The To-Do list for home ownership never really ends. Here’s a checklist of what you can be doing on those surprisingly warm fall days we get here in Indiana to ensure your beautiful surroundings hibernate nicely over the long winter.
Tucking in the Beds
- Remove old plant matter from your flower beds. If you have a compost pile (read last month’s article for great composting tips), you can throw all that dead vegetation right on in with your banana peels and coffee grounds.
- Empty flower pots and rinse them out with a mild bleach solution, then allow them to dry thoroughly. The leftover soil from the pots can be deposited on your garden or flower beds for a nice additive.
- Clean spent plants from your vegetable garden and apply a nice top mulch of leaves to help protect the topsoil.
- Give the bushes and shrubbery one last trim.
- Plant fall bulbs to ensure a nice burst of color in March and April.
Making the Grass Greener
- Mow one last time. Save the raking—if you have leaves on the lawn you can do a second victory lap with the mower and allow those bits and pieces to enrich your lawn over the winter months.
- Consider applying a winterizing fertilizer on your lawn or undertaking some core aerating.
- Take your lawn mower in for an end-of-season tune up, so it will be ready to go when the grass starts springing up again.
All The Nearly Forgotten Extras
- Drain your hoses and sprinklers, and store them neatly for the winter.
- Cover your lawn furniture, or place them in a protected storage area.
- Take the opportunity to hang holiday lights before the snow flies.
- Wipe down your gardening tools, and toss those soil-encrusted gloves in the washer.
- Clean and cover your grill (unless you think you’ll be out there with filets in January).
- Fire up the snowblower, and make sure your shovels and de-icing salts are handy.
- Put away all those pink flamingos, garden gnomes, and birdbaths. We know you’ll miss them…we’ll miss them, too.
Ahhh. Now that you’ve finished the list, get ready to settle into a nice comfy chair with a hot beverage, and start to dream about warmer weather. Don’t forget to reserve a couple of those outdoor living fantasies for some sultry lighting or a bubbling water feature by Capehart!