How to Make Your Backyard a Vacation Oasis

Your backyard retreat may look lovely in summer, but what about those long Midwest winters? No problem, says Scott--it's easy to winterize.

Hardy plants such as hosta, Huechera and Vinca minor (supplemented each spring with fresh annual container plantings) will survive to flourish another season. In Scott's yard, even the fish (left) hang around, thanks to a floating heater that prevents the main pond from turning to a block of ice.

Scott wouldn't think of trading his backyard getaway for his neighbors' treks to the North Woods, come winter's snow or summer's legendary bugs. "I don't have a boat or the things most Minnesotans do," Scott says. "But I just walk out into my backyard, and I've got my 'Up North' right here."