Start preparing your plants to overwinter in midsummer using only "winterizer" fertilizer. These fertilizers are high in potassium and low in nitrogen. Late applications of nitrogen heavy fertilizers will stimulate new, soft growth which doesn't have a chance to mature before frost.

For the same reason, avoid severe pruning late in the summer. The exceptions are a few late blooming shrubs such as hydrangeas and clethras.

Just before a freeze, water all shrubs and plants heavily to ensure that soil around the roots is moist going into winter. This is especially helpful with evergreens, as they transpire moisture all winter.

Wrap the trunks of smooth barked trees to prevent frost cracking. Construct wind breaks or sun screens around plants predisposed to winter damage. Rhododendrons and other broad-leaf evergreens are particularly susceptible. Drive four wood stakes around the plant, wrap with burlap and staple at each corner. For large shrubs a two-sided, V-shaped windbreak may work. Point the V in the direction of winter winds.

Evergreens such as arborvitae may be split by wet snow or ice. A good preventative is wrapping the plant with burlap. Garden netting, used to protect crops from birds, also works well.

In the flower and vegetable gardens, cut off old flower stalks, and discard any diseased plants. Diseased vegetation should always be removed so eggs won't hatch early and infect your plants next year.

After clean up, let your garden air dry for at least a week. Mark the location of any young plants that have self-seeded over the summer. You can then transplant them when spring arrives. It is a good idea at this time to draw a rough sketch showing where all your plants are growing. This is invaluable when you are going through all those seed and plant catalogs in the dead of winter.

After the airing, spread an inch of compost over the garden followed by a loose mulch. I've used leaves in the past, but a better mulch is straw or hay. Leaves tend to mat down and smother the plants when the spring thaw comes.

Mulch is not meant to keep the soil warm, but to keep the temperatures around your plants even. This keeps the plants from heaving during an early thaw followed by freezing. It also keeps the plants from starting growth too early in the spring. Lay mulch around shallow-rooted plants after the ground freezes. Avoid piling it against trunks or crowns which can cause rot. If mice are a problem where you live, a thick mulch may not be a good idea. Mice are very fond of straw and hay winter homes.

It may seem like a lot of chores, but I love this time of year and I even like fall cleanup. It gives me a great excuse to be outside enjoying the last weeks of nice weather before our long, gray winter sets in.