Preparing Your Lawn and Garden for the Winter

Caring and maintaining a beautiful garden during the summer is great, but if you don’t prepare it for the colder fall and winter weather, all of your hard work can be ruined.   Winterizing your lawn and garden will them to remain healthy even when the temperatures are at their coldest and snow is covering them.  Doing some preparation to prevent them from getting damaged by frost and freezing temperatures will enable you to enjoy flowers and greenery that return automatically once the weather warms up again.

To help you winterize your lawn and garden, here are some tips you can follow:

• Continue watering your plants to provide them with water to store during the winter.  If you don’t, they will likely die.
• During Fall, make sure to rake all the leaves that fall onto your lawn. That way, when the snow comes, there will be no dead leaves around to rot and ruin your lawn.
• Get rid of damaged vegetation brought by the summer season. There will be a lot of weeds and dead plants to remove and gather from your lawn.  Many times, you can use them as mulch or compose later.
• Don’t prune too much. It is okay to cut down dead branches, but pruning your trees and shrubs right before winter can be unhealthy because they haven’t had enough time to regenerate and build up their new protective layers.
• Place a layer of around the base of trees and plants. This will help them retain moisture and also be better protect their roots against snow and ice that cover the ground.  About two or three inches of mulching is ideal for them.
• When winter comes, turn off your water supply to the outside, so your pipes will be less likely to freeze and burst.  Clean and empty your hoses and store them inside, so they don’t break as a result of the cold temperatures and frozen moisture.

Heather & Alan Davis
Oklahoma City Realtors
http://www.alanandheatherdavis.com