Taking classes connects you with kindred gardening spirits. The University of Virginia offers evening Personal Enrichment courses this spring in “Landscape Design” and “The Kitchen Garden.” Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden of Richmond offers a ton of delightful seminars designed for what they have dubbed Absolute Beginner gardeners, such as “Spring Pruning for Shrubs,” “The Beginner’s Perennial Garden” and “Organic Vegetable Gardening.” Sharondale Farm of Keswick has workshops in growing mushrooms at home in March and April. And the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens at James Madison University has a carnivorous plant terrarium workshop coming up on February 4.

Clean out old, tired-looking houseplants and treat yourself to a greenhouse visit for some replacements or some forced bulb treats. The smell of the soil, of the dew and of the life will do wonders. I promise.

And on those scattered warm-day respites amid the rain, sleet and muck? You can clear (or create) garden paths and put down mulch (so much nicer to wrestle with mulch in February as opposed to July, yes?), start a lasagna bed, do some pruning, measure out new garden spaces so you can plot out spring plantings, or shred leaves for compost.