soil and place them in a warm, sunny spot, watering them well.

After they bloom, keep them in a cooler place to extend the life of their flowers but keep them away from children and pets. Amaryllis bulbs are poisonous to eat.

Remember the birds

Damiano also advises to remember that non-migrating birds need food because most of their food sources are gone during the winter months. High quality birdseed and water can help.

These same birds will repay⁶ the effort by feeding on thousands of insects that threaten your garden during the warm growing season.

I'm Caty Weaver⁷.

Jessica Damiano reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

garden -n. an area where trees and plants grow in a way designed by a gardener to produce flowers and small crops for food

bulb -n. a round piece of plant tissue that becomes a flowing plant when grown in the ground

bloom -n. the flowering state

mulch -n. broken down plant material such as leaves and bark that is put on the ground to enrich⁸ the soil and protect existing plants

delicate -adj. very fine and sensitive to difficult conditions

companion -n. someone or something that goes well with another

1 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

2 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

3 evergreen   

n.常青树；adj.四季常青的

参考例句：

• Some trees are evergreen;they are called evergreen.有的树是常青的，被叫做常青树。
• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。

4 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 repay   

v.偿还，报答，还钱给

参考例句：

• I feel honor bound to repay the money I borrowed.我觉得有责任归还我借的钱。
• I must repay her for her kindness.我必须报答她的恩惠。

7 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

8 enrich   

vt.充实，使丰富，使富裕，使富有

参考例句：

• Some cream will enrich the sauce.在调味汁里加一些奶油会使其味道更加丰富。
• Music can enrich your life.音乐能丰富你的生活。