Sound Gardening Plenty of chores remain to put garden to bed

The leaves are down and gone but the flowers keep coming sweet alyssum, wax begonia, the trailing bacopa, some nasturtiums and a wonderful 14-inch-tall ageratum Leilani Blue keep blooming. While I havent the heart to pull these up, the low temperatures of the last weeks mean the rest of the garden is ready for bed.
That means pulling up withered annuals and cutting down all remaining foliage on the perennials. Do the same to those perennials that fit the half-hardy category; I mark and cut them back, too, and add some extra mulch a good six inches to their winter quarters. Nicotiana and snapdragons are designated annuals in the catalogs, but in my garden, they act like perennials, and the topping of mulch helps them stay that way. Often they return.
Avoid covering the crowns of such plants as the lobelias, which are subject to crown rot. Cut the foliage of German iris right down to the ground; youll destroy the borers that winter over in the foliage and decimate the rhizomes of these plants. Shrubs like vitex and butterfly bush and herbaceous peonies should also be cut back hard, but leave the tree peonies alone. Trim the hybrid roses slightly (some are still in bloom), so their canes wont snap in a big wind or ice storm.
Prune the modern hybrids down to three feet to prevent cracking, and seal the cane ends against rot and insects with a drop of Elmers glue, horticulturist Mike Ruggiero told me years ago. Do a proper pruning in early spring when the first leaf buds appear. Mound a mix of soil and leaves (or salt hay) around the bases of these roses, being sure to cover the knobby graft, which is most vulnerable to freezing temperatures. You can use cones and covers for protection, but the mix of soil and hay works just fine. Rake up and destroy all fallen rose leaves (which carry the spores of the disease black spot and other fungi). Leave the old roses alone. Their bright-colored hips are a favorite of birds and their winter color brightens the gray landscape. I compost all the good clippings, but bag the stems and foliage from peonies, roses, and any other debris which shows signs of disease. Compost everything thats finished and clean in the vegetable garden too (cabbages, carrots, turnips, brussel sprouts, arugula and other late-season crops can weather the early frosts, lasting into the winter).
I have three heads of red cabbage in each of a pair of pots on my terrace that look like giant blue roses. (Roses and cabbages ARE related.) You can cut and eat these or leave them as winter decoration. I stick some branches of pine and holly around them, and keep the soil watered. They freeze/dry in the cold and look good most of the winter. But back to the composting; watch out for seed pods. If compost pile temperatures dont get hot enough as the material decomposes, the composted seeds wont be destroyed, and youll unknowingly be planting them next spring when you spread this black gold in your garden.
Mark the places where annuals grew during the summer. Many will self-seed (ageratum, impatiens, petunias, tomatoes are some regulars in my yard), so get out those markers again so youll know where to look next spring. Plant the seeds of myotis, opium poppies, and those others that need a period of cold to germinate. Seeds with short lives lavender is one should be planted as soon after harvesting as possible, and many hardy perennial seeds are better planted directly into the garden now. Just seed and sprinkle with a light covering of soil topped with leaves. Mark a spot for the larkspurs and throw their seed in February.
Clean up beds but not too carefully, suggests horticulturist Nancy DeBrule. Leaves caught in canes and branches protect shrubs and perennials, and prevent the ground from drying out if snowfall is meager. Once frozen, around the New Year, I put loose branches from the discarded wreaths and Christmas tree as cover for the perennials to help keep the ground frozen. Freezing and thawing over the winter, caused by changes in temperatures, often heaves plants right out of the ground and is often the main cause of their demise. Roots exposed to freezing temperatures and drying winds mean dead plants. Should you find a plant so exposed, press its roots back in place with your foot, then cover with evergreen branches or the like.