Flowers: Heavy rains encourage slug problems. Check for slugs during rainy periods and hand pick the pests. For hanging baskets in cool, shady locations, use tuberous begonias, ferns, impatiens or fibrous rooted begonias in combination with trailing plants, such as English ivy. Remove old flower heads from annual bedding plants to keep them blooming. Disbud [...]

Around the yard Start winter cleanup of the lawn when the grass is no longer sopping wet and planting beds stop being a sea of mud. Rake your lawn to get rid of dead growth, stray leaves, twigs and winter debris and let light and air to the soil level, encouraging the grass to grow. [...]

If it’s a mild winter, continue to cut the lawn, so long as it’s growing, but raise the height of the mower blades Prevent containers planted with winter bedding or all-year-round shrubs from freezing solid by wrapping them with bubblewrap or taking them into shelter Get rid of slimy patches on the patio and paving [...]