We are about to enter our second Fall and real Fall over here in Virginia as November makes its debut. As the days are getting shorter, they are signaling that it is time to tidy up our gardens and tuck them in for the winter. Some of you might be wondering what that entails. Here’s a short list to get you started:

MOVE THINGS AROUND: Now is the time to move those plants begging for more or less sun to their new locations and tuck them in for the winter. Take out any plants/shrubbery that did not make it through the summer.

GREAT TIME TO PLANT PERENNIALS OR BULBS: Lots of places are liquidating their perennials and that means you can plant more for less. It gets the plants acclimated and ready to show off more in the Spring. Now is the time to plant spring blooming bulbs.

CLIP BACK PERENNIALS: Most perennials can be pruned back to the ground or back significantly. Lavender is an exception- it likes a gentle trim-nothing too drastic. Peonies, penstemons, baptisia, solomon seal, hostas, columbine, cone flower can prune to the ground and irises benefit from a good clean up. I have to hack my Siberian iris way back and clean up the dead shoots to make way for next year’s display.

FERTILIZE: I like to use the shake and feed by Miracle Grow before I mulch

SPRAY SHRUBS: Shrubs can be fantastic anchors in your garden and offer evergreen touch points as the rest of your garden sleeps through winter. Alberta spruces, boxwoods, gardenias, and arborvitae are just a few that will benefit from being sprayed with an insecticide. Often times you loose these shrubs to infestations that go unseen. I use Sevin spray but there are many options out there.

MULCH: I mulch later than most because I am shutting down my garden bit by bit. I like to add a fresh layer around my plants.

If it feels overwhelming- just go area by area. Once you get one area of you garden looking all cleaned up you’ll find the motivation to keep going! Enjoy these lovely October days! SM