Take a critical look around your yard. Some plants look their best in the fall. Enjoy them until frost.
Others have been working hard all summer and are done. Pull them out. An empty spot is better than one filled with a pathetic, pitiful plant. If your plants have not grown as beautifully as you think they should have, it is probably due to poor soil.
Here is an easy way to improve your soil. When you remove an old but healthy plant, cut it up and dig it back into the soil. The old plant will have decomposed and improved the soil by the time you plant next spring. Or fill empty spots with hardy mums or fall pansies. They will add much needed color until winter. Last winter I had a purple pansy still blooming in January! What a surprise to see it peeking out from under the snow! It really impressed my family visiting from Arizona.
Fall is a good time to divide perennials. This is an easy way to add to your gardens or to share with your neighbors. It can be a pleasing look to have similar plants appearing along your street.
Time to clean up! Keep pulling and spraying weeds. Put away any stakes and cages that supported your plants. Cut back perennials when the foliage fades and remove dead leaves.
Remember that the more work you do this fall, the easier it will be in the spring.
The Naperville Garden Club invites you to join us at our September 28 meeting. Michael Annes from Burpee/Ball Seed will present the program, “Small Space Gardening.” Paid reservations are due September 22. Find details featured at www.napervillegardenclub.org.
