PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - So the garden won’t look empty all winter, I leave a lot of old perennials standing in the late fall – pretty seed pods that wiggle in the wind and flowerheads that grow into fluffy snowballs in a storm. But, as the winter drags on, the weight of the snow and ice also signal the time for tidying too. The Baptisia branches that I found flattened across a path after the snow had melted last week, were a clear sign that last year’s growth has overstayed its welcome and needs to go now.

But the day I was heading out to clean things up, gusty winds kicked in. While the blustery winds kept me indoors, they also helped me out – sweeping stems, leaves, and other debris out of my perennial beds and across the yard into tumbleweeds that gathered in a couple of neat piles against the fence – easy to pick up and put in the compost. Proving once again that patience in the garden pays off as Mother Nature did most of the hard work for me.

Reported By Phran Novelli, KYW Newsradio