Winterize Your Garden

As fall is the end of our garden season, we felt it was time to offer some advice to our readers on "How to Winterize your Garden." So we asked Frank Ferragine, Weather and Garden specialist at Breakfast Television and CityNews in Toronto, to give us some tips.

Frank's Winter Prep-Checklist:

1. Rake leaves off lawn and clean up all garden debris, including dead braches and tired/dead annuals.

2. Prune all soft-stemmed perennials to the ground (things like hosta, foxglove, phlox, etc.). Leave hard stemmed perennials (grasses). This will allow snow to collect and provide some winter interest. Also leave the flower heads of Coneflower and Rudebekia - this will give some food to birds in the winter and welcome them to your yard.

3. Amend soil in outdoor gardens with Tri-Mix. The frost and thaws of winter will help work it into the soil.

4. Empty Outdoor Clay and Plastic Pots. Store in a garage or upside down; remember if water collects and freezes in the pots they will crack.

5. Fertilize your lawn with a fall fertilizer.

6. Prune deciduous (loses leaves) shrubs and roses back approximately 1/3 to 1/2 so that the weight of heavy snow or freezing rain will not cause them to break.

7. Mound soil around the bases of hybrid T and floribunda roses. Mulch can also be used. Remember to protect climbing roses as well.

8. Mulch perennial beds to protect tender or newly planted perennials (leaves can be used for this).

9. Protect upright evergreens from heavy snow and damaging North West winds by tying, and in windy areas use a burlap screen.

10. Use Skoot on those shrubs and trees that get eaten by rodents. Skoot leaves a bad taste and the mice will leave them alone.

11. Reclaim garden tools from those friends who borrowed them.

12. Take your lawn mower in for service - it will be ready next spring when you need it.

13. Plant bulbs, remember squirrels love tulips but Daffodils are poisonous to them. If you have a squirrel problem use blood meal when planting this should help to discourage them.

14. Fill up your birdfeeder, welcoming birds to your yard will add some colour in winter.

15. My final tip, take some time to reflect on the garden season, the good, the bad, and what you want to change for next year. By the spring you may forget what needs to be done!!!

Keep Blooming,

Frank Ferragine
Breakfast Television & CityNews Weather & Garden Specialist