Garden Center at Colonia #981

When a crisp day breezes in, take advantage of it to do a second round of planting and outdoor maintenance. Now is a great time to get fall flowers and flower bulbs in the ground. Neaten up your trees and bushes, too, with pole saws, pruners, and chainsaws. Read on for more on fall garden maintenance, fall planting, and how to transition to your fall lawn and garden.

Patch or Fertilize Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by spreading fresh grass seed. Autumn is a great time to fill in dead or brown places in your yard. However, make sure leaves don't fall on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs sun, air, and water to grow, and leaf litter can block out the sunlight and air it needs to germinate.

If you're in a northern climate, prepare your cool-season grass for the fall with lawn fertilizer. Aerate your lawn before fertilizing to get the most bang for your buck. An edger gives extra polish to the perimeter of your yard. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any pesky fall weeds that show up. Warm-season varieties, like those in the southern states, are winding down their growth for the year. It's better not to fertilize it now, as you don't want fresh grass growing right before it goes dormant. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.

Fall Gardening
Fall planting is often overlooked, but autumn is the perfect time to get additional flowers in your garden. Chrysanthemums, often just called "mums," provide a beautiful burst of fall color. Find them in shades of purple, pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. You might also choose some marigolds for red, yellow, and orange blooms that last until the first frost, or longer if you shield them. Remember to explore the wide variety of fall plant and flower options.

Succulents and bushes put on a show of flowers in the fall, especially if they're already established in the ground or kept in flower pots. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. Customize the soil to fit these desert plants, as they need a sandy succulent soil mixture.

For shrubs, look after the ones you've got or plant new ones, weather permitting. Get in new plants now, especially if you're in a warmer climate and have time before the cold and frost sets in. If you use retaining wall blocks to accent or surround your garden, try giving a finished look with rubber mulch. It'll overwinter well and resist fading longer than other mulches.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap here and there, but then it'll warm up above freezing again, cover your plants. Protect your garden from freeze and frost damage to extend their season. You can get extra life out of your garden by covering your plants with buckets, tarps, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a blanket or greenhouse, and they'll survive a frost.

This works well early on, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants in the morning when it warms up again and let them enjoy that fall sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell to the garden for the winter.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, it's time to dig up the plants. Northern climates may be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November, while warmer climates might wait until November or December. After your vegetables and annuals are done for the year, dig them up and dispose of the detritus, or dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the earth, but there are two exceptions: if your plants dealt with disease or if you had a snail problem.

After you've removed the old plants, you have a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a shovel or renting a rototiller. You want to loosen the earth so the topsoil goes down and the deeper soil comes up. It lets the soil rest and helps nutrients penetrate. It's also an excellent opportunity to test the soil and see what, if any, soil amendments you need. Different crops and plants use different nutrients. Test your soil to see if it's balanced or if you should restore certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Potted Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing the plants indoors to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and house plants to bring joy into your home. Just rotate them regularly to give all leaves equal sunlight, and make sure they get enough water. Remember to place decorative dishes beneath them if the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes to catch any extra water.

Warm the Outdoors with a Fire Pit
Stretch out your fall evenings with a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or patio heater to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking to heat a small patio, a cozy back porch, or a spacious deck, we've got options. All you have to do is pick the one that matches your decor style.

When you're curious about how to build an outdoor fire pit or fireplace, we have the supplies you need. We carry brick pavers, mortar, a wheelbarrow, trowels, and more. Let us help you get this fall project from doing to done. If you'd love some extra heat but would rather not install a gas fire pit or fireplace, we also have patio heaters, including gas, propane, and electric models.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, shore up your yard for the season with us. We have the tools and supplies you need for putting the garden to bed, leaf cleanup, and replenishing nutrients in your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of fall garden care and outdoor living products in our mobile app, online, or in the aisles of your local store.