PROCTOR'S TIPS: Garden checklist for November

KUSA - By now, most people have pretty much turned their backs on their gardens. Don't make that mistake. Projects you complete now will help beautify your garden and lawn next spring and summer.

Start by aerating your lawn and applying a winterizer fertilizer. The aeration will help get air and water to your turf's roots, while the fertilizer will help provide an early green-up. Try to time the aerating and fertilizing to coincide with the next rain or snow event.

Plant bulbs. Nothing gladdens a gardener's heart more than bright spring flowers after a colorless winter. Take advantage of bright, sunny November days to plant many types of bulbs.

If deer and rodents bother your plants frequently, plant bulbs that critters generally avoid, such as daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, squills and ornamental onions.

If deer and rodents aren't usually a problem in your garden, add tulips to your planting plans. Don't just grab any tulip bulbs. Buy those that have a higher success rate in our climate. Look closely at the labels and choose those that are called "Darwin hybrids." Red "Apeldoorn" and "Golden Apeldoorn" are the two best-selling tulips in the world. These tall, May-blooming tulips thrive in Colorado. There are other excellent Darwin hybrids in shades of yellow, orange, salmon-pink, pink, fuchsia and white.

Other excellent tulips are the earlier and shorter types such as the Gregii, Fosteriana and Kaufmaniana hybrids. My favorite is the rouge red and cream tulip "Zombie." It's one of the longest-lived of all the tulips.

You also have time to take advantage of end-of-season clearance sales on perennials, trees and shrubs. Planting them while they're semi-dormant helps to relieve the stress of transplanting. Just be careful to keep them watered if the winter is dry.

If you haven't already done so, empty and store your patio pots. Clay pots often crack and break during the winter. The porous clay holds moisture that freezes and thaws, often cracking the clay. I've already lost one pot this fall, so I'll be busy the next few days. It's best to store empty pots in a garage or shed, or cover them with a tarp. Glazed ceramic pots rarely crack from the freeze and thaw cycle. Use them for outdoor winter displays of evergreen branches and dried materials.