As the leaves fall off deciduous shrubs and trees, evergreens sustain the landscape. Hollies are putting on their bright red berries, Norway Spruces are providing a wind screen, evergreen foundation plantings such as cherry laurels and boxwood anchor the view of the home. Its almost time for the seasonal festivities, but first there are a few things left to do in the garden!

Make sure the faucets have been turned off and drained, and take a look at the gutters one more time to clear leaves and debris.

December is a good time to evaluate your trees. The structure and health can be more easily seen now the leaves are off. Trees should be pruned to protect buildings, and to prevent trees from growing into each other. Older trees should be fed, and may need dead wood removed. In some cases trees should be removed.

You need to continue to protect your smaller evergreens from deer damage through the winter. Please go to our Deer page for more information.

Take a last look at the perennial garden and cut back any brown stems you do not want to look at throughout the winter. Some perennials like Perovskia and Sedum, as well as your Ornamental Grasses can be left, and cut back in March.

Once all the leaves are picked up, it is time to evaluate your beds for mulching. We highly recommend mulching at the beginning of the winter to protect your plants. Mulching will also control runoff on embankments, and prevent flooding of basements. We recommend Double shredded hardwood bark mulch for shrubbery, and mushroom soil for annual and perennial flower beds. More information is available at our mulching page.

After heavy ice and snow storms, knock the ice and snow off of Arborvitaes, Yews, Cypresses, other evergreens and also Dogwoods as soon as possible to prevent damage.

If you are buying a live Christmas tree and intend to replant the tree, dig the hole now, before the ground freezes, and plant the tree in the ground as soon as possible after the holidays.

Here are some tips for your houseplants: They prefer cool temperatures, lots of light, high humidity, moderate watering, good drainage, occasional feeding, frequent misting, and occasional spraying with insecticidal soap or a horticultural oil and water mixture to control insects.

Call us today and set up an appointment with a professional landscape designer to evaluate your landscape. By calling us in the winter we can have a design ready for you to be installed in the spring!