As we get closer and closer to winter, it’s time to place your lawn into hibernation until next spring. Here are a few tips to get you started.

If you have any sensitive potted plants in your garden, you’ll want to move them indoors or to a warmer environment. In the Spring, you can move them back and they’ll be ready to go. Otherwise you may find that they failed to survive the harsh cold and you’ll have to reinvest for an entire new set of plants.

Inspect your trees and bushes. Trim the damaged ones that you find. Also trim the ones that are too close to the home. Broken branches have the very bad habit of breaking off at the most inopportune times – as in an ice storm or wind storm – and possibly doing extensive damage to your car or home.

Inspect your lawn for bare spots and plant grass seeds in the area. Planting them now gives them time to develop strong roots before the weather gets too cold. In the spring, after a few months of hibernation, they’ll be fully acclimated to your garden and ready to grow immediately. By that time, the grass will also have developed strong roots and be ready to survive assaults from both weeds and insects as the new spring season begins. For a quick start you can use inexpensive zoysia grass plugs or the best quality Scotts grass seed.

Do your last weeding for the year. The last thing you want do do is to let your weeds lay dormant in your garden over the winter months. If you do, you’ll be giving them a good head start over the rest of your plants come springtime. Weeds have a good enough advantage as it is. You don’t have to give them more.

Lastly, either cover the furniture in your garden area or place it in your garage or other storage area for the winter. Snow and cold have a bad habit of rusting garden furniture.

Read more from Alex regarding fall lawn care and hunter sprinkler heads at his website.