Up here in Columbus, I do nothing. That being said, my backyard is somewhat sheltered. My sage is turning into a huge bush AGAIN! This is a baby I transplanted from the mother plant that I removed. Perhaps this is just good genes.

I would heap some compost and/or chopped oak leaves around the crowns of the plants. This is what I do with my hybrid tea roses and I dont have much dieback. Good luck!

Jen

There is a reason they are called strawberries: you grow them with straw! In order to protect them over the winter you can just cover them with a layer of straw maybe two to six inches thick depending on how bad the winter is where you live. This is a good idea in zones 6-7 (although clearly it isnt necessary as bakemom points out) and pretty much necessary in zones 5 and north (as I learned trying to grow them in Iowa). Straw works really well because its easy to handle and then becomes compost and mulch the next year; just make sure the strawberries are able to poke their heads back above the straw in the spring around March!

Sage can get the same treatment although usually it survives okay. Most perennials benefit from some kind of protective dressing around the base in the winter, be it compost and oak leaves like tjsangel/Jen says, or straw (like with strawberries) or really any kind of mulch.

Actually mulch is always your friend and a bale of straw only costs like $5 and goes a LONG way.