PREPARING FOR WINTER
Getting your lawn, garden ready
With the cold months approaching, fall is a great time to prepare and secure your lawn and garden for winter. Doing so can help preserve the hard work you put into your property’s exterior, while saving as many plants and shrubs as possible for next year.
While different techniques are required for the garden, depending on what types of plants are present, caring for the lawn is pretty straightforward.
“The lawn should be aerated and fertilized, and any parts that were damaged during the summer can be resodded,” said Katherine Groulx, landscape architect at Groupe Paramount. “Even though it’s not warm anymore, any new lawn still needs water to make sure it has a good enough root system for the winter.”
It’s also important to keep the lawn clean of dead leaves and debris.
“You need to remove the leaves to let the lawn breathe; too many of them can actually kill the grass,” Groulx said. “You can use your lawn mower to shred the dead leaves, which is convenient because the grass needs to be cut until it stops growing for the season anyway.”
On the other hand, those leaves can be quite useful when it comes to preparing your garden for winter, so you may want to rake up and collect them. In fact, covering your garden with a mixture of dead leaves, straw, and earth is often regarded as one of the best ways to preserve your plants in the cold.
That said, some shrubs and perennials need extra love to get them through the winter.
“In those cases you can have a tent-like structure protecting your whole planting zone,” Groulx said. “A stick inside allows the shrubs to breathe while the burlap covering protects them from the wind and cold.”
Wait until the leaves have fallen off shrubs and trees before surrounding and securing them with a burlap-like fabric. An ideal time to do it is after the first snowfall, or when the temperature dips down to minus five at night, she added.
“Avoid plastics because they prevent air from flowing properly,” Groulx said. “But be sure to protect the trunk of the shrub from the rodents.”
As for the plants’ roots, a layer of snow over the garden soil will act as nature’s protection, so all you need to do is ensure that it doesn’t pile up too high. Be sure to continue watering cedars in particular into the fall, and assess any ornamental shrubs near your driveway or curb, as they may need extra coverage from street salt and snow removal vehicles.
Not only are these solutions affordable, they can go a long way in protecting any investment you’ve made in your home’s exterior.
“A well landscaped and maintained property adds a lot of value and curb appeal to any home,” said Lee Gregory, project co-ordinator with Groupe Paramount. “Having a beautiful and usable outdoor space will improve the whole experience of living in your home, so it’s important to take the steps necessary to maintain any work you’ve put into the property.”
While you’re busy planning and preparing your lawn and garden for winter, be sure to make the most of the fall growing season as well.
“The fall season is actually longer than the spring season to plant perennials, shrubs, trees and rustic bulbs,” Groulx said. “You can plant evergreens until mid-September and trees until the frost. It’s good, too, because you can choose plants that will be flowering in the fall and that way your garden will be in bloom for three seasons.”
If you’re unsure about how to proceed with any winter lawn and garden maintenance, it’s a good idea to consult with professionals.
“Horticulturalists at any garden centre are the best people to help you protect your garden for the winter,” Groulx said. “If you don’t know what needs to be done, they’re a great resource to use.”