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Winterize Your Garden: The Essential End-of-Season Checklist
Nov
Prepare your garden for a healthy comeback next spring!
As temperatures dip and the last blooms fade, it’s time to tuck your garden in for the winter. A little end-of-season care now can make a big difference come spring—healthier soil, stronger perennials, and fewer pests. Here’s your essential checklist to winterize your garden the right way.
1. Cut Back and Clean Up
Start by trimming back spent perennials like daylilies and hostas to a few inches above the ground. Remove dead annuals, diseased leaves, and plant debris to prevent overwintering pests and fungi.
💡 Pro Tip: Leave seed heads on ornamental grasses or coneflowers for winter interest and to feed local birds!
2. Protect and Mulch
Once the ground begins to freeze, spread a thick layer of organic mulch around your perennials and shrubs. Mulch helps regulate soil temperature, conserve moisture, and reduce heaving caused by freeze-thaw cycles.
🪵 Try This: Bumper Crop® Organic Soil Builder or shredded bark mulch from Bru-Mar Gardens.
3. Add Compost and Amend Soil
Before the frost sets in, top-dress your beds with compost. It will break down over winter, enriching your soil with nutrients for spring planting.
🌱 We recommend: Bumper Crop® Organic Compost or Coast of Maine® Lobster Compost—available now in our garden center.
4. Drain Hoses and Irrigation
Disconnect and drain garden hoses, drip lines, and sprinklers to avoid cracking in cold temperatures. Store them indoors or in a shed to extend their lifespan.
5. Protect Outdoor Pots and Planters
Terracotta and ceramic pots can crack if left outside full of soil. Empty them, clean them, and store them upside down in a sheltered area. For hardy winter arrangements, use frost-resistant containers and plant cold-tolerant evergreens or winterberry.
🌿 Bonus Tip: Add a layer of burlap around outdoor containers or newly planted shrubs for extra insulation against cold winds.
6. Support Your Feathered Friends
Clean and refill bird feeders, and consider adding a heated birdbath to keep fresh water available through the winter months.
7. Review Your Garden Layout
Take a few notes about what thrived (and what didn’t) this season. Snap some photos or sketch next year’s layout ideas while they’re fresh in your mind.
Visit Bru-Mar Gardens
Find everything you need to prepare your garden for winter—from compost and mulch to burlap and frost covers—at Bru-Mar Gardens, 1009 Bay Ridge Road, Annapolis, MD.
📲 Download our app for special offers: https://apjl.app/brumar
Use promo code Welcome5 for $5 OFF your $25+ purchase!