Jenny - Prepping for Spring

I'm glad the temperatures are warming up around here (hope it lasts) because I need to get a jump on preparing the garden beds for spring. It's wisest to do this in late fall or winter, but I put it off. Now I've actually got a few plants popping shoots, so I've got to hustle. There are quite a few things to be done, but foremost is the trimming back. The decorative grass that I left up for fall & winter beauty needs to be trimmed to within maybe 5 inches or so from the ground. My rose bushes got spindly at the bottom last year (didn't cover them during a bad frost), and I've decided to embark on a rescue mission before giving up and replacing them. So I'll be trimming those back pretty heavily to see if they bounce back for me. I would never trim back the canes so heavily if they hadn't already become unreliable. The veg garden still has some dead to clear out and throw in the compost pile. Lots to do. But I hate working in the cold, so I'll pray that it stays warm! :)