Exercise your green thumb by propagating pothos, ivies, heart-leaf philodendrons, and other houseplants. Fill an oblong plastic bag with fresh vermiculite. Add water and seal the opening. Make small slits to poke cuttings into, then move the “pillow pack” to a bright location. When all cuttings root, open the bag and transplant them into containers of fresh potting soil.

Cut slender branches of pussy willow, forsythia, nanking cherry, or red maple late this month or early next, to force into bloom indoors. Re-cut the stems and soak them in a warm (not hot) water bath overnight, then in a bucket of warm water in a 60 to 65 degree location with indirect light. Move them to brighter light as flower buds open.

Order seeds now to start indoors under fluorescent lights later this month or early next. Besides your favorites, try a few awardwinning new varieties, along with a couple flowers or vegetables you’ve never grown in your garden before. Check seed packets to see how many weeks ahead of transplanting they must be started.

Enjoy some quality time with your houseplants before outdoor activities consume most of your gardening energy. Wash off accumulated dust from both surfaces and undersides of leaves. Resume fertilizing if you haven’t yet done so. And transfer plants that have outgrown their old containers to new ones, only an inch or two larger in diameter. (Choose pots with drain holes or self-watering reservoirs built in.)

Fertilize roses a final time in early August. Though they’re heavy feeders, it’s not wise to fertilize them too late in the growing season as it encourages active growth at a time when they should be slowing down prior to dormancy. Pruning roses and other shrubs now would also encourage new growth. Save it for next spring.

Try your hand at growing garlic. It doesn’t take much space, but you do need good, well-drained soil and lots of sunlight. Order northern hardy bulbs to plant late September or early October. Mulch garlic plants once the soil freezes. They’ll sprout and grow next spring, then die back, ready to be harvested, later in summer.

Assess your landscape for winter appeal. In addition to evergreen conifers and trees with interesting bark, consider planting trees and shrubs that hold onto their berries well into winter. Check plant tags for this information when visiting your favorite nursery next spring. Most plants that contribute food for birds and wildlife also provide visual interest.

For some pleasant relief from winter, visit the spectacular annual poinsettia show in the sunken garden room of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul’s Como Park. As you enter the conservatory, stroll through the new fern room with its tropical tree ferns, then imagine yourself in a humid jungle as you look up at tall palms and banana plants in the main dome.