The key to protecting your garden during winter

Much can be done to help your garden better survive the ravages of winter, including tree trimming, a paint job and even bringing part of the garden inside.

Indigenous plants are normally winter-hardy, but they still need to be ready for the season. Prepare your garden well so that all the plants, including the more delicate ones, can survive the coldest winter.

Opt for leaves, spruce and fir trimmings, straw, burlap and jute when considering covering or wrapping plants.

• Consider spruce trimmings for optimal winter protection — they gradually lose their needles and let more light reach the plants. Arrange cuttings like a small roof over the plants, but make sure that air can get to them; otherwise, they may rot or become diseased.
• Check leaves for pests, fungus and other diseases before deciding how to proceed with winterization.
• Burlap and jute are light and smooth, so they don't harm plants. For better protection, you can put straw between the plants and a jute wrap over them.

• If you have enough space inside, bring potted plants indoors for the winter. Their addition will bring colour and extra oxygen to the home. Just remember to give them adequate light and water, and be careful not to place them too close to the cold of the window or any heat sources.
• Create a windowsill herb garden. Use several small terracotta pots and some enriched earth to plant basil, savory, rosemary, chives, parsley and any other favourites. You will have fresh herbs all winter long.

Plants from warmer regions and newly-transplanted or young plants will make it through a tough winter only if they are well-wrapped in sturdy burlap or spruce trimmings.

• Give the trunks of fruit trees a coat of white paint or wrap them in cardboard to keep them from cracking due to major temperature changes or very cold nights.
• Protect delicate perennials and late-fall plantings with dried leaves or straw, and use spruce cuttings to protect evergreen varieties.
• Tie tall ornamental grasses together in bunches to protect them from frost and snow and to provide winter shelter for helpful creatures.
• Press back down any soil around perennials that may have that buckled due to frost. This will protect the roots.
• Tie the branches of young evergreen trees together with wide strips of burlap to mitigate snow buildup.