Garden Center

By this time of year most flowers are spent, and the landscape begins to look dreary. The weather is getting colder and the days shorter. You might find it tempting to hunker down inside until the tulips emerge in the spring, but there is still plenty to be done to prepare your garden for the winter ahead! Below are five key tasks to set up your garden for a successful spring. 

• Tidy up your plants. Prune perennials back for the winter, paying careful attention to trim away any leaves that look diseased or unhealthy. This diseased material can cause problems for the plant’s health in the spring. Shape and trim evergreens, they’ll be one of the few focal points in the garden over the winter, and now is a great time to get them looking their best. 
• Add compost. Now is a perfect time to amend the soil. Supplying your plants with nutrients now will give them an advantage when they begin growing again in the spring. Spread compost over low areas, exposed roots, and into any new holes you dig this fall. 
• Divide and plant bulbs. Now is the time to divide and plant spring blooming bulbs or add some new varieties. Be sure to mark the areas you’ve planted bulbs now, so they won’t be disturbed when you plant spring annuals! 
• Mulch. Mulch acts as an insulator to help protect bulbs and roots from the winter weather. Mulching heavily with traditional or leaf mulches gives your plants the best chance to survive the frigid temperatures ahead. Mulch over bulbs and perennials, and around the bases of shrubs and trees. Always leave space around tree trunks, to prevent excess moisture from damaging the bark. 
• Put away tools. Cleaning, sanitizing and maintenance of garden tools is an often-overlooked winter project. But by doing this during the off-season, it will increase the longevity of your equipment and limit the number of breakages during the growing season. Take the time to check over your tools, repairing and replacing as necessary. Not only is it satisfying to have everything ready to use for the spring, cleaning your tools prevents the spread of disease from one season to the next. 

Completing these tasks now will not only give your landscape a cleaner look throughout the winter, but will aid in keeping your plants healthy for the next season ahead.