Increase your choice of annuals by starting your own indoors

It’s time to start annuals that get off to a slow start, such as pansies, violas, snapdragons and lobelia. Read the seed packets to determine how much time the seed will take to germinate and develop to a stage appropriate for planting outside.

While garden centers offer many favorites, you will have many more choices if you make the effort to grow your own. Use grow lights to ensure success. A fluorescent grow light hung on a chain works best, as you can adjust the level to keep the light at an optimum 8 to 12 inches above the seedlings.

Providing bottom heat for the seedlings will also improve results. Heat mats or cables can be purchased at your local garden center. Thin seedlings as needed — especially after the first set of leaves forms — to prevent overcrowding and keep the best plants.

Composting safely in winter

Composting reduces the amount of garden debris that ends up in landfills and improves your garden’s soil.

I have three inquisitive dachshunds at home, so adding food waste to the compost pile in my backyard is not an option. Their sense of smell is keen, and they are always hungry. I use a free-standing plastic composter to compost kitchen scraps in the garden.

You can continue putting organic material from the kitchen in the composter during the winter and since it keeps the material secure, dogs and other animals cannot get into it. Compost results after organic matter is collected, mixed and allowed to decompose.

Compost can be used to amend soil, or as a mulch layer on garden beds and around trees. In nature, deciduous leaves create a mulch layer that eventually decomposes. Like human-made compost, this natural recycling process returns nutrients to the soil and improves soil structure, and it is one reason native plants growing in natural ecosystems usually do not need more fertilizer than nature provides.

Snow cover good for plant health

The Chicago area recently experienced a decent amount of snowfall. Snow cover is good for plant health in the garden as well as aesthetically. Since snow is good for your garden, there is nothing special to do other than monitor for rabbits — which can now reach higher into plants to feed — and deer, whose tracks will be easy to see. The snow was dry and light, so it should not cause any issues with piling up on evergreens and breaking branches. Go ahead and gently sweep excess snow off any evergreens that are overloaded. Avoid trying to remove any snow that is frozen on plants.

Try not to pile snow too deeply on deciduous and evergreen shrubs to avoid breaking branches. This is not always possible, and I have two evergreens at home that were flattened with heavy snow and sprang up just fine once the snow melted. No need to worry about piling snow on herbaceous plants and ground covers. The exception to this rule: If snow is saturated with ice-melting salt, be sure to remove it so it does not damage your plants.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.