Prepare Your Garden for Winter

Getting your garden ready for the colder months and freezing weather is mostly going to be cleaning up and covering up.

Snow can both protect and endanger your plants.

• A good snow cover will insulate the soil like a layer of mulch.
• Snow accumulation can weigh down the branches of evergreen trees, causing them to weaken or even break.

 Some activities that you can do to prepare your garden include:

• Clear out the blackened stems and foliage to prevent plants from possibly harboring disease or insect eggs.
• Because the layer of mulch that you spread in the spring is going to be considerably decomposed, you should lay another, thicker winter layer of mulch on your garden beds to protect your soil and the roots of your remaining plants by keeping the temperature even.
• Set up a burlap screen to protect evergreens, especially those with exposed broad-leaf types, to protect from drying winter winds and sun.
• Use evergreen boughs as mulch to protect soil from cracking and shifting, which can cause shallow plant bulbs to rise up.
• Cut back perennial stems to soil level after frost, but leave the stems that have attravtive seed heads. 

The full article also provides tips and instructions including making leaf mold and regional fall checklists [for warm and cool climates].

Check out the article, Preparing Your Garden for Winter, from Better Homes and Gardens.