Everything seems to slow down a bit in the autumn garden.
Plants and flowers don’t grow or bloom quite as much, you
usually don’t have to water every day, your lawn may not require
weekly mowing, and there’s more time to simply stop and listen to
your garden.
Everything seems to slow down a bit in the autumn garden.
Plants and flowers don’t grow or bloom quite as much, you usually don’t have to water every day, your lawn may not require weekly mowing, and there’s more time to simply stop and listen to your garden.
Yes, while summer is great to stop and smell the roses, autumn is the time to assess your garden.
Start by simply taking a walk around your garden to see how they all did over the summer. There probably are quite a few plants that have grown tremendously, and can use a good pruning or even dividing. Identify which plants that need pruning or dividing, some may even need to be moved because they’ve outgrown their location. Most plants look their best when they’re not crowded in with a whole bunch of others. A little space not only allows plants to look their best, but they’re usually healthier, too. Overcrowded plants can lead to the spread of diseases, such as powdery mildew or rust. Insect infestations can get out of control faster, too, when plants are crowded.
I have a huge climbing rose on my back fence, for instance, that I am constantly pruning seemingly all summer long. It simply has grown out of control. I’ve pruned it so much this summer that it has barely bloomed. I figure I’ve spent hours and hours just trying to keep it under control. Know what I’m going to do in the next few weeks? I’m cutting it down to the ground, and then digging it up. No more wasted effort next summer on a rose that I’ve never allowed to bloom anyway.
While you’re strolling the garden, look for bare areas that could use plants, flowers or soil amendments. Also look for remaining weeds, and pull them up. A nice two-inch layer of mulch will do nicely in any fall garden. Mulch can consist of anything from organic compost to redwood soil conditioner to a little steer or mushroom compost. Don’t overdo the latter two, though.
Fall maintenance gardening primarily consists of weeding, deadheading old flowers, dividing overgrown plants, removing spent annuals, amending soil and adding needed mulch. Try not to do too much pruning of things like roses yet. Pruning roses this time of year could stimulate new growth that you don’t want coming out now. However, you can cut out any dead wood within plants.
And I can’t tell you how many gardens I pass around town that still have old, faded flowers hanging all over. Specimens like agapanthus and roses seem to be the major culprits. Crape myrtle trees that have suckers coming out from their base are another eye-sore. These are supposed to be trees, not bushes, so go ahead and prune those suckers out!
Finally, if you’ve been waiting to reseed or resod that old, worn-out lawn, now is the best time to do it. Our weather is still warm, yet not so hot where you’ll have to be watering three times a day. It’s the perfect time to get this chore accomplished.
