Fall & Autumn Landscaping Tips

Well it’s that time of year again.  The kids are back in school and you are taking stock on what you did for the summer and wonder where the time went.  Every year seems to go faster and faster.  Did I get to do the things I wanted to do this summer?

I know that I did spend a lot of time in my yard enjoying working in the garden and flower beds.  I always checked on my plants, re-arranged figurines, moving my planted pots around or pulling weeds and pruning off the bad parts of the plants.  I would love to sit o on my porch in the early morning with a cup of coffee looking across the road at the river that never seemed to move very fast.  And on a good morning I would get to see a blue heron.  But the reason I loved sitting on my porch the most was that I got to look at all the plants I so vivaciously tended to all summer long.  Getting up and checking to see if I got new sprouts or new buds, especially on the plants that needed just that little bit of extra care.  I love to just look at them all and say I made this beautiful and just soak it all in.

Well we all know good things have to come to an end, but there are many ideas out and about to make that enjoyment last just a little bit longer.

There are many plants available that can stand up to a little cold or even a little frost.  The kinds of plants would be your more fibrous and woody plants.  With all the variety of all the tall grasses that have become available with in the last few years, would make a great addition to your fall gardening experience.  There is such a collection of colors, heights, and plumage, for me it is hard to choose.  The best thing about the grasses is that they are maintenance free.

If you would still like to enjoy some of you most favorite summer flowers, you could transplant them in containers and bring them in every night.  Or if you are not that ambitious you can cover you plants up at night to avoid the frost.  Either way you are prolonging you enjoyment.

Also in late summer there are a variety of mums that can be planted.  These are one of the most hardy when dealing with the cold weather of October.  Kale is another great plant that can add a lot of color to your landscape.

Another great idea for fall coloring is the trees that you plant in your yard.  You can go from bright yellows to fiery red.  Some of the best choices are sugar maples, birch, ash ginkgo, redbud,beech, hickory, butternut, honey locust and the tulip tree just to name a few out there.  Do some searching on the net.  It seems like they are coming up with new hybrids every year, and you could possibly be the first on to have the new breed of tree and having the neighbors asking what kind of tree is that?  Where did you get it?

With all the gourds, pumpkins, cornstalks, hay bales and potted plants you could have a lot of fun decorating your yard for fall.  You could make a straw or hay bale stack on both sides of the end of your driveway and set up an arrangement of the fall colors.  Go out and get some cattails, take a nature hike and see what could possibly catch your eye.  If it catches yours, more than likely it will catch the attention of others also.  If  you by chance have old farm tools somewhere this would be a fun time to put them out too.

When we have the opportunity to make a good thing last, even if it’s for just a little bit, we should take advantage of that.  We know that eventually all good things must come to an end.  But the great thing about landscaping is that we get to do it again next year and the next.