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Protecting your garden against storms

As we move into fall and winter, it’s time to protect your garden from storms. Depending on its location, it is vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or just heavy rain and hail. All these natural phenomena take their toll on your plants. However, they can weather the storm better if we take some precautions.

Most of these precautions are common sense. However, we can be busy and forget to perform them. So remember:

  • Bring patio and other outdoor furniture indoors or make sure they are firmly anchored to the ground. Otherwise, it turns into flying debris in a storm.
  • Bring plants that cannot withstand winter in their indoor location. Those potted plants that look great all summer will freeze in the cold.
  • Secure awnings, shade cloth and other materials that can be blown away by the wind.
  • Keep spare pots and small tools inside.
  • Trim branches that may not survive the storm season. No, it is not the ideal time to do that, but it is better than waking up to a large member crashing into the house or car.
  • Prepare bird baths and other water sources for the winter. Remove the hoses and fit them, clean the birdbath and refill, if necessary get a stock tank heater to put in the birdbath and keep it defrosted for the birds. Also remind small mammals that they still need water in the winter.
  • Look around you and see what else can turn to shrapnel or debris in a storm and secure it in some way so that doesn’t happen.

If you follow these steps now, storms can still damage things, but the damage will be much less than it would be otherwise. Just as you winterize your car and home, winterize your yard.

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