First off, let me say that I don’t like the expression “Putting the garden to bed” because it sounds so final.  The fact is that there are still plants out there that are wide awake and believe it or not, there are some plants that react to winter with renewed energy.  But there are some specific tasks that we can do to prepare for the winter.  Here’s my list...

Back in the late 60’s, when I was finishing up my undergraduate studies, house plants were all the rage.  In the trade we referred to them as foliage plants and had it not been for the draft and the Vietnam War my path might very well have been through the vast foliage growers of Encinitas, California where range after range of greenhouses were packed with ferns, palms, golden pothos, snake plants, philodendrons, Swedish ivy and of course spider plants.  Walking through a greenhouse with all these plants was much like having your own oxygen tanks.  It was invigorating to breathe the air with the elevated levels of not only oxygen but also humidity and generally good vibes from all those little photosynthesis factories.  You just knew it was healthy to be in this kind of environment.

As much as I hate to admit it, it is time to jettison the summer color and start thinking about what will look good in the garden all winter long.  As the perennials melt down, the annuals die and the deciduous trees & shrubs shed their foliage, we are left with one primary group of plants that can give us dependable winter color - needle-leafed evergreens, which botanically speaking, we call conifers.

I have fond memories of planting bulbs as a youngster.  First, Mom and I would go to the garden center and study all the delicious varieties we had to choose from.  Then, after making our decision and purchases we would go home and lay the bulbs out in the beds in drifts.  Finally, I got to dig the holes, drop in a teaspoon of bone meal (to this day the smell of bone meal instantly transports me back to that time) and carefully insert the bulbs, cover them up and smooth out the ground, removing any evidence that we were ever there.  I would imagine that I was burying treasure or hiding Christmas presents to be found and opened at a later time.  The anticipation was wonderful but the best part was watching them emerge from the ground two months later.  Each day after I came home from school I would check out their progress to see how much they had grown and feel the stems for a bulge that was the flower yet to come.  When they did finally bloom it was like Christmas morning all over again.  

It is official.  As of the 23rd of September, the days are now shorter than the nights and will continue to be so for the next six months.  While that might sound depressing to us, the fact is that Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be bothered by it at all.  In fact, there are actually plants that seem to wake up in the winter, bloom and set fruit while the rest of us are hunkered down in our homes.  Go figure!

For anyone who has followed my columns over the years, you will recognize the following mantra:  “If you want year ‘round interest in your garden, you need to go to the garden center once a month and buy something that looks interesting.”  You don’t have to spend a boat load of money, just buy something that catches your eye.   If you do this every month, for 12 months, you will have year ‘round interest.  It is that simple!  I realize, of course, that it will take some finessing and planning to work these monthly purchases into your garden design, but with a little “organizing” it can be done with relatively little stress.  And always remember that plants can be moved and rearranged as the garden evolves.  Other than trees, the garden is a fluid composition that can be adjusted and reassembled throughout the years.  NOTHING IS PERMANENT!

Make no mistake, September is by far the best month of the year to plant a new lawn or restore an old one.  If you are thinking that you would like to put some new life into your lawn, you need to get with the program while the soils are still workable and warm enough to germinate the seed.  Which means that you are going to have to pry hubby off the couch, away from the football game, and get him out into the yard to finish this project.  

The whole concept of “fall” is something so much more than the relative hours of daylight and darkness.  Fall is a feeling, a sense of change, and there are different things that trigger that feeling in us.  

FALL IS FOR PLANTING:  It is true, fall is an excellent time to plant just about anything.  You can plant new shrubs, trees, perennials, vegetables, lawns and containers this time of year and they will get established in the fall and take off like a rocket come spring.  Here is a list of other chores to consider this month...

It’s always a dilemma this time of year.  It’s time to do our fall planting and get ready for fall & winter but the flowerpots and beds are still looking great.  In an effort to get our money’s worth out of our summer plantings, we nurse our Geraniums and Petunias along well into October.  But by waiting so long to replant, we miss the opportunity to compose new plantings that will look interesting all fall & winter long and into the spring.