So it's not bare soil all winter, plant a cover crop within the next 2 weeks then, come spring turn it under. You'll be good to go 3 or 4 weeks after that.

While you wait for spring, you can draw up your plan so that you'll know what goes where and how it will fit.

Ok, I'll look into cover crops. Thanks Jean! Also, I've been slowly buying some plants here and there... some I have in gallon pots in my back yard. All are perennials. Should I plant these for the winter and then move them in the spring, or keep them in pots over the winter?

Thanks for any advice!

You could sink the pots in the ground; if not, you'll have to protect them because roots are more sensitive to cold than are tops.

Hope this answers your questions.

young plants in pots:
They'll have a better chance of surviving the winter if you at least sink the whole pots into the ground or better plant out in a corner of good draining soil you create making a nursery bed with good labels & draw up a map of what you're planting. On a nice day in March it will be easy to move them to your new planting bed.

composting the grass & roots:
Might need more nitrogen, turning, or moisture. This time of year a well built pile heats up nicely if also kept covered.

layers over cardboard:
great way to go & even better to cover with burlap bags from coffee roasters. On the soil forum they have info about Interbay mulch which uses the burlap bags. We've done several gardens that way & if you prep the soil well the plants will really take off.

Another idea is layer manure + bedding mix on top of cardboard under the wood chips. Might get some free off Craiglist. True that the arborist chips will take a few years to break down, but you can rake them aside before planting into the rich soil below if you add enough organic materials underneath.

Expect slugs if using coarse wood chips as you'll have hiding places for them. The iron phosphate baits work as does ammonia water sprays.

For our perennials & shrubs we've used lots of the granular free load it up yourself anytime Sumner Grow, class A biosolids in Sumner as top dressing under other mulch as well as mixed into top 6" of soil in new planting bed.

Wear a mask, gloves, & bring lots of heavy duty bags or buckets with lids if you're putting in a vehicle or cover with a tarp if using a truck. Call ahead & they will load it directly into the pick up bed. It's worth it if you can do that as it's dense & heavy even though dry. Lots of info if do a web search on it.

Check out the Pacific Northwest Garden Exchange forum for info on free plant swaps coming up in the Seattle area.

Here is a link that might be useful: spring planted garden pics

i would lean to a cover crop mix, or just covering the whole thing in arborist chips.

Hey you guys, I just wanted to say thanks for the replies. Gives me a lot of info to look into and things to check up on! I really appreciate it!