A Note from Rick | No Time to Rest on Your Laurels

Late Fall/Early Winter at Bridge Gardens

Some people think gardening is done and it’s time to relax by the fire with a warm beverage — let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Now is the time to take steps to protect plantings and ensure that all the efforts from this growing season will yield beautiful results next spring.

What to do now?

• Cut back all grasses and perennials to reduce hiding places for garden pests like voles and rabbits.
• Give the garden beds a final weed and mulch where necessary.
• Winterize your roses with a 12-18” layer of mulch, after pruning any branches from the crown. Roses are given a proper pruning in the spring.
• Spread compost on vegetable beds and cover overwintering greens like spinach with a frost cover so you’ll enjoy fresh greens come March. Make sure to weigh the cover down with logs, lumber or bricks.
• Plant garlic right away!
• Rake, rake, rake.
• Prune trees and shrubs. Once leaves are gone, their structure is clearly visible making tasks like shaping and removing rubbing branches much easier. I cut every wisteria branch back to 2-3 buds in January or February, and also prune the apple espaliers, taking off half of each branch from our one apple tree.