Plant bulbs, including garlic now to enjoy next spring and summer. In containers consider bulbs such as crocus, daffodils and tulips. As you replace tired annuals, first plant the bulbs and then decide on what to plant above them to enjoy this Fall - pansies, winter heather, or Fall perennials.
It is a good time to sow a new lawn or overseed those thin or bald areas when the ground is warm, but temperatures cool, it should sprout in no time!
Sow green manure crops like fall rye or legume mix in veggie beds. This will add nutrients back to the soil when you cultivate it into the beds next Spring.
Add aluminum sulphate to the base of Hydrangeas for vibrant blue booms next summer, or add lime to encourage pink blooms.
Get out in the garden to weed, deadhead annuals, and tidy perennials – leaving those that will feed birds or look attractive over winter such as berried shrubs or ornamental grasses. Discard any diseased leaves once fallen in later Fall– ie rose leaves with black spot – do not throw these ones in the compost.
Mulch beds once tidied with hay, mulched leaves, mushroom manure, bark mulch or seasoil. This will add nutrients back to the soil, protect some of the more tender plants, and reduce weeds!
Fall is a great time to get out and pick Fall colour for your garden, you can choose trees or shrubs and see their true Fall colour in action! A few favourites include Fothergilla, Burning Bush, Oakleaf Hydrangeas, and of course, Japanese Maples.
