Mulching may not be on your list of things to do this time of year, if you live in a cold climate. But you might want to rethink that. Winter mulching makes sure that the plants you put to bed in the fall don’t wake up before they’re supposed to. It also helps them conserve what water there is in the soil during winter and, speaking of soil, winter mulch makes sure that all the things you added to your soil last season don’t just wash away. The hard part about winter mulching is knowing when to do it. But for you lucky gardeners buried under a foot or two of snow, nature has taken care of that for you.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2007) licensed to About.com, Inc.