Prepping your garden beds before first frost

Getting beds ready before the first frost sets up an easier spring. Clear out spent annuals and any diseased foliage, but leave healthy perennials and seed heads if you want to give birds food and insects shelter through winter.

Once the ground has cooled, spread a layer of mulch or compost over the beds. This insulates roots against sudden temperature swings, suppresses late weeds, and slowly breaks down to enrich the soil by planting time.

It is also the right window to plant spring bulbs and to divide crowded perennials while the soil is still workable. A final deep watering before the freeze helps everything settle in and head into dormancy in good shape.