Prepping for Winter

Finally, you can’t have a good fall landscape without keeping winter in mind. Although you may want to keep your autumn beauty visible as long as possible, watch the weather to predict when a frost is coming. To prepare for winter, consider the following tips inspired by Houselogic. Some of these you may want to hold off on until it gets pretty cold (like the burlap), but others you can do now with no interference with the view (like mulching and trimming):

• Wrap less hearty plants in burlap to protect them from frost. You can start to expect a frost in the Minnesota

area around mid-October.

• Spread mulch. Adding a fresh layer of mulch to your beds will protect the roots from frost and retain moisture during the dry winter season.

• Trim dead leaves and branches from your plant life. Do not prune—this encourages growth when plants should be preparing to hibernate—but that doesn’t mean you should leave dead branches to burden plants through the winter.

• Watch for sales at local nurseries. Early fall is actually a good time to plant trees and shrubs, so if you take advantage of the local sales, you’ll have a nice greeting from your garden come spring.

Preparing for winter is part of gardening, even when planning a fall landscape. Follow the above guidelines to protect your plants and entire landscape during our Minnesota winters.