Prepare the perennials.

To properly prepare your flowers for the cold months, you need to know which ones are annuals and which are perennials. The annuals in your garden will need to be pulled, as they won’t return the following spring.

The perennials, however, should return as long as they have been properly cared for during the summer.

Add some extra mulch to the area that they’re planted in right after the winter’s first frost and trim the flowers so that new buds can form next season.

Aerate.

Aeration, in its most simplistic definition, is opening the soil to promote the creation of a healthy oxygen-rich environment for the roots of plants and grasses.

Aerating can be done two ways: through coring or through slicing. Regardless of which method you prefer to use, this task only needs to be done occasionally.

Generally, it should be done when your soil has a high chance of becoming compact and/or when the lawn clipping thatch exceeds a depth of ½ inch. Aerating is best to do before winter.

Protect the evergreens.

Trees with thin bark and those that are young are prone to damage during the winter. This happens as the sun comes out on a cold winter day and warms the bark, causing the tissue of the tree to perk up.

Once the sun goes down, however, the temperature of the bark drops quickly, which can kill the tissue below the bark and leave it cracked and dry.

This is known as sun-scald. It can also happen to evergreen trees.

Mow.

Where you live will factor into the date at which you mow for the last time. Ideally, though, you want to cease mowing after the first fall frost.

Also, when completing this final mow, you’ll want to use a low setting on your lawn mower.

Remove the weeds.

Although weeding can and should be done during all of the snow-free seasons, one of the best times to tackle weed overgrowth is right before the winter season.

If you handle the weeds before the snow falls, you can start the next growing season off weed-free. This being said, you should try to avoid using pesticides to tackle weeds, if you can at all manage it.

Pesticides can damage more than just weeds.

Reseed damaged areas of grass.

If your lawn has suffered damage during the summer and is now a patchy mess, you may be tempted to reseed next spring. However, reseeding is most effective if done during the fall.

The high moisture content within the ground during the fall season makes it easy for grass seed to settle in. All you have to do is scratch the surface of the soil and spread your chosen seeds.

You can then cover it with mulch to prevent birds from making a snack out of your seeds.

There are many more ways to winterize your lawn and yard, although the ways we covered above are the most popular and easiest to do.