Fall Garden Tips

Fall-Time for Winter and Spring Preparation

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. There is still so much color in the gardens, form vibrant yellow of sunflowers to the deep rusts of the mums. The weather is cooler but still warm enough with plenty of sunny days left to relax and wind down from the hustle of summer.
This fall garden guide will guide you to through the garden tasks of cleaning up the garden beds, preparing them for the long cold winters, getting your tools ready for winter storage, as well as offer ideas on creating beautiful fall planters.

Where to begin? Well, there is quite a lot to do this time of year. Fall is about preparing for winter and pre-planning for spring. Some of the jobs I enjoy, and others, not so much. It all needs to get done so that the springtime flowers and bulbs bloom without a hitch. Let’s get started.

More Fall Garden Tips

Early Fall

Get your garden journal, take a stroll around the yard and take notes! Write down what worked over the summer – which plants became invasive, note the color and plant combinations that you want to repeat next year. Anything and everything should be written down- you won’t remember next spring what happened in the summer months the year before.

If you want to collect annual flower seeds- do it on a calm dry day. Collect the seeds in plastic bag, and mark what kind of seeds they are right away. You can use these seeds to start growing flowers from seed indoors next spring.

Check your perennials. Do they need to be divided? Now is the time to divide overgrown plants, and move them to other parts of the garden. Dividing them will actually help to make them stronger and healthier the next season. Deadhead your perennials by pinching off all of the faded blooms.

Dig up bulbs like dahlias, and canna flowers for over wintering. Gradually introduce your potted coleus, and geraniums back into the house for an indoor winter garden. Take cuttings from the plants to grow indoors.

Plant your springtime bulbs now. Plant lots of them . Use groupings of 25-30 bulbs for a greater impact. Follow the nursery directions on the planting depths of each kind of bulb.

Continue to compost. Keep the diseased plants out of the compost pile, but all other garden debris can be added. Shredding your fall leaves and twigs will break down faster in the compost pile than leaving them whole. You can do this with the lawn mower or a mulching shredder.

Change out the summer container gardens using mums, and other cool weather plants. Use golden yellow, burgundy, and deep purple for warm fall color. Tuck in pumpkins and gourds.

Host a Western Backyard party .

Early fall is a great time to get some landscaping projects done. The weather is cool and the plants have time to settle into their new surroundings before winter. Hosta, shrubs, and many evergreens will do well if they‘re are planted now. Fertilize and give them plenty of water before the frost.

Late Fall

Clean and pack up all of the garden and patio furniture for the winter. Either store the furniture in the garage or garden shed, or wrap in plastic tarps to place in a sheltered spot outside.

Rake the leaves off the grass in the yards. Layer them into the garden beds for winter protection. If the leaves are left on the grass over the winter, your grass could die off from mold or winter kill. Use the green garden bags that are recyclable for a healthier environment.

Pull all of the annuals out of your garden . I know it’s hard to do too far ahead of the frost- but keeping old annual flowers in the garden over the winter can bring on mold and fungus in the spring. You don’t want that!

Weed , Weed and Weed. Doing this now will get your springtime gardens off to a better start the next season.

Add mulch to the areas that need to be spruced up . A good refresh in the fall will help keep the weeds down and make spring clean up a breeze.

Complete tree and shrub trimming. There are lots more chores to be done at this time of year, but these Fall Garden Tips will definitely get you started!

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SBI!