Preparing for Winter
From: How Does Your Garden Grow? by Sheila Sim
Everyone has their own approach to preparing the garden for winter. Some like to leave many of the plants up for winter interest - especially things like the purple coneflowers and grasses - others prefer to cut them back. Here’s my 10+ step fall “to do” list (in the order I try to get it “t’done”).
1. Build new beds to be ready for planting in spring.
2. Fertilize the lawn with a superslow release 10-4-4 fertilizer.
3. Take clippings to root indoors over winter.
4. Bring plants, summer bulbs and tubers indoors to winter over.
5. Plant bulbs.
6. Make up outdoor winter pots with interesting objects and foliage.
7. Pull annuals and cut down perennials (with some exceptions).
8. Clean leaves out of the garden beds until freeze up.
9. Dig in compost or manure around perennials.
10. Water beds well (especially evergreens).
11. Cover beds or individual plants after freeze up & protect beds from winter road treatments.
