In this article we're going to go over your to do list for January when it comes to taking care of your garden.

For those of you thinking that this article may be a joke, the truth is, it's not too early to start preparing for your spring gardening. Getting a head start on some things can make your life a lot easier when the spring actually hits.

So just what can you do in January to get ready for your spring gardening chores?

The first thing is to start ordering from catalogs. There are a number of things you can get in advance like seeds so that when the spring hits you'll already have a number of things that you need and won't have to go around hunting them down in the busy stores that are now bustling with people starting their spring gardening.

The next thing you can do is rework your garden design. Tired of the way things are laid out? This is a good opportunity to decide just where you're going to plant your roses this year. Maybe you'll decide that you want to put up some small fences around a number of your plants. This is the time to get all those details out of the way so that when spring comes you're doing more working and less thinking.

Go over last year's journal and start a new one for this year making note of anything of importance that you will most likely have to do this year and even some things that you might want to add to your routine.

Check your stored bulbs and vegetables. Make sure that nothing has gone bad and that it's all usable. If not, replace what you can.

That Christmas tree that you were going to chuck in the trash? Why not instead recycle it as garden mulch or bird feeder. Certainly you can find better uses for it than the trash.

Whatever birds are still around, feed them and give them some unfrozen water. You want to make sure they come back when spring time begins.

Why not take some advanced gardening classes? You can always learn some new things even if you're an accomplished gardener. If you're first starting out, this is the time to do it so that when the spring comes you're not standing around scratching your head wondering what to do first.

Of course you'll also want to sharpen all your tools. There's nothing more frustrating than trying to dig up the soil with dull tools. Sharpening them now saves you from having to sharpen them when you could be doing more important things.

If you're in an especially cold climate, this is the time to start cool season seeds like cauliflower, leeks and geranium seeds.

In certain zones you can start seeds of annuals that grow slowly like ageratum, nicotiana petunias, portulaca, snapdragons and verbena and direct seed plants that need a period of cold.

Also, check your outdoor plants for animal damage and your indoor plants for any pests.

Doing all these things in advance will make your spring planting season go a lot smoother.