Winterize Your Yard Before the Snow Flies
Have you been putting off fall maintenance on your lawn? No worries! Cooler daytime temps means now’s the perfect time. We’ve been doing this for a while now, so we know a few things about getting ready for the changing seasons. Here are a few steps you can take to prepare your yard for winter.
Have a Plan
Begin your fall clean-up with a game plan. You don’t want to get partway through only to realize there’s no space to transplant your perennials, or to plant your new bulbs. If you’re picking up new shrubs or trees, you’ll want to research what varieties will work best in your yard, and where they should be placed. Take your time to work through these tasks, maybe planning it out over a couple days or weekends. This way you won’t overextend yourself or get tired of the process before it’s done.
Remove Annuals
By now, most annuals are dying off for the season, unable to survive the nighttime temperatures. That makes this a good time to remove all the annuals from your gardens. Removing these flowers is bittersweet, but the beds will look cleaner through the winter, and doing it now will create less work for you in the spring.
Prune Perennials
Pruning back perennials, too, will help your garden beds look neat through the winter. Wait for this step until they start to die back naturally, so they don’t get stressed trying to grow new shoots.
Plant Bulbs, Trees, and Shrubs
Mid-September through early November is the perfect time to plant spring bulbs and any trees or shrubs you’d like to add to your landscape. It is also a good time to split and replant perennials as needed, giving the roots a chance to get established before the ground freezes. Add a thick layer of mulch
over the new plantings, which will help insulate them over the winter.
Rake Leaves
Cleaning up all the leaves that fall can be a lot of work (or a lot of fun, if you have kids and/or enjoy jumping into leaf piles), but it’s good for your lawn in the long run. Running a stiff-tined rake through the yard can help de-thatch the lawn. And if the leaves were left to sit on the lawn, they could suffocate the grass, leading to bare spots in the spring. An alternative to raking is to mulch all the leaves with your lawn mower, then bag them.
Clean Water Features
As we discussed in our recent post about winterizing water features
, you want to be sure fountains and ponds are drained of all water and cleaned before the first freeze. Water expands when it freezes, which could cause damage, especially if water gets into hairline cracks. Take this time to remove and clean pumps, as well, storing them inside for the season. If the water feature must stay outside through the winter, cover it with a weatherproof cover or tarp.
Fertilize Your Lawn
Just when you thought the year’s lawn maintenance was over! Even through the fall, we recommend keeping your lawn trimmed, and to apply one last fertilizer treatment
in November. This treatment will help cool-season grasses, including ryegrass and bluegrass, absorb nutrients before winter. Though the grass will go dormant through the winter, fertilizing now will give your grass it’s best chance in spring.
Check Landscape Lighting
Be sure your walkways and driveway are properly lit, especially now that the sun sets early. Replace any burned-out bulbs or broken fixtures. Besides adding a sense of coziness to your home in winter, landscape lighting
can help increase safety. With adequate lighting, you and your guests can avoid patches of ice and any other slip or trip hazards.
Looking for even more tips on getting your yard ready for winter? Check out Best Steps To Do a Fall Clean-Up
and Fall Yard Maintenance: The Full Checklist
. If you’d like to hire professionals to get your lawn in order before winter, give us a call at 763-568-7251 or use our quote system
to get in touch.
Plymouth’s clay soil causes soggy lawns, sinking patios, and constant sump pump issues. Learn how smart drainage design fixes it for good.
Minnetonka snow removal done right means safety, efficiency, and property protection—not just plowing. Learn how true winter care works.
Plymouth drainage problems? Fix soggy clay soil and prevent foundation and patio damage with smart drain tile, grading, and discharge solutions.
Edina lawn fertilization: seasonal strategies for lasting color and health. Expert insights on timing, topdressing, and soil care.
Design a Minnetonka outdoor kitchen built for all seasons — cedar, stone, and smart drainage make year-round living effortless.
Medina lawn experts explain how healthy soil—not chemicals—creates lasting weed control through aeration, overseeding, and topdressing.
Medina drainage experts explain how French drains and drain tile systems fix clay soil water issues and prevent muddy lawns and shifting patios.
Edina patio and pool drainage: protect your investment with smart design and precision installation that keeps surfaces beautiful, safe, and stable year-round.
When Pergolas Don’t Last, There’s Always a Reason After nearly two decades of building outdoor spaces across Medina, I’ve seen what happens when pergolas aren’t designed for Minnesota’s conditions. You can spot them a mile away—posts that lean, beams that twist, and concrete pads that have heaved out of level after just a couple of winters. It’s not because homeowners cut corners intentionally. It’s usually because whoever built it didn’t account for what our climate really does to structures that aren’t anchored right. Medina’s heavy clay soil doesn’t drain well. It holds moisture, freezes solid, and then expands like a hydraulic press pushing on everything above it. When pergolas are set on surface-level post bases, that pressure has nowhere to go but up—and the whole thing moves. Even small shifts can cause joints to separate, wood to crack, and hardware to loosen. That’s how a $15,000 structure starts looking tired after a few years instead of standing straight for decades. The truth is, pergolas here aren’t just about shade or looks. They’re about structure, drainage, and how every piece ties into the patio beneath it. A pergola that stands tall through Minnesota winters is built on the same principles as a good foundation—it’s only as strong as what’s underneath it. If you live in Medina and want to enjoy your backyard without worrying about your investment warping or sagging, start with design that respects the environment it’s built in. That means thinking beyond lumber and stain colors. It means understanding soil movement, water management, and the importance of integrating your pergola with the patio below it.
Solutions for Properties in Minnetonka You can always tell a Minnetonka yard that’s fighting its slope. Water doesn’t lie, it finds the weak spots every time. I’ve walked plenty of properties where a backyard starts beautiful in June, but by September, the patio is heaving, the grass near the pool looks like a marsh, and the homeowner is wondering how it got so bad so fast. The truth is, when you’re dealing with rolling terrain and heavy clay soils like we have around Minnetonka, you can’t just move dirt and hope gravity behaves. You need a plan that manages water from the surface all the way down through the subsoil. This is what I’ll walk you through here. You’ll see what actually causes drainage issues on sloped properties, how poor planning leads to cracked patios and shifting pool decks, and the smart drainage systems that can stop those problems for good. Whether you live near Lake Minnetonka or up in the higher ridges closer to Deephaven or Woodland, understanding how your yard sheds water is the difference between a property that lasts and one that’s constantly under repair. The Real Challenge of Sloped Minnetonka Yards Minnetonka is known for its hills, lakefront properties, and mature trees, but all that beauty comes with a set of challenges below the surface. Most of the soil here is dense clay. It holds water like a sponge and drains slowly, which means after every heavy rain, that water looks for a way downhill. If it doesn’t have a proper outlet, it ends up collecting right where you don’t want it, like along your patio, at the base of a retaining wall, or near your pool deck. I see this every season: homeowners trying to solve slope problems with a quick regrade, a layer of rock, or a simple surface drain. Those things might help for a while, but they don’t address what’s really happening underground. Clay soil doesn’t just get wet—it becomes saturated, expanding and contracting with every freeze-thaw cycle. When that happens under a patio or wall, it doesn’t matter how well-built the surface looks. The ground will move, and that movement cracks stone, shifts pavers, and slowly tears apart everything on top. The other challenge with sloped lots is how water interacts with gravity. It accelerates downhill, gaining momentum as it goes. When it hits a flat area like a patio, the water loses speed but not volume, pooling instead of flowing. That’s why I tell clients that “flat spots” on a sloped property are both an opportunity and a responsibility. They’re the best spaces to create usable outdoor areas, but they have to be engineered to handle water movement. I’ve worked on plenty of Minnetonka yards where the backyard has a beautiful view but terrible grading. You can have a perfect slope on paper, but if it directs water toward your house or creates a bowl effect between structures, you’ll end up with soggy soil and standing puddles that never dry. The goal is to move water off and away while keeping the surface level enough for comfort and usability. It’s a fine balance, but when it’s done right, it completely transforms how a property functions.