By July half the garden is brown. It took us two winters to stop panicking about it.
Leave
- Grasses and seed heads. They protect the crowns from frost and feed the birds.
- Fallen leaves on the beds. Free mulch.
Cut back
- Anything diseased or broken.
- Perennials that look untidy, but only after the last frost in late August.
Water
Hardly at all. Established plants are resting. A deep drink once a month in a very dry winter is plenty.