Prepare Your Garden & Perennials for Winter in Canada

A Healthier Garden Now and Later

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, there are a number of things you can do in the yard to prepare for winter. Performing these few chores now will help get your garden through the cold weather in good shape - and make gardening easier for you in the spring.

Remove or Cut Back Plants

Pull out spent vegetables and annual flowers or cut them off at ground level to leave the roots to decompose in the soil. Also cut back herbaceous perennials, although some with strong stems and decorative seed heads (such as purple cornflowers or 'Autumn Joy' sedum) can be left standing to add visual interest to your winter garden. Perennials like lavender and Russian sage that set next year's growth buds on woody stems should be left as well.

Clean Up the Garden Floor

Fallen leaves, dead plants, and other debris can harbour diseases, rodents, or insect eggs if left on the ground over the winter. Rake up the debris and use it for compost or dispose of it appropriately.

Build or Add to Your Compost Pile

Your fall garden cleanup will probably produce plenty of material for composting. To help it break down more quickly and thoroughly, build your pile with a mixture of materials like dead leaves, grass clippings, plant trimmings, and maybe some kitchen vegetable scraps and coffee grounds.

Cover the Bare Ground

Spreading mulch around trees, shrubs, and other plants left in the garden over the winter does more than just keep your yard looking neat. It will also help prevent soil moisture loss, moderate the effects of winter temperature fluctuations, and keep weeds from sprouting in the spring. Mulch such as Scotts® Nature Scapes® Color Enhanced Mulch is a good choice. Because it's organic, it amends your soil as it breaks down