How to Prepare a Garden for Winter

Lowe's shows you how to clean up your fall garden so that it looks attractive all winter. Also learn how to protect your plants so they weather the winter and come back happy and healthy in the spring.

At the end of autumn or after frost, you need to clean up your annual beds and containers. Remove faded flowers such as petunias and geraniums and place them in your compost bin.

Perennials such as peonies, bearded iris and daylilies can be trimmed back to the ground. They'll send up new growth next spring.

Other perennials such as lavender, Russian sage, and clematis should remain untrimmed, because, depending on your zone, new growth will sprout on the plants next year.

Ornamental grasses offer winter interest in your garden, so leave them be until spring. Then shear them back so they send up new growth.

Mulching your garden in the fall helps protect perennials from winter weather extremes. Over the winter, the mulch decomposes, adding nutrients to the soil. In the spring, pull the mulch back to allow for new growth.

Trees are susceptible to sunscald and hungry animals during the winter. Protect trees with tree wrap, which keeps the bark at a more consistent temperature and protects it from animals. Secure it with duct tape and remove the wrap in spring to allow for new growth. You can also erect a wire structure around trees and shrubs to protect them from winter munching.

Getting your garden ready for winter doesn't take long, but it makes a huge difference in next year's garden.

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