These beautiful fall colors won’t last forever. Soon, we’ll have our first frost and winter will begin. Prepare your garden for winter, and it will be in top shape for spring next year.

Get Your Garden Ready for Winter

  1. Inspect your garden for diseased plants or plants with insect infestations. Remove plants that are likely to die and don’t let pests spend the winter season safely in your garden.
  2. Don’t cut back your perennials too early. Let your perennial plants’ foliage grow and feed the root systems until after the first frost. The plants will be healthier in the spring because of it.
  3. Also to prevent bugs, fungus and other “ickiness” from wintering in your garden, remove any slimy leaves.
  4. Dig out the weeds in your garden.
  5. Enrich your garden soil with compost. During the winter, this compost will transform your soil and make it healthy for next year.
  6. Plant bulbs for the spring. Those early blooms we love like crocuses, tulips and daffodils should be planted now.
  7. Plant cover crops to prevent erosion on hills, like rye vetch or clover. These plants will also break up compacted soil and improve the soil.
  8. Shred your leaves and add them to your compost pile.

Enjoy your fall gardening!