The
beauty and relaxation that your garden can provide you and your family is
certainly worth all the work you put in each year. Putting in a little extra work at the end of the season, however,
can make getting your garden ready next spring easier and can help keep your
plants healthy through the winter months.
Here are a few great tips that will get your garden ready to handle the
cold and snow.

Clean
Up: Though not a favorite task of any gardener, it is a very necessary step to
getting your garden ready for winter.
Remove your annuals, empty and store any pots and containers, and give
your garden one last mow. Also, raking
up all those leaves is one chore all homeowners are familiar with each autumn,
but they do make great mulch for your perennials and vegetable garden, and are
also a great addition to your compost.

Plant
Or Relocate Trees And Shrubs: The fall is the best time to get new trees into
the ground, or move those you have earmarked to be relocated. The best strategy is to choose trees that
are hardy for your zone, as it makes their survival more likely and maintenance
easier. Also, choosing evergreens and
shrubs that produce berries in the winter months can make your garden more
interesting and provide activity for birds and other wildlife.

Protect
Your Trees: For new or young trees this is an important step you'll not want to
forget in winterizing your garden.
Covering trees and shrubs with burlap is most important in areas that
have exposure to northwest winds and high sun.
Be sure, however, not to do this too early in the season, in order to
prevent rot. It is also a good idea to
give your evergreens plenty of water to prevent burnout.

Test
Soil And Mulch: After the ground freezes be sure to add mulch to your perennial
garden. This will protect both your
soil and plants through the long winter months, as well as provide much needed
nutrients for spring. This is also a
good time to test the pH of your soil to see if it is lacking any essential
minerals for the next growing season.

Plant
Spring Bulbs: This is also the time of year to get your spring bulbs into the
ground. Be sure that you do this before the first frost, and give them plenty
of water when planting them.

Unlike all the work
you put into your garden in spring, winter clean-up can seem like a difficult
and unrewarding task, but with this effort you will keep your garden in tip-top
shape for the growing season ahead!

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