What does a gardener do in January?

Hi all,

I have to tell you, I really cant wait to start the digging in the ground again. Seriously, what are all the gardeners to in the winter? They probably enjoy their winter vegetables.... hahaha
Well, but I don't have any.

So I keep myself busy with planning the garden for the next period.
I still think about getting a raised garden bed. But how would it look like? Should i try to plant some salad this year? How do I keep the snails away from my plants so that at least one pumpkin plant will survive?

I want to try to plant some potatoes this time. I heard you can plant them in containers. I think I am going to try this. Also I am very sure to only get one zucchini plant hahahaha. I still have some in the freezer :)
I think I don't so herbs this time as they did not grow so well in the small containers I got for them. In the meanwhile I will plant flowers there to attract some bees and bugs.

I also cant wait to see the first spring flowers growing. I planted 4 containers full and got new tulips. I am curious how they will turn out. (actually I can hardly remember the color anymore so it will be a total surprise anyway).

We also think about cutting away the 3 huge trees who are still left. Thy just take away too much space and light. And I would really like to have new garden furniture and a small meditation corner. And I thought about building a bug hotel. I really would get rid of the bugs on the mint in a natural way. There were so many this year that we could hardly enjoy any mint.

And now I hope you do understand why I can not wait to get started. :)
First thing to to is probably getting an idea of what to plant. This is a nice project for the next evening on the couch.
I keep you posted!

Many greetings,Susann