Divide perennials
Fall is the best time to divide all those overgrown perennials. Dig up and separate your lilies, grasses and other perennials that are taking over the plants beside them. Feeling overwhelmed at the thought? Call in a gardening friend or two – they help you out and you help them out and share the spoils of the day. Afterwards – relax with a nice glass of wine and reflect on the wonderful things called girlfriends!
Plant bulbs –
this is the perfect time of the year to plant bulbs. Depending on where you live you have you might have up until January to plant. Consider where you need them, do you have to worry about deer? Daffodils are your best bets. Have fun with them. I remember living in the Philly area and driving by houses with crocuses coming up throughout the entire front yard! It was a sight to behold.
Plant some trees or shrubs –
again, fall is the best time to plant. Your new plants have plenty of time to get established before winter and can take a nice nap before spring when they have to get to work growing and flowering.
Start a compost pile –
use some of those leaves to start a compost pile. This is a great way to enrich your soil for little to no cost to you. See my article on composting here.
Leave some leaves –
don’t forget to leave some leaf matter to break down and add organic material to your beds. I actually have my brother haul all his leaves from 30 miles away so that I can have them bake in my beds in black plastic bags over winter. Then come spring, black gold to work into my beds.
Seed lawn –
this is the best time to seed your lawn. Weeds are dormant and grass seed can get a head start over the weeds. Add some fertilizer while you’re at it.
Clean up debris –
although you want to leave some leaf matter in your beds, you don’t want to overdo. Clean up around your roses and vegetable beds especially to prevent any diseases from overwintering. This material can be added to your compost pile as the temperatures will be high enough to kill off any diseases.
Mulch beds –
tuck your plants in safe and sound for the winter. Make sure you have added mulch to your beds to help conserve water, keep the weed seeds down and prevent heaving over the winter months.
Empty water hoses, fountains and irrigation systems –
no one wants to flood their basement over the winter or bust up a beautiful fountain. Much less ruin an expensive irrigation system. Drain everything!
Check out the sales at the local nurseries –
have some fun, see what they are getting rid of. I was lucky one year and was able to buy a Weeping Beech for $25 at a Home Depot because there was no tag and no-one knew what it was! Saved me a couple hundred dollars. And it was beautiful!
