© Piotr Adamczyk

Last Minute Pre-Winter Gardening  By Gavin Edwards

Even late in the year, there are some awesome landscaping tricks that will give you and inexpensive way to spruce up your yard for next spring. 

Planting shrubs is probably your best investment in late autumn gardening. Shrubs are almost always at a discount this time of year so the savings can be substantial. 

Figure out what you’ll need and head to the landscaping shop to pick up your shrubs. Evergreens are nice but they don’t have to be evergreens to be successfully planted this time of year.

Plan out your shrub garden by setting the potted shrubs where you think they look good.

Use a shovel to dig a deep hole slightly wider than the pot and to a depth where the shrub should set into the hole nicely without sinking too deeply into the hole. 

Remove the shrub with its dirt from the pot. You may have to cut off the pot if too many roots have become entwined in its holes. Set the shrub upright and fill the rest of the hole with dirt. Do the same for the other shrubs. 

Watering heavily is vital for the success of your new shrubs. Water each shrub until it is completely soaked with water. Run your hose at least fifteen minutes per shrub. *

You’ll want to repeat this every couple of days until the ground freezes. Mulch with leaves or grass clippings before the ground freezes.

Over the winter, you need not do anything at all. The shrubs will be dormant until springtime. When the ground thaws, remove your mulch and water heavily again. Until the shrubs begin to grow, water ever two to three days until the shrub appears to be green and growing. 

Keep the shrubs moist until they are well established. You should see a great deal of growth and a beautiful shrub garden in the spring.