Away for the Winter? Keeping a Second Home's Yard Looked After

The house has its own list before you go. The thermostat, the mail, who's got a key. You'll work through it in the last few days, the way you do every year.

The outside is harder to close up. The leaves are still coming down. The beds you finally got looking right this summer are sitting out there for the deer. And there's that one limb over the roof you keep meaning to ask somebody about.

Next spring, you don't want to pull in and find the gutters packed. Or a bed eaten down to stems. Or a limb on the roof that fell in January and has sat there since. Second home property care is mostly about that: somebody keeping up the outside while you're not there to see it.

A Yard Keeps Going After You Leave

Winters around here are mild, but the outside doesn't stop for them.

The leaves keep falling after you've gone. They end up over the lawn, in the beds, and in the gutters. Our article on gutter problems and the trees behind them goes into why.
The deer get hungrier. Paul Pugliese, a UGA Extension agent, says deer feeding and browsing is the most common wildlife problem in landscapes, "especially in the winter and early spring." A bed nobody is watching is an easy meal.
A cold snap is hardest on tender growth. UGA Extension notes that cold can damage new growth and young branch tips while older wood comes through fine.
Weather still happens. Wind or ice can bring a limb down in the middle of winter. When you're home, you see it the next morning. When you're not, it can sit there for months.

None of that is a reason to stay home. It's just the stuff worth handing to someone before you go.

What We Can Keep Up While You're Away

If it's outside the house, it's probably something we can take care of. For a place that sits empty over the winter, the list usually comes from this:

Leaves cleared when they come down
Gutters cleared
Beds cut back for the winter, and mulch redone when it needs it
Netting and covers on the plants the deer or the frost would get to, with covers going on before a cold snap
The trees given a good look with the leaves off, and any trimming or removal done while they're dormant
Holiday lights and decorations, up and back down
Storm work, if wind or ice brings something down

Not every place needs all of it. Some owners want most of the list. Some want the leaves and the gutters and nothing else. And sometimes a place needs less than you'd expect. Working out which parts matter at yours is what the walk-around is for.

One Property's Yearly Routine, as an Example

One of the places we look after belongs to people who spend about half the year here. When they bought it, we came in and did a lot of landscaping work up front. We've kept it up since.

Each year, the work looks something like this:

Flowers replanted
Beds weeded
Mulch redone
Trees trimmed
And in the winter, the plants covered in netting

That last one is about two problems at once. Deer like to come eat what's planted there, and the newer plants needed protecting from the frost. Net bags over them handle both through the winter.

None of it is complicated. It just has to get done when it's due, whether the owners are in town or not. And they're not the only ones. Other owners have had us look after their places the same way.

How a Property Care Schedule Gets Worked Out

Second home property care has no package and no set number of visits, because no two properties need the same things. Some places want somebody out through the year. Some want a visit at the points in the year that matter. Some want us when they call.

Every property gets quoted for itself. You get a price for the work you want done, and an explanation of what it covers, before anything starts. Payment terms vary from client to client, but the quote tells you yours in advance, so you always know what to pay.

You don't have to be home for the walk-around, either. Some people want to talk it through in person before they leave. Some would rather we look at the place and tell them what we found.

What to Settle Before You Head Out

A few things are worth thinking about now, while you're still here to point at them:

Which plants went in this year. Those are the ones most likely to need covering before a cold snap.
Whether you'll be back for the holidays. If you will, the lights can be up when you get here and back down after you leave.
The tree you've been wondering about. With the leaves off, winter is a good time to see a tree's whole structure. Dormant tree trimming can happen while you're gone. Our winter checklist for tree owners goes further into what to look for.
Any limb near the wire to the house. The line from the pole to your house is usually the property owner's responsibility, not the utility's. If a tree is getting close to it, we'll tell you what we see and what to ask your power company about. Our article on trees and power lines explains who handles what.

If Something Comes Down While You're Gone

Say a neighbor texts you a picture of a limb across the drive in February. You're nowhere near it. Now what?

Call or text us. Once the weather has passed, we can take a limb off the roof and clear the drive. If it opened up the roof, we can get a tarp over the damage while you line up the repair. We can also put together the quotes and paperwork your insurance company asks for.

What an adjuster wants varies from one adjuster to the next. When yours tells you what they need from us, we'll put it together.

Before You Close Up the House for the Winter

Tell us what you'd like kept up, or have us walk the place and tell you what we'd suggest. If you're leaving in a few weeks, that's still enough time to get it walked first.

Estimates are free. Call or text (423) 443-4533, or request a quote online.

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