It's Time to get Your Yard and Flower Garden in Order for Next Spring

Fall is a great time to do some fun gardening. Plant spring flowering bulbs now. I like to put bone meal in with my new bulbs. Read the directions to be sure to plant your bulb deep enough. Buy a bulb planter to make your job easier. It is also a great time to dig up your tender bulb like tulips and bring them inside,especially if you live in the south they will not get cold long enough to bloom again. Dig up and separate your other bulbs and replant or share with others. I have been surprised how much my bulbs have multiplied. Sometimes I have even seen them work themselves to the top of the ground! It is amazing what they do in just a matter of a few years. I have put them in little baskets and given them as gifts for my children that live in areas where it is not too cold to plant in winter. You will be rewarded with beautiful flowers like daffodils in the spring if you take good care of them.

Now is the time to plant some trees if you have been waiting. Dig your hole about 2 inches deeper then the root ball and twice the width of the plant. I then add peat moss and cow manure to my soil I dug up. First water your plant well before you lift it out of it's container and water the hole adding a Root Grow solution. Put back a little soil, put your tree in and fill with the dirt you have mixed. Put mulch like pine needles around the base of the plant. Water thoroughly . You don't want your tree roots to dry out now. Water each week 2 to 3 times depending on how much rain you get. Put the hose about 4 to 6 inches from your tree and put it on a slow flow. Allow it to stay there 10 to 20 minutes depending on how dry your plant is.Fertilize in the Spring with appropriate tree spikes. Prune your tree yearly as needed and you will be surprised at the growth you have.

This is a great time to add new flower beds to your lawn. if you want to change any landscaping make changes now. Be sure to match your plants to their growing needs, light conditions especially. Talk to your local nursery before you transplant any trees to make sure they are hardy enough for the change.

You also might consider adding some edging to your flower beds so that your grass does not become your weed in your garden next Spring

Prepare your grass for fall now. Aerate your lawn if necessary and get up any dead grass that is choking your new grass. Put down new grass seed. You might want to over seed with rye grass and have a green lawn all winter. It is the last time to fertilize for the season. You might want to kill your weeds first.

Water your new grass 2 or 3 times a day with a very light sprinkler so the seeds don't wash away but have enough water to germinate.

Lower your lawn mower height now to about 2" and stop cutting when you see no new growth for at least two weeks. Be sure and rake any fallen leaves as they will choke and keep your grass from getting water, air and sunlight to grow.

Now is the time to plant some cool weather plants in your pots and flower garden. Consider mums, aster, kale, pansies and viola's. You can have just as pretty a garden in the winter as in the summer. All your pansies will perk up in the Spring too.

Well that is about it. You are ready to get your yard ready for winter.

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