Winter is a great time to start planning for your garden. One thing that a homeowner should think about is combining your plants in your garden with pest management. One thing you can do is to select plants that also have a natural pest control. Some of these include hardy shrub roses and other disease-resistant types of monarda and garden phlox, and many other plants. You should also be aware of any plants or shrubs that have pest problems. You should remove these immediately.

Before you try a chemical pesticide, homeowners should try an insecticidal soap or any other non-toxic products. Some insects can be hand-picked off the plants or sprayed off with a strong stream of water from your hose. You also want to make sure that you keep your plants spaced apart and remove and diseased plant material or fallen fruit that could possibly contain insects and fungi.