Any tools not likely to be used during the winter should be cleaned, and any parts likely to rust should be oiled.
This is a good time to start pruning dead and dangerous limbs from trees. These should be burned in case they harbor insects and disease. Apply tree paint to the wounds made in sawing off limbs.
Most plants and shrubs winter-kill because of alternate freezing and thawing, so it is a good idea to bank them up with snow.
Look over the stored vegetables frequently and remove decaying specimens.
To protect tender perennials from harsh winter weather, build a wooden box with no top or bottom. Place it over the plants after the ground has frozen and fill with leaves.
Cover your compost pile to prevent rains and snows from leaching out nutrients.
If iris foliage is hit with heavy frost, remove and destroy it to eliminate borer eggs.
Check the "bones" of your garden or landscape for visual appeal. Hedges, stone walls, and pathways all contribute to the underlying structure. Make a note of what you will change in the spring.
If you're in an area with snow, go out and gently shake the snow from evergreens after heavy snowfalls; frozen wood is brittle. Remove any broken limbs with a sharp saw.
Make holiday wreaths from grapevines, greens, and dry seedpods.
As houseplants are growing more slowly in December light, cut down on watering by half until active growth resumes. Hold off on fertilizing as well.
Group houseplants near each other to form a support group to cope with the low humidity of most winter homes.
