It’s inevitable, winter is coming. In one week the temperature dropped from nights in the 50’s to nights in the 20’s. This morning we woke up to our first snow. At this time last year, I hadn’t even harvested the last of my tomatoes and the first frost didn’t come until December 3rd, but this year we’ve already had several nights below freezing and the forecast doesn’t look promising. I thought I was so clever, storing my bulbs in the fridge until the temperature was just right for planting, and now I’m biting my nails hoping they’ve had enough time in the ground to root before it freezes.

So there’s no putting it off any longer. It’s time to get the garden ready for a long winter sleep, and in doing so, make sure that everything will have the best start possible in the spring.

Here’s my autumn/winter to-do list:

• Plant all the bulbs! Any that I didn’t have a chance to get in the ground are going to overwinter in pots in the garage. Since our garage is unheated and pots in there will freeze if it gets cold enough, I’ve worked out a double insulation method. I sink the pots with bulbs inside larger containers, filling the extra space inside with leftover potting soil. If I run out of bigger containers, then I store the pots inside cardboard boxes, and fill the boxes with autumn leaves or crumpled up packing paper. I stack the pots together, as far away from the garage walls as possible, preferably with other stuff in between. I’ve found that this provides enough temperature control to keep the bulbs cool so they don’t sprout too early, but prevents the repeated freezing and thawing that can turn potted bulbs to mush and leave you wondering why they didn’t come up.

• Rearrange the furniture! Autumn is a great time to move perennials, once they’ve gone dormant you can easily transplant them without doing much damage. I used to think once a plant is growing somewhere, that’s it, you’re stuck with it in that spot. But I have a neighbor who is a much more experienced gardener than I am, and I noticed that every year she moves her established perennials around like she’s rearranging the patio furniture. I asked her about her gardening philosophy (in less pretentious words) and basically her mantra is “If you don’t like it, move it!”

• Bring the kids in! If there are any outdoor plants I want to overwinter, I pot them up, give them a light spritz of neem oil, and keep them in a 2-week quarantine where they’re separated from the rest of the houseplants. This gives me a chance to make sure they’re not bringing in any unwanted guests. If you’ve ever had something like aphids, whiteflies, or spider mites get at your houseplants, you’ll know how important that quarantine step is.

• Expand the garden! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a couple of years, but wasn’t ready to tackle it until now. I’m widening the border garden that stretches all the way around our backyard, and taking over some of the lawn in the process. John really appreciates the lawn and what he calls “negative space”. I’m just the opposite, I see lawn as “wasted space” and I (half-jokingly) tell him I’m going to move the border 6 inches a year so he won’t notice the lawn disappearing as the garden takes over. My no-dig strategy for expansion is to measure out the space, cover the grass with a layer of cardboard, then a layer of compost, and top it off with a layer of leaf mulch. I’ll let it sit like that over winter, and by spring it will be ready for planting.

• Collect seeds! I like to be thrifty in the garden when I can. Saving seeds from flowers you’d like to plant again next year is an easy way to keep your budget down. I snip the flower heads, place them in a paper bag or cardboard tray to let them dry completely, then separate the seeds and store them in paper envelopes. Don’t forget to label them! I’m pretty good at identifying different types of seeds, but a few weeks ago I saved seeds from yellow zinnia, red zinnia, and purple zinnia, was too lazy to label them feeling sure I would know what’s what, and guess what? I don’t!

• Mulch! Mulch! Mulch! Last year I convinced John to not blow all the fallen leaves to the curb, and instead save them in bags. I promised that I would use them as mulch, and after a year of taking up space in the garage and repeated reassurances that yes I will use them, those leaves are perfectly crisp and dry and ready to be crumbled over the garden beds. I used to think mulch was a luxury indulgence, all about the aesthetic, but have since learned that mulch is not only important for temperature and moisture control, but a really smart and simple way to amend our heavy clay soil and add back vital nutrients that plants have taken up over the growing season. Mulching with leaves from your yard also provides a safe space for beneficial insects to overwinter in your garden. If you’re plagued by pests every year, you might want to consider what you’re doing to provide habitat for the beneficials that keep the pests in check.

• Sing the clean up song! Because I like to spend good weather days actually outside in the garden, there are certain tasks that I let go until the cold weather comes. Cleaning out empty pots and baskets is one of those tasks that I don’t bother with until winter forces me inside. I reuse all my plastic pots, seed-starting trays, etc. and I’m always careful to clean them thoroughly so pests and diseases don’t carry over from one season to the next. Ask me about spider mites, go on, anything you want to know.

• Make a plan! As the growing season winds down, I like to reflect on what worked well this year and what didn’t turn out exactly as planned. What would I like to repeat? What do I want to change and do differently? I don’t really keep a garden journal (although I guess by starting this blog, now I do?) but I do have a notebook where I sketch out the different areas of the garden, what’s growing there, and relevant information like plant height/width, bloom time, color. I also keep lists of plants I’d like to add in, and a calendar for seed starting and succession planting. Winter is the perfect time for planning out next year’s garden because it gives me something to do while I’m stuck indoors.

• Go shopping! This is the time of year when most seed suppliers get a fresh restock, send out their catalogs, and unveil the new varieties for next year. I’ve already ordered most of the seeds I plan to grow, and have a list of the others I’ll order as soon as they’re in stock. Don’t wait until spring to order your seeds. Get them now because (1) popular and/or limited varieties might sell out early, and (2) you’ll have them ready to go when it’s time to stratify or sow. If you wait to order seeds in spring, you run the risk of losing precious growing time, especially if they’re recommended to be started indoors several weeks before planting out.

One garden clean-up task that I’ll be leaving until spring is cutting back the perennials and clearing out the dead plants. Leaving these to stand provides some winter interest in the garden, dried seed heads can look especially pretty amidst the snow. They also provide shelter and food for the native wildlife, which is becoming increasingly important for their survival as natural habitat space continues to be turned into highways and parking lots. And it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, because the more diversity of wildlife your garden attracts, the healthier it will be.