Conventionally most people do not start planting and landscaping during the fall, and put new gardening efforts on hold till spring. However, fall has its own niche in gardening. The right fall gardening can be exiting if done with the right background knowledge and goals.
First of all, fall is a period when you would want to clean up your garden and start forming an aesthetic landscape. Clear up the leaves and make the grass the right size. If you already have a colorful garden then decorate the garden to look exactly the way you want that goes the best with the colors. Autumn is the color season, so make the best of enjoyable landscapes using the colors. Pay special attention if you have roses – without the extra care they stand a chance of dying during the winter.
In addition, fall is the best time to prepare planting for spring. If you want some plants to bloom in the spring, what can be a better time to plant them than now, in the fall? And make sure that you prepare the soil properly so that the plants grow well and healthy. Remember, the soil temperature is still high enough and would favor a good growth of the roots of new plants. This will not be the case as winter settles in and the soil temperature goes down. Plants grown indoors during winters and transplanted outside on advent of spring can never match the ones planted in the autumn.
What is the right time to start planting the fall plants? Anywhere between five to seven weeks before the frost starts in your area is the best time for fall planting. You need to provide sufficient time to the roots to grow deep enough before the winter bites.
The best choice of plants to grow during this period depends on your exact location, climate zone, the space available and your choices of vegetables, fruits and flowers. You may plant crops with affinity to heat such as tomatoes and sweet potatoes if you are in a zone where frost hits relatively later. You may decide to replace some of your summer perennials with plants that bloom in the autumn such as Marigold and Ornamental Cabbage. Or you may decide to grow spring-flowering bulbs.
As long as you select the vegetables, crops, flowers and fruits to your heart’s choice and balance your plans between today – the fall autumn – and tomorrow – the spring season – gardening and landscaping during autumn can be an enjoyable experience that would enchant you and beautify your garden today and tomorrow.
