You don’t have to put up with the winter blahs. Here are some gardening activities to chase them away.

A great place to start is with the Territorial Seed catalog. In addition to seeds and plants, Territorial Seed also sells garden supplies. For 2006, they are introducing plants of variegated oregano and their Dazzling Dahlia tuber Collection. They are offering both seeds and plants of the new Orange King Tomato. Other new veggies include Micro Greens Mix and Wyatt’s Wonder Pumpkin. Their Double Click Cosmos is a delightful new mix. This features whites and pinks in singles, semi-doubles, and doubles.

Begin planning those container gardens. I was lucky enough to try some of Proven Winner’s new introductions for 2006 in my garden last year, and was just delighted with them. Charmed Jade Oxalis never quit blooming all season. I also recommend the very floriferous Superbells Peach Calibrachoa. The color of the blooms is just delightful, and the attractively shaped plants are so reliable.

If you need new tools, start looking around now. I highly recommend Radius Garden Tools, which are available in leading hardware stores. Made of lightweight, heavy duty metal, these are guaranteed for life. The non-latex handle is durable and comfortable. Ergonomically designed, the curved handles take stress off the wrists and hands. The set includes the trowel, weeder, bulb trowel, and cultivator. The iridescent moss green handles really stand out, so you won’t be misplacing these in the garden.

Nothing chases the winter blues away like a flower and garden show. The Southeast Flower Show is taking place Feb. 8-12, 2006 at the Georgia World Conference Center.

Winter is an ideal time to give the indoors a makeover using garden related themes. A great place to start is window treatments. To help with that, Watson-Guptill has a very helpful book. “Creative Curtainmaking Made Easy” by Heather Luke provides everything you need to personalize your décor with curtains, drapes, shades, and valances. These projects include lined curtains, interlined curtains, sheers, and tie backs. With over 300 full-color illustrations, this has step-by-step instructions for all the projects. In addition, an entire section is devoted to basic techniques you can use to embellish the projects, such as embroidery, binding, and trimmings. In addition, the author also explains how to choose your fabrics, how to estimate how much fabric you will need as well as how to care for your curtains. The author is an internationally known interior designer. She has written two other books on window treatments.