Fall is the perfect time for preparing your garden and home for winter weather. With a bit of forethought and action, many landscape and home issues can be avoided entirely.
How do you winterize your property?
Check your irrigation and prepare it for shut down during the rainy season. A professional landscape contractor can help you check for leaks and breaks in mainlines, landscape lines and at the valves. This is also the time to wrap your backflows and valves to prevent from bursting during winter freezes.
Check your permeable hardscape areas such as pavers, brick and flagstone. Start by pressure washing your hardscape and then adding sand to the joints. Add a sealer to the top to protect the finish and longevity of your hardscape. These simple steps performed by a landscape contractor can prevent shifting and tripping hazards by keeping the joints tight in your driveways, pathways and patios.
Check your drainage. Inspect your gutters and area drains by removing any debris that could clog the system. Flush out drain pipes completely before the first rains. Does your property have appropriate grading to divert water away from your home? A thorough investigation by a landscape contractor can suggest methods to prevent water intrusion into the house, under your foundation or within the crawl space.
Check trees and plants. Do you have any unstable tree limbs that are looming over your house, driveway or street? Don’t wait for the first big storm or an insurance claim before you take action. Call an arborist or maintenance company with tree experience to have branches removed. For street trees, call the city.
Fall is a great time for deadheading plants and cutting back most grasses (click here for our bunch grass maintenance guide). Compost or use your green waste bin for all ground debris, spent annuals and weeds. Lastly, mulch plants well in preparation for the decline in soil temperature and cold weather.
Email me if you need help finding a landscape professional to help winterize your garden.
One of my favorite winter ideas is to put Christmas lights on frost tender plants, and turn them on when it freezes. They are cheery and it will raise the temperature a degree or two.
Hi Deva. What a fun idea! There’s nothing better to put you in the holiday spirit than a banana or orange tree covered with lights. Thanks again for the tip….keep ’em coming.
I love this too – the old, big lights are especially well suited for this – they put out lots of heat …
On the check your plants part – I usually don’t cut back frost tender plants until all danger of frost is over. This way the leaves that get hit with the first frost die, but the plant underneath survives beautifully.
Right now, as we approach the end of 2011 in the Bay Area, we have been experiencing a long period with no appreciable rain. I’m even noticing the winter annual grasses in my orchard are wilting. So, if you turned off your irrigation system, you should turn it back on again right now. Freezes affect plants harder when their roots are stressed from drought.
Deva
Thanks for the tips, Julie. My 3-yr-old grandson is a cow for this Halloween. Three’s are great, aren’t they?