Before settling down for your long winter’s nap, use a few hours of lingering sunlight to tend to some garden chores.
Maintenance: Clean and dry clay pots and move them to a frost-free place until spring. Repair, paint, clean or discard damaged lawn and patio furniture. Order custom slipcovers. Protect and drain hoses before a freeze. Inventory tools and gadgets and make a list of those that need to be replaced.
Maintenance and Protection: Clean plant debris from vegetable gardens and compost that which is not diseased. Top-dress the beds with compost. Protect tender plants by placing layers of mulch or pine straw to a depth of 6 inches. Trim perennials that do not provide seeds for birds. Do not prune spring flowering shrubs now. Give pansies or violas a shot of fertilizer and trim back leggy plants. Rake up spent camellia blooms and check for insects. Keep watering if the weather is dry. Water evergreens deeply before the ground freezes. Feed houseplants twice during the winter months.
Plant: Plant bulbs that have been in the fridge. If the soil is already frozen, plant the bulbs in pots and keep them watered until spring. Plant bare-root trees. Start herbs in a sunny window.
Plan: Look back at photos of the past season and make notes of what flourished and what might be relocated or not repeated. Check garden centers for sale items and stock up for spring. If you are going to make major changes, contact a landscape designer now to avoid high-season conflicts. Some hardscape projects can be installed in winter. Peruse arriving seed catalogs for spring planting ideas.
Once everything is cleaned up and protected, you can enjoy the bare bones of your garden, whether a well-placed iron bench or the stunning bark texture of a bare tree.
JENNIFER CALDWELL, a Master Gardener, is a trained volunteer of the Mississippi State University Extension Service. For gardening questions, call the Help Center at (662) 620-8280 in Lee County or (866) 920-4678 outside Lee County and leave a message.