Preparing your Xeriscape for Winter
Compost piles can have leaves and chopped matter from pruned trees and bushes added to them, as well as the kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps. You'll want to keep your compost piles moist until it gets very cold. Turning your pile every two weeks or so is a good winter exercise. Don't put fecal wastes from your cat or dog in the pile, but do add manure or nitrogen fertilizer.
You can start a cold frame garden for lettuce, onion, radishes, and spinach; you'll need to water it weekly if you do. Your regular garden can rest for a few months after you rototill or dig compost into it.
If it doesn't snow you have to water your bluegrass, rye, and fescue lawns every 10 - 14 days. If you planted gramma, bermuda, or buffalo grass, go make yourself a hot toddy or other cup of Christmas cheer, and celebrate the extra work you've spared yourself.
Thoroughly water your roses once a month, but do not prune. Sulfur - based sprays for dormant plants can be used against insects and disease and February is the month to do so. Turn some organic matter compost on top of the soil.
If you're looking for some winter color you can add some organic matter and plant ornamental kale. Kale requires regular water, but it is a practical plant you can eat. Spring flowering bulbs make an excellent underplanting and you should have them all planted before the end of December. Weekly watering should be sufficient.
Be consistent in keeping your bird feeder filled and use a general seed mix to attract the widest variety of birds. For a special treat, take a pinecone and mash peanut butter in it. You can also spread peanut butter on a bagel, roll it in birdseed and hang it from a tree branch with string.
I always like to provide a little water for birds and other wild life. If you've got a pond with fish in it, it's time to turn on the pump and the heater. If ice does build up think of how you'd
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