Women raking leaves in the yard

12 Easy Tips to Winterize Your Yard

Using your yard in the winter is often overlooked in favor of summer. Still, I love the cold, crisp days and the opportunity that winter brings to tidy, prepare, and nourish for next spring.

Well-thought-out planting also brings interest, with hardy winter-flowering plants coming into their own and glass house species giving plenty of reasons for gardeners like me to spend time in the yard.

However, winter is more about yard tasks to maintain and build on the year's work for the following spring and summer. Focus on my tips to winterize your yard and be rewarded with a flourishing garden next spring.

1. Bring in Tender Plants

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First off, get to know your plant hardiness zone, as defined by the US Department of Agriculture. This will help you determine which plants need to be brought in, which ones can stay planted but need fleece protection, and any tubers, like Dahlias, that need to be lifted.

I plant many tender shrubs in pots, so they're easier to move inside, but it's quite a physical job, and you may need a hand trolley to help.

Keen gardeners will be watching the weather for the first signs of frost — make sure to act before this, or tender plants may be lost or damaged.

2. Pull Weeds

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Once the flowers and foliage have died back, it's much easier to see the structure of your yard, as well as any weeds! An inevitable item on any gardener's task list, I find weeding quite therapeutic.

The best time to weed in winter is on a dry day after any morning frost has melted and before the soil becomes too sticky. Use a hand fork to pull up the root system of each weed, or they'll grow back even stronger.

3. Mulch

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Once you've got on top of your weeds, you need to mulch the soil. The best time to do this is after the first hard frost and when overnight temperatures are regularly below freezing. The timing is essential as mulching too early delays freezing, and doing it too late exposes plant roots to low temperatures.

Lay the mulch at least four to six inches deep using organic materials like bark, wood chips, straw, pine needles, or chopped corn cobs. This material not only prevents plant damage but also enriches the soil as it breaks down, giving you the best possible start in spring.

4. Care for Yard Furniture

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Where possible, get your garden furniture inside for winter. Cold temperatures and rain can damage natural materials like wicker and wood, and plastic can be distorted by heavy frost.

Early winter is a good time to sand wooden furniture and protect it with stain or oil before storage. If you don't have space inside to overwinter your yard furniture, buy purpose-made covers to keep it snug outside.

5. Divide Perennials

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Wherever you have summer-flowering perennials that have formed large clumps as they multiply, you can lift and divide them to create space. This helps each plant to flourish as it doesn't have to compete for light and soil nutrients, and you get more plants!

Gently dig up the parent plant and tease apart the roots using two forks, back-to-back. If the roots are fibrous, you may need to cut or chop them — it feels wrong but doesn't harm the plant. Replant each divided plant as soon as possible and water them into their new home well.

6. Drain Hoses

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Remember to drain and roll all your watering hoses. A split hose can cause catastrophic water loss, often because it may not be noticed for days. Such water loss can cause waterlogging, which damages plants and roots during overnight frosts.

Don't forget to insulate any external faucets with a fleece or foam jacket to stop the pipes from freezing. To be totally safe, isolate or shut off all external water sources.

7. Clean Your Tools

garden tools laying in ground
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Tool maintenance is necessary all year round, but after a long summer day in the yard, the last thing you want to do is wash and oil your spade or hand pruners. Use the cooler, quieter months for a good tool TLC session!

Regular maintenance ensures your tools stay sharp and effective, meaning you can deadhead easily without damaging the plants and dig with ease. It also keeps them clean of soil, which helps prevent the spread of pests and plant diseases.

8. Spruce Up Your Edging

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Winter is an excellent time to sharpen your edging, with easier access once plants have died or been cut back. If your soil is wet, use a board to spread your weight and prevent the ground from compacting.

Work your way around the yard, using a specific edging tool or small spade to cut excess turf around your beds. Maintain a drop of around three inches from grass to soil to help keep plants off the grass.

9. Clean the Paving and Deck

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If you have hard landscaped areas in your yard, they must be cleaned annually to prevent them from becoming dangerously slippery and covered in unsightly green mold.

Paved areas and composite decking can be cleaned with a pressure washer, and natural stone can be sealed after washing to help keep it in good condition. Natural wood can also be pressure washed lightly but will need staining or oiling after cleaning.

10. Deal With Leaves

woman raking leaves
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If you have lots of trees in or around your yard, leaves on the grass are inevitable! Even though it's a job I don't enjoy, it's best to remove fallen leaves as they will go moldy and affect the grass underneath.

You can use a good old-fashioned rake or a leaf blower to get the leaves into a pile. If they're destined for your compost heap, use the mower to chop them up before adding them, or simply add them to raised beds for extra nutrition.

11. Winterize Your Lawn

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For the best results, you should winterize your lawn before the first hard frost. First, spend some time weeding before you cut your grass for the last time, ensuring the lawn is dry. Aim to cut it about an inch higher than you do in summer.

Next, aerate the lawn with a garden fork, lawn-aerating sandals (who knew?), or a lawn aerating machine to make holes in the soil. The final step is to apply winter-specific lawn fertilizer to encourage vigorous new growth.

12. Tidy the Yard

Wheelbarrow with gardening tools
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One of the final tasks I do before putting my yard to bed for winter is to trundle around with the wheelbarrow, collecting all the odds and ends that need to be put away. It can sometimes take several trips!

I remove all plant supports and wooden canes that are not in use and clean off any soil. I collect garden ornaments, empty pots, and any tools I find hiding that I thought I'd lost and store them all in my garden shed, ready for spring.

Author: Izzy Nicholls

Writer for The Gap Decaders. Expert in European travel, road trips, motorhome & RV travel, overland travel, van life, adult gap years and how to live the dream!

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