As the year slowly comes to an end, it’s finally time for gardeners everywhere to start preparing their gardens for the colder months ahead.

Taking the time to “winterize” your garden now will make your workload much easier come spring. Once the temperatures consistently start to drop, it’s time to start closing your garden down for the season.

To protect your plants, shrubs, and flowers from colder temperatures, you can cover them with a tarp, blankets, clay pots, sacks, or even Christmas tree branches to provide insulation from the cold.

If you are unable to cover your plants, or the temperatures do not drop low enough in your area, try and pick as many of your fruits and vegetables as possible before the frost. If they are not fully ripe you can always give them a few weeks to ripen indoors.

If you added any plants to your garden earlier this year, it might be a good idea to surround them with a fresh layer of mulch once the soil has frozen. or locations that experience several frostings during the winter months, a layer of mulch can protect your garden from harsh elements. Think of it as their winter coat, with its goal being to prevent colder temperatures from harming your plants.

While mulch does not necessarily warm your plants, it protects them from weather the plants are not generally used to. You should lay your mulch after the ground has become cold and the plants have already settled in to dormancy (a plant’s way of hibernating). If temperatures in your area are generally mild, you can use alternatives to mulch such as straw, hay, bark chips, pine needles, or even soil.

Autumn is the perfect time to relocate or remove plants you are not satisfied with in their current location. Fall is also a great time to plant spring bulbs, trees and mums. William McCaleb, Program Technician of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, suggests taking advantage of late-season bulb sales. Be sure to plant mums at least six weeks before a heavy frost so that their roots have time to develop.

McCaleb also advises gardeners to keep their winter gardens well hydrated.
“Even though winter is approaching,” he said, “continue to water newly planted woody ornamentals, especially evergreens, which can easily dry out on sunny, windy days.”

Gardeners up north and to the east where winter temperatures are much colder should avoid using rock salt to melt ice along sidewalks and driveways, as their runoff can be harmful to nearby plants.

Donna C. Lamb, Extension Educator at the University of Main Cooperative Extension, said there are other alternatives to rock salt that are much better for your garden.

“From an environmental standpoint, spreading sand is the best way to deal with icy sidewalks, steps and driveways,” she said. “If you’d like to buy a de-icer, try urea nitrogen fertilizer. It can burn plants if you spray a heavy concentration in one area, but used with restraint it actually fertilizes grass and shrubs adjacent to treated areas.”

Laura Kabrick of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic suggests that a thorough cleanup of your garden in the fall can minimize diseases and other problems that could threaten your plants. Do a visual scan of each plant and remove any mildew, leaf spots, and dead stalks or branches.

It can generally be assumed that the farther west you go, the shorter the frost season. For example, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardener’s Companion, New Hampshire experiences the first frost as early as the third week of September. In Chicago this year, the frost arrived just in time for Halloween during the last week of October, and will continue until the end of April. The first frost was scheduled to affect residents in Sacramento, California on the first day of December, but those in the southern parts of the state have until December 15 before temperatures start to drop.

Although some perennials can remain attractive during the winter and provide food for birds and other animals, many of them start to look a little rough once the cold weather sets in. Annete Ipsan of the Frederick County (Maryland) Master Gardener Program suggests trimming your perennials to about two or three inches from the ground. If you are not sure how your perennials will look, you might want to wait and see how they add to your landscape before trimming.

If you don’t already have a compost pile, they are an excellent way to recycle your plant refuse so that it can be added to your soil next year. But be sure not to accidentally throw in weeds or cuttings that may have diseases, as these will only cause more problems for you next year. Try not to leave your compost pile exposed to cold weather either. Spread a thick layer of dry leaves on the top to provide insulation.

It’s finally time to rake up all of those beautiful leaves you’re spend all autumn admiring. Rake your yard and plant beds as well so they still are able to receive sunlight. Failing to rake up large piles of leaves will result in bare patches throughout your yard.

The leaves you collect can be added to your compost pile. The smaller the pieces, the easier they are to break down, so many gardeners choose to shred them. This also helps make the leaves less visible when you reuse them next year. Make sure you mix the leaves in with the soil rather than leaving them on top, or the soil might get too cold. This will make your compost material easier to work with in the spring.

If you miss the color in your winter garden, take a trip to your local nursery and pick up some late-flowering plants that bloom in the fall. Some you may even be able to plant now rather than wait for spring, although they may not bloom until this time next year.

During prime gardening season you might not be able to find the time to clean your tools, but fall provides the perfect opportunity to clean and sharpen your favorite gardening tools that you use the most. When spring rolls around, you’ll be glad you took the time to do this, and it will be one less thing you have to worry about as work on your garden resumes.

It’s also a good idea to roundup your garden hose, store it in a covered place, and turn off its water source to prevent your hose from cracking and your pipes from bursting if temperatures fall too low.

All of this might seem like a lot of work, but it can be fun too! Have your kids walk around and point out leaves and plants that look like they might be “sick” or tell them if they help you rake the leaves, you’ll judge a leaf-jumping contest.

Donna Lamb also said that winter is the perfect time to relax and plan landscaping improvements for next year.

There’s more time to talk to experts and look through books when you don’t have a list of yard and garden chores to work on,” she said. “Landscape designers and landscape architects are also less rushed this time of year.”

William McCaleb also said that, “Now is a great time to begin ordering 2005 garden. They will arrive just in time for those chilly days when it is best to just stay inside and plan for the spring to come.”

Preparing your garden for colder weather is very important to ensure the health of your plants. It will undoubtedly save you a lot of time and effort come springtime. So relax while you have time off from the sometimes-strenuous job of gardening, and enjoy making plans for your spring garden.