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What is planted in your garden that will enhance your winter decor? Many of the elements that are present all year can have a true opportunity to shine at the end of the growing season.

Many gardeners shy away from using perennials in the summer, choosing instead to supply color in the garden through the use of annual plant material. I, on the other hand, have a rule for my home garden – no annuals. I like the fact that perennials, while initially somewhat more expensive to purchase, will return for multiple seasons and will also multiply to give me additional plant material to expand my own garden or to trade with gardening friends. So, how does one maintain a colorful garden throughout the summer months? Here are some suggestions.

Thinking about pruning your spring-flowering shrubs? Rejuvenation pruning is a good way to improve the appearance, and can help if older material is outgrowing its space.

Forsythia and azaleas should be pruned after they’ve bloomed. To rejuvenate older plants, you can remove up to a third of the material. This can be older, woody stems, down to the crown, or a third of the canopy. Obviously, this project requires a patient gardener, but you’ll appreciate the results.

Our Habitat Garden is filled with perennial and native species, but even it has to have at least a little maintenance from time to time. For us, now is one of those times. We left the seed heads up through the winter, but now it’s time to clean up before the new growth gets started.

Our park is heavily wooded, with acres of pathways and adjoining forest. It requires many man-hours to remove all the fallen leaves before our mulching begins, and it turns into a lot of exercise this time of year. I have to strap on a backpack blower weighing about 25 pounds. I hike around the park, up and down hills, even where guests don’t go. I squat down to clear leaves from under trees, hedges, and structures. In total, the equivalent of nearly eight tractor-trailer loads of leaf debris are sent to a recycling facility, while an equal amount are dispersed on property.