Today’s outdoor temperature might be the final above 60-degree day for quite a while, which means winter preparations for plants and herbs should be getting underway.

Thomas Jefferson Gardens Board member Jean Walker offers this advice ahead of the next possible hard freeze going into next week. 

“You have certain perennials – like grasses or certain things – you can trim them back. And all of your bulbs, like the day lilies are starting to die now, so when they get gone, I’ll trim them all back. I wouldn’t trim too many bushes back because if they’re blooming bushes you might be cutting off next year’s blooms. So you just let them do their thing.”   

As for preserving herbs, Walker says those can be brought inside anytime. She advises to spray the plants for bugs to avoid bringing insects inside your home. Walker cautions against constantly watering herbs indoors.

“Herbs is one of the plants that you do not want to overwater. If the ground looks dry as a bone, it may not be. So just be patient. And with herbs, you can dry them down, you can chop them up and throw them in your freezer, hang them in your house and let them dry down naturally, and use that all winter long.”

According to the National Weather Service, the next possible hard freeze is expected to be Sunday and Monday nights, with temperatures in the lower 20s to the mid-teens.