Vernalization, stratification, pest die-off and other ways a brutally cold winter actually helps your garden

And is it possible to keep a Venus flytrap alive indoors?

Hi, guys!

It has been crazy cold here in New York this past week.

I was cold taking out the trash. Cold running errands. Cold sitting inside my house with the heat set to 72 degrees and the fireplace roaring. And cold as the whipping winds outdoors made my lights flicker repeatedly. After a slow start, this has turned into a brutal winter.

And while I can’t say I love hibernating indoors, I console myself knowing there will be some benefits this summer.

For one, the tick and mosquito populations will likely be smaller. These insects and other pests like thrips and flies don’t technically hibernate; they go into dormancy, and many can’t survive a too-frigid winter. (The opposite is true, too: Mild winters tend to beget a larger tick population the following summer, as fewer freeze to death.)