A beautiful backyard retreat requires time and work to create and maintain. Below you will find time tested information and techniques about creating a backyard retreat, along with tips and ideas for care and maintenance of your backyard oasis, for optimal results year round!
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Backyard "Winterization"
You spent the whole summer creating and caring for your beautiful backyard retreat and now it's getting time to winterize it so that you can enjoy what it has to offer during the winter! Proper "winterization" of your backyard mostly involves preparing your flower beds, lawn, garden, and the elements you have added to it, to weather the winter safely, ensuring that it will be ready for the growing season next spring! However, winterizing your backyard and it's elements will also ensure you, and the wildlife you have attracted, will get the maximum use out of it for the winter months!
Lawn Care
Be sure not to leave excessive amounts of leaves on your lawn for the winter, this will smother your grass. Scattered leaves are okay as they will protect the grass from heavy freeze.
Flower Bed Care
Once the flowers are gone and the growing season is over, your flower beds will benefit from a nice layer of leaves for insulation of perennial plant and flower roots and bulbs; ensuring that they get the best head start next spring and may also keep them from dying during the winter from a deep ground freeze. This is also a good way to dispose of some of those leaves you must rake up every fall! You don't want to apply too many however, about 2" of loose leaves will suffice. Note: be sure to remove the leaves in the spring quickly after the last thaw, or they will inhibit growth.
Garden Care
Add any fertilizer you may want to use on your garden, we prefer manure, and till this into the ground in areas where new planting will take place in the spring. For added natural fertilization, you can plant the area in Rye and till this into the ground in the spring before planting to add Humice. Lightly cover strawberries, rhubarb and other perennial plants with leaves or straw to help insulate them from hard freezing.
*Contact your local Agricultural Facility for information and tips on your specific local area.
In the western states with high levels of Alkali in the ground, the Tanic Acid in tree leaves helps neutralize the alkali in the ground helping to reduce salinity levels. In the eastern states Tanic acid levels may be high, so you may want to fertilize with pot ash.
Element Care
The elements in your backyard, your Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Bird Baths and Lawn & Garden Decor will provide years of enjoyment if you make sure that they are properly weatherized each winter. Some of the more decorative items may need to be stored to avoid damage. Other elements, which are useful during the winter as well as summer, may just need some maintenance or re-positioning. With careful positioning and weatherization of the functional elements of your backyard, to optimize the wild birds' winter experience, you can makes yours the most popular birding spot in the area!
Bird Houses may need a coat of sealer, placed under an eave of your home for less exposure to the elements, or, you may just look to upgrade for the winter with a new bird house that will withstand the winter weather better.
Bird Feeders may also need a sealer applied, also, these elements are often THE backyard item to move under an eave next to a window for better viewing of birds during the cold months when you may not want to go outside to observe the wild birds feeding! Wild Birds also enjoy a bit of the warmth provided by a feeder placed next to your home, especially when they are placed in front of a window. Windows leak a lot of heat to the outdoors, especially if they are not double pane or energy efficient and provide a nice warm place (as far as birds are concerned) for a winter meal. Make sure you have a quality, weatherized feeder with proper drainage to avoid having your seed get wet and ruined. Try to place feeders on a side of the house that is protected from as much wind, snow and/or rain as possible, this will not only help protect the feeder from the elements, but feeding birds will enjoy it also.
Bird Baths may need to be moved to position them in the spot of your backyard that gets as much sunshine as possible in the winter, especially during the morning. This is mostly a good idea year round, depending on the species of birds you attract, most birds like to bathe in a sunny spot in the morning. Heated Bird Baths are also an excellent way to provide a warm bath for your wild birds in the winter; Bluebirds especially love a nice warm bath, however, other species will enjoy it as well. You may want to protect your lovely glass bird bath by storing it for winter and buy a durable heated bath for winter use.
Lawn Care
Be sure not to leave excessive amounts of leaves on your lawn for the winter, this will smother your grass. Scattered leaves are okay as they will protect the grass from heavy freeze.
Flower Bed Care
Once the flowers are gone and the growing season is over, your flower beds will benefit from a nice layer of leaves for insulation of perennial plant and flower roots and bulbs; ensuring that they get the best head start next spring and may also keep them from dying during the winter from a deep ground freeze. This is also a good way to dispose of some of those leaves you must rake up every fall! You don't want to apply too many however, about 2" of loose leaves will suffice. Note: be sure to remove the leaves in the spring quickly after the last thaw, or they will inhibit growth.
Garden Care
Add any fertilizer you may want to use on your garden, we prefer manure, and till this into the ground in areas where new planting will take place in the spring. For added natural fertilization, you can plant the area in Rye and till this into the ground in the spring before planting to add Humice. Lightly cover strawberries, rhubarb and other perennial plants with leaves or straw to help insulate them from hard freezing.
*Contact your local Agricultural Facility for information and tips on your specific local area.
In the western states with high levels of Alkali in the ground, the Tanic Acid in tree leaves helps neutralize the alkali in the ground helping to reduce salinity levels. In the eastern states Tanic acid levels may be high, so you may want to fertilize with pot ash.
Element Care
The elements in your backyard, your Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Bird Baths and Lawn & Garden Decor will provide years of enjoyment if you make sure that they are properly weatherized each winter. Some of the more decorative items may need to be stored to avoid damage. Other elements, which are useful during the winter as well as summer, may just need some maintenance or re-positioning. With careful positioning and weatherization of the functional elements of your backyard, to optimize the wild birds' winter experience, you can makes yours the most popular birding spot in the area!
Bird Houses may need a coat of sealer, placed under an eave of your home for less exposure to the elements, or, you may just look to upgrade for the winter with a new bird house that will withstand the winter weather better.
Bird Feeders may also need a sealer applied, also, these elements are often THE backyard item to move under an eave next to a window for better viewing of birds during the cold months when you may not want to go outside to observe the wild birds feeding! Wild Birds also enjoy a bit of the warmth provided by a feeder placed next to your home, especially when they are placed in front of a window. Windows leak a lot of heat to the outdoors, especially if they are not double pane or energy efficient and provide a nice warm place (as far as birds are concerned) for a winter meal. Make sure you have a quality, weatherized feeder with proper drainage to avoid having your seed get wet and ruined. Try to place feeders on a side of the house that is protected from as much wind, snow and/or rain as possible, this will not only help protect the feeder from the elements, but feeding birds will enjoy it also.
Bird Baths may need to be moved to position them in the spot of your backyard that gets as much sunshine as possible in the winter, especially during the morning. This is mostly a good idea year round, depending on the species of birds you attract, most birds like to bathe in a sunny spot in the morning. Heated Bird Baths are also an excellent way to provide a warm bath for your wild birds in the winter; Bluebirds especially love a nice warm bath, however, other species will enjoy it as well. You may want to protect your lovely glass bird bath by storing it for winter and buy a durable heated bath for winter use.
