Triad -- It may not seem like February is the time to work in the yard but especially with this year's mild weather, it's tempting. There are actually very few times when you can't garden in the Piedmont. Because our weather doesn't tend to get really cold for long periods of time, the soil doesn't freeze deep enough to slow us down for very long.
If you're itching to get outside, a good project would be to cut off the ornamental grasses. According to Rick Apple, President and Owner of A&A Plants, it can be done in the fall but the grasses will look naked all winter. If you wait until spring to cut them back, you'll have something to look at all winter.
Apple also says cutting them back now will get rid of the dead parts and let them flourish in the spring. Plus, if you don't cut them back, the grasses will dry up and fall off anyway. It's better to cut them back on your terms. If they do it on their own, you'll have dry dead grasses all over your yard- and your neighbors'.
Rick Apple President/ Owner A&A Plants