I haven’t had a lot of time to write over the last couple of weeks. Fall is a time when I see many clients who need help figuring out what they can and what they should do to prepare the garden for the dormant winter seasons. Every garden and every gardener is different, but there are some themes I see repeated in many gardens this time of year.
- Clean up time: Fall is a great time to clean up your garden beds.
- Pull out weeds you may have missed. Maybe they were hiding under a tree that has now lost its leaves or creeping under a neighbor’s fence, hidden by your beautiful perennials. Get them out now!
- Cut back spent perennials: I find myself cleaning up spent perennials all fall as well as some in the Spring. I like to let the late bloomers bloom as longs as they can. Flowering plants like Monkshood are still going until November. Many Mums are going strong into December. Peony foliage is a favored filler in Thanksgiving bouquets. But, as each of these plants begins to wane, I cut them back and compost them.
- Rake: Whether you prefer a rake or a blower, fall is a great time to clear out heavy layers of leaves. IÂ like to get my bamboo leaves cleaned up to keep them from harboring spider mites and other pests over the winter. Some leaves, I like to keep in my beds, working them into the soil slightly to add organic material back to the garden. Just make sure you use healthy material. Too, some leaves can be kept in place through the winter to help protect roots, retain moisture and add nutrients to the soil. Just remember to clean them up by Spring as pests like slugs and snails love to the moist warm home that decomposing leaves provide.
- Prune: I don’t do a lot of pruning in the early Fall. I do remove dead, broken, crossing or rubbing branches. I may remove some shoots on shrubs that are completely unwanted or in the way of other plants; these I remove to the point of origin. I may do some training as well. I don’t like to shear or heavily cut any plant. I don’t want to encourage new growth as we head into the dormant season. And, I definitely don’t want to cut off flower buds that have formed by fall on many plants. And, I like to enjoy ornamental grass seed heads in the frosts of winter. Plus, I prefer to allow berries to ripen on shrubs and trees to add color to bleak winter days and food to the wildlife dinner plate. However, removing dead growth now will enhance winter views and reduce the pruning that I will do later in the winter or early spring.
- Mulching beds: Fall is an excellent time to top dress your beds with a thick layer of composted, high quality mulch. I try to keep a yard or so on hand (or bags if you don’t have room or means to store larger quantities of material). I select one section of the garden to work on — a small section I know I can handle in the time I’ve allotted. I clear that section and mulch it in the same day. That way, I probably don’t need to deal with it again until Spring!
- Add winter color: I do like annuals. Most of my garden is filled with trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns and perennials. But, I have a few spots for annuals. In winter, having some bright flowering cabbage, primrose or light-faced pansy can really add interest to a garden. (Of course, there’s nothing like designing a space that has something permanent blooming year-round!)
- Reveal: I design gardens that have year-round interest. Part of any winter-interest garden is the garden art that appears as the beds become less full. By cleaning up in Fall, hidden treasures such as lichen-covered rocks, precious urns, nurselogs, bird baths, and dishstones all become more visible. Birds and other wildlife visitors to your garden also become more visible as foliage falls away. Cleaning up the remnants of summer now will give you more beauty to enjoy through the winter months.
