Timeless Winterizing Tips for Your Lawn and Garden
by Jessica Groach
jessica.groach@homeimprovementideas.net
Home Improvement Ideas Columnist
Your lawn and garden need to be prepared for the winter run each year. Read on to learn more about how to help your plants have a beautiful spring.
Planting
Spring's heavy rains, quickly followed by long, dry summers, can be harsh on new plants. That's why fall is a great time for planting. From mid-August to mid-October, container-grown, burlap-wrapped trees like maple, buckeye, ash, pine, sycamore, or elm are excellent choices for planting. Early spring-blooming bulbs like crocus or daffodils also do well when planted in fall.
Garden Plants
Different garden plant varieties need different care. Bringing annuals indoors for winter adds extra color to your home, but heated air can be very drying. Make sure you mist them regularly, keep them near a humidifier if possible, and know the sunlight requirements for each plant.
Never bring perennials indoors. Perennials are "programmed" to need the winter as part of their lifecycle - sort of like bears hibernating in winter. Instead, put them in plastic pots (clay pots crack and break in extreme temperatures), and place them somewhere sheltered from harsh winds. Covering them with mulch for protection and moisture retention is a good idea.
Lawns
Your lawn, like your garden, needs extra winter care, too. Dead leaves will kill grass - remove them. Fertilize your lawn just before the onset of winter, so that its roots remain healthy and your lawn can store food for winter. Never apply fertilizer to frozen soil - the run-off pollutes the environment and wastes your money.
A little prevention now gives you a lush and beautiful lawn and garden next spring.
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About the Author
Jessica Groach, a new homeowner herself, is a freelance writer and writing instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her work has appeared in various lifestyle and business publications, including a Warner Business Book, and she has seven years’ experience in advertising and television production.
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