5 Important Things to do in Your Garden Now
It seems unfathomable but winter isn’t that far away. With fall just on the horizon, this is a great time to prepare your garden for the upcoming winter.
Fall is a feast for the eyes with red, gold and bronze hues. While enjoying the trees in their tawny brilliance, consider these simple tips to help your garden be at its best next spring.
Tend to your grass
Although a carpet of leaves is part of autumn’s glory, don’t let them sit too long. Rake them frequently as grass needs oxygen and sunlight for proper growth. This is also the time to seed your grass for a thick lush lawn in the spring and to keep pesky weeds out.
Put leaves to work
Small leaves from birch, beech and silver maple trees (or shredded larger leaves) spread under shrubs and over the soil will degrade into mineral nutrients and worms will turn them into fertilizer.
Prune those plants
Pruning in the fall is important. With leaves cleared you have a better view of your plants. Cut off dead and diseased branches. Remove diseased leaves from under roses and dispose of in the garbage (not your compost heap) or they’ll re-infect plants the following spring. If you decide to re-arrange plants or shrubs, move them while the earth is still warm so that the roots can take hold. Protect delicate shrubs with burlap.
Plant Bulbs now
If you want to see crocus, tulips and daffodils peeping through the soil in spring, now is the time to start planting. Buy the very best quality bulbs and you will be rewarded with showy blooms in the spring. Check with a local garden specialist for native bulb options and ideal planting conditions.
Container Gardening
Fill your balcony or patio containers with fall flowers. Picture a pot filled with Vanilla Butterfly (marguerite daisy), with a background of Orange Sedge – this olive green grass turns orange in cool weather, finally fading to bronze. Want an instant conversation piece? Plant ornamental Kale (winter cabbage) in your container: its quirky look is an attention-getter.
Every season has its beauty, but a Canadian fall is spectacular – enjoy!