FALL HOME IMPROVEMENT - COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL - SEPTEMBER 28, 2016 - 9
FALL HOME & GARDEN | LANDSCAPING
Preparing
Flower Beds
for Winter
S
pring brings warmth and an abundance
of beautiful flowers, but this gorgeous
transformation doesn’t happen on its own.
The preparation for that season
really starts in the fall, as we protect
our flower beds from winter.
Many of our flowers don’t die but
go into a dormancy period. The
promise of life and beauty still
remains unseen. All the while, those
plants are growing new roots and
absorbing nutrients and moisture
from the soil.
While the plants do their jobs, it’s
up to us to prepare the environment
around them to make sure everything
blooms beautifully in the spring.
BASIC STEPS
The most basic tasks for preparing
a flower bed for winter are cleaning
up and covering the soil. Depending
on the size of your area, this can be a
simple task. For those of us with
supersized flower beds, this can be
quite the challenge.
Sometimes the professionals need
to make an appearance. Your local
lawn and garden care specialist will
be able to help you plan your prepa-
ration activities as you work together
to protect your hard-earned land-
scape beauty.
They also will be able to guide you
through various techniques and treat-
ments that can help your plants come
back even stronger next year.
CLEAN UP
When taking on your flower bed
preparations yourself, the first step is
to clear out dead foliage. Put on your
gardening gloves and remove any
weeds or dead flowers. These materi-
als can be composted and re-used as
fertilizer for next year’s plants.
Removing this foliage also can keep
pesky bugs and eggs from setting up
camp this fall.
Always make sure you know which
plants are perennials (your flowers
that come back year after year).
Pulling them is a mistake that can
lead to sparse spots in next year’s bed.
COVER UP
After cleaning up your area, it’s
time to cover the soil. Use mulch or
even cover crops to achieve this goal.
Leaves can make for great mulch, so
collect them and add them to your
compost pile.
There are lots of plants that can be
used as cover crops; just ask your
local home improvement store or
nursery for the best options for you
area.
© FOTOLIA