Fall Gardening – NANCY WITH THE LAUGHING FACE

October 20, 2024

The Slow and Steady Approach to Fall Garden Grooming

When it comes to seasonal garden chores, the term ‘annual fall clean-up’ makes me think of lugging a huge vacuum out into the yard and gobbling up every last bit of dead vegetation! That’s why I prefer ‘fall garden grooming’ which speaks of a slower and gentler pace that allows this gardener to fully enjoy each month of the season while still taking care of business.

Perennials ready for dividing and replanting

In Northeastern Massachusetts, fall garden grooming begins in September – the month of adding, dividing and transplanting perennials. Even though many gardeners plant well into the colder months, I prefer to give my plants a good head start on next year’s growing season and that means getting them in the ground by the end of the month, the idea being that early planting ensures good root growth before the ground freezes. While I’m at it, I’ll also add some homemade compost to any planting holes to give those perennials a boost of beneficial nutrients that will carry them well into next spring.

Fall-planted early spring bulbs poking through the soil

October is the month of bulb planting and garlic is a fall-planted bulb that I usually tackle late in the month, once it turns cold enough to keep them from sprouting. And who can resist adding more flower bulbs? How pleasant it is to spend a golden fall day imagining all the beautiful daffodils and alliums I’ll enjoy next spring! If you’re new to gardening and interested in planting flower bulbs this fall, check out my previous blogs: The Wonderful World of Bulbs and Extending the Beauty of Spring Bulb Season.

While planting bulbs, I take the opportunity to cut back faded perennials and remove any weeds or diseased foliage that I don’t want to winter over. Working in one area at a time, I tidy up each garden’s appearance, often making a second pass later in the season.

The seed heads of perennial grasses look beautiful well into winter

By late November most of my perennials have died back to the ground and the gardens are stripped to their bare bones. Although I’ve cut back many plants by this time, I still leave some showy seed heads for the birds and winter interest. On mild November days, I concentrate on adding compost to my flower beds to feed and protect them over the winter months. A true labor of love, this process can take several weeks, but I’ve found that nothing is better for your soil and plants than an annual layer of compost!

The grand finale of my fall garden grooming is a blanket of shredded leaves and grass clippings generously applied to all flower beds, small trees and shrubs.

Birdbaths and other garden structures add winter interest to our gardens

Early December is a great time to decorate any outdoor containers. I like to add different evergreens from the gardens and surrounding woods to fill out a large planter on the front porch. A bright holiday bow is usually all that’s needed as a final touch! I admit it’s a minimalist approach to outdoor decorating; however, with so many gardens in my yard, there’s always something to catch the eye and celebrate the season whether a small evergreen, dried hydrangea blooms, red berries, or a birdbath.

Dried ‘Little Lime’ Hydrangea blooms provide color well into December

By Christmas, the gardens are contentedly lying under their blanket of compost and leaves and my fall garden grooming is done for the season! And, magically, there’s always a stillness that comes over the gardens, just before winter sets in, as if the earth is holding her breath in anticipation of the snows soon to come, marking the end of yet another gardening year.

All photos by Nancy Marie Allen or courtesy of Pixabay

November 1, 2023

Utilizing Autumn Leaves in the Garden

If you live with trees, you’re probably blessed with an abundance of leaves every fall. For many people, fallen leaves are just a seasonal nuisance to be disposed of as quickly as possible. Fortunately, savvy gardeners know that using leaf litter is a natural and effective way to protect, feed, and beautify our garden spaces, and it’s free!

Blue Star Juniper with natural leaf mulch

Utilizing autumn leaves in our gardens can be as simple as letting them lie where they fall, especially in woodland settings. Undisturbed, the leaves provide not only nourishment for all the varied plant life but also shelter for creatures and overwintering insects. Plus, I happen to love the natural look that leaf mulch creates in my home landscape.

Using leaf mulch in this garden ties it into the woods beyond

Another way to use fallen leaves is to shred them with a lawn mower for flower bed mulch. These smaller leaf pieces will break down quickly to add nutrients to the soil and won’t suffocate your perennials under their weight. Dry, shredded leaves are incredibly lightweight to carry around and make any mulching chore that much easier!

A newly planted garden with traditional bark mulch

Two years later, the same garden with leaf mulch just naturally blends into this forest edge setting

Want to save your leaves for later use? Whole fallen leaves can be piled up and composted in their own designated spot or added to an existing compost pile. They will break down more slowly than shredded leaves but, over time, you will end up with rich leaf humus – the best garden soil additive around!

Japanese Painted Ferns appreciate a humusy soil

Leaf humus is beneficial in the garden as a nourishing soil conditioner, improving aeration and encouraging healthy root development while also aiding in moisture retention throughout the hot and dry summer months.

A Rainbow Leucothoe fits right into this woodland garden

If you haven’t utilized autumn leaves in the garden before, I urge you to give it a try. Your future garden will thank you!

All photos by Nancy Marie Allen

November 7, 2022

Surprisingly Silver Fall Foliage

Every fall, I’m pleasantly surprised to find that some of the loveliest silver hues come late in the gardening season. Perhaps it’s the colder temperatures or the way autumn’s softer light is reflected on the leaves that brings out the intense color. Maybe it’s simply because there is little left in the garden to draw my attention, but I’ve found that silver foliage plants are definitely more striking in November than they are in July.

The featured photo above is Snow-in-Summer or Cerastium tomentosum, an old-fashioned perennial that is covered with enchanting pure white flowers in May. After blooming, the finely textured silver foliage remains a lovely focal point in the garden although these plants prefer and look best in cooler temperatures.

‘Sweet Romance’ Lavender is a workhorse in the sunny summer garden producing abundant wands of fragrant deep purple blooms over a long season while also attracting many pollinators. Although ever so pleasing to us, the deliciously sweet scent of Lavender repels deer and rabbits.

‘Berggarten’ Sage makes an eye-catching addition to the herb or flower garden with its bold yet softly textured leaves. Not only is this plant extremely showy but it also makes an excellent sage for use in the kitchen!

Japanese Painted Ferns incorporate a tapestry of colors on each and every frond while retaining an overall striking silver sheen.

‘White Nancy’ Lamium is one of my favorites for filling in garden gaps as this plant loves to politely ramble and spread amongst its neighbors without overpowering them.

Lamb’s Ears or Stachys byzantina should be included in every garden for its softly textured leaves that just beg to be touched! A classic grown with roses in the June garden, Lamb’s Ears also looks stunning next to white or blue flowers which are remarkably enhanced by its pleasing silver coloration.

Cobweb Hens and Chicks or Sempervivum arachnoideum is a remarkably hardy succulent that loves to tuck itself along and in between rocks or pavers. Colorful early summer blooms on long arching stems look like something from an alien planet but it’s the unusual cobwebby rosettes that make this plant special year round. An easy and fun plant for children to grow!

‘Excalibur’ Pulmonaria or Lungwort is an early spring charmer with pink to blue, forget-me-not style flowers. Long after blooming, the elegant lance-shaped leaves hold their striking silver color well into late fall!

All photos taken in November by Nancy Marie Allen

September 25, 2022September 28, 2022

Fall Garden Chores Simplified

Fall is prime gardening time so take advantage of these golden days to beautify your space, tackle some outdoor chores and get a head start on next year!

REFRESH SUMMER FLOWER POTS that are looking tired. Gently pull out any spent plants and replace with fresh annuals or perennials. Some cold tolerant varieties include Lamium, Pansies, Violas, Asters, Heucheras, Grasses, Ornamental Kale and Cabbages, as well as classic Chrysanthemums.

BRING IN ANY TENDER PLANTS you intend to keep over the winter. Summer houseplant vacation time is over, so make sure you bring your babies back inside now before evening temperatures start dipping into the 30’s. If you intend to save corms or tubers such as Caladiums, Cannas, Gladiolas or Dahlias, make preparations to store them properly over the winter so that you can enjoy them again next year.

CLEAN UP YOUR FLOWER BEDS by pulling up dying annuals and cutting back any dry and withered perennial leaves or flower stalks. Be sure to leave some seedheads for the birds and winter interest! It’s surprising how some minimal tidying up in the garden right now will refresh and revitalize the space and carry it through until that final killing frost.

LIFT, DIVIDE AND TRANSPLANT any overgrown perennials or add a few new ones. The moderate temperatures and reliable rainfall of autumn help plants get quickly established before winter sets in, giving perennials a vigorous head start on growth next year!

PLANT FLOWER BULBS now for early spring color. The list of bulbs available for fall planting is vast so narrow it down to your favorites while also keeping bulb-snacking critters in mind. Some dependable bulbs that naturally repel voles, mice, chipmunks and squirrels include Snowdrops, Siberian Squill, Snow Glories, Hyacinth, Daffodils and Alliums.

SPREAD COMPOST around your plants to nourish and protect both new and established gardens. Adding nutrient-rich compost will greatly improve the quality of your soil and help retain moisture during dry summers. Good quality bagged compost is available at any garden center or start your own pile now: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting

CELEBRATE THE SEASON and be sure to give thanks for another bountiful gardening year!

All photos by Nancy Marie Allen except where noted

October 22, 2021

The Sun and Shade Garden Challenge

Some of us are lucky enough to have the perfect amount of sunlight in our gardens from spring to fall, but many gardeners have to deal with a mixed bag of brightness going anywhere from full sun to deep shade, sometimes within a single flower bed! The challenge for new and experienced gardeners alike is to find plants that will tolerate varying degrees of sunlight and still perform admirably.

Sun and shade plants working together in late summer

DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT

The only area in my yard that gets full sun all season is a small plot reserved for vegetables. The rest of my garden beds, which include flowers, shrubs and herbs, enjoy varying degrees of sunlight.

Over the years, I’ve acquired a lot of perennials that supposedly tolerate partial shade and have found that some perform better than others, so I experiment by moving plants around to sunnier or shadier locations. In doing this, I’ve discovered that many full sun perennials do just fine with less-than-optimal sunlight while certain shade perennials can be surprisingly tolerant of quite a bit of sun.

WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

My largest and most challenging flower bed in terms of changing light follows the foundation of the house on three sides and goes from full sun to full shade with everything in-between!

Early blooms of Daffodils, Hyacinth, Bleeding Heart and much more carpet my garden in April and May, but June is when this garden is at its sunny best with stunning Alliums, Peonies, Lady’s Mantle and Hardy Geranium. Other plants join in as summer heats up with Echinacea and Rudbeckia blooming in early July and continuing until September.

In the shadiest areas of this garden I’ve included a strong supporting cast of Ferns, Hostas, Brunnera, Solomon’s Seal and Astilbe which enjoy morning sun right through July. Some of these plantings I’ve overlapped and repeated so that there’s a sense of cohesion throughout the border.

Over time the abundance of light slowly diminishes and by mid-October, the sun quickly dips behind the tall trees that surround the property, leaving the garden with just some soft dappled shade as it ends another year. In spite of the drastic changes from spring to fall and light to dark, I’m still delighted by pleasing vignettes all season thanks to using reliably strong summer bloomers and combining them with lots of bold foliage, color, texture and form.

Hardy Geranium ‘Rozanne’ blooms from June until frost

COUNT ON VERSATILE PERENNIALS

There are some plants that bloom over many weeks and I’ve come to count on these for season-long color. In fact, the lovely blue-violet hardy geranium known as ‘Rozanne’ is the longest blooming of all my perennials and one I keep spreading around for that reason. A true garden gem, ‘Rozanne’ is an excellent example of a versatile perennial that will tolerate going from bright sunlight to mostly shade and still bloom like crazy from June until frost!

Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ with Asters and Sedum

Another one of my perennial favorites for bloom longevity is Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ which lights up my garden like liquid sunshine from July to September. Even sun-loving Echinacea tolerates semi-shade and, although the plants are not as large or as vigorous as they would be in full sun, they hold their own and bloom until summer’s end. Autumn Joy Sedum is also remarkably shade tolerant and looks fabulous in all stages of growth, plus the dark russet seed heads are beautiful right into winter!

‘Dancing Queen’ Hosta, ‘Red Flash’ Caladium and Japanese Painted Fern

USE STRIKING FOLIAGE

Where flowers are absent or diminished due to encroaching shade, dramatic foliage plants can take a garden from humdrum to sensational! I especially love Hostas for their bold and striking foliage. They’re remarkably sun tolerant in spring and summer but it’s later in the season when I really appreciate their versality for, even without blooms, these plants can carry a shady border until frost. Golden and chartreuse varieties such as ‘Dancing Queen’ are particularly bright and contrast nicely with darker greens. Silver and frosted foliage plants such as Lamium, Lambs’ Ears, Japanese Painted Ferns and Brunnera also light up the shade while the varied hues of Caladiums add dazzling color!

Sweet Alyssum is an annual that adds delightful fragrance to non-stop blooms

INCLUDE FLOWERING ANNUALS

The list of flowering annuals for sun and/or shade is seemingly endless! I like to think of these one-season wonders as garden fillers since they easily tuck into small spaces and give the garden a lush appearance. Pick some contrasting or complementary colors to pair with your perennial plantings and enjoy non-stop blooms until frost! Annuals are also a great way to fill out a newly planted perennial garden while your other plants mature.

PAY ATTENTION TO GEOGRAPHY

Our geographic locations and hardiness zones also affect how plants grow and thrive in different levels of light. For example, a Hosta growing in the coldest regions of zone 3 will tolerate much more sun than one in southern zone 9. So, my experience with gardening in Northeastern Massachusetts could be very different from yours, even though we may grow the same plants.

EMBRACE MAKING CHANGES

The important thing to remember when working with a garden challenge is that you can always change what doesn’t work. Fall is the perfect time for us to do garden renovations, so don’t be afraid to experiment by moving a poorly performing plant to a better location or trying a new plant altogether. I’ve just added some ‘Heritage’ roses and ‘Six Hills Giant’ Nepeta so it will be interesting to see how they fare next year in this sun and shade garden.

Challenges can be blessings in disguise so embrace making changes and look forward to a garden that will only keep getting better!

All photos by Nancy Marie Allen

October 3, 2020

The Advantages of Fall Planting

Most of us think of spring as prime planting time – the days are longer, the sun is brighter and the garden beckons! I always look forward to digging in the dirt those first warm days, but my “to do” list in spring can sometimes be overwhelming. By tackling some of my garden chores in the fall, I’ll have far less to do and more time to enjoy myself in May!

Benefit from the Season

The pleasant days of autumn are perfect for working outdoors as gardeners and plants alike no longer become stressed from the heat! As fall progresses, the days turn comfortably cooler and rainfall becomes more consistent. This means that newly planted perennials or shrubs have time to set down roots before severe cold sets in. It also means that you won’t be a slave to watering your new plants like you are in spring and summer. One good soaking upon planting in the fall should suffice as long as there’s some weekly rainfall predicted. By the time spring rolls around again, your plants will already be off to a good start and better able to withstand the hot and dry conditions that come with summer.

Photo courtesy of Andreas Gollner on Pixabay

Spread The Love

If you have some perennials that are overcrowded and perhaps not producing as many flowers, then fall is a great time to dig them up, divide them and replant in new areas. Doing so not only encourages the plants to make healthy new growth for next year, it also provides a great way to expand your garden space without having to buy more plants. If you don’t have room to spread multiple plants around, give the divisions to a neighbor or family member who also loves to garden. They’ll enjoy your beautiful blooming gifts for years to come!

Execute A Garden Plan

Why not plan and plant a new perennial garden this fall? For the best results, make sure to plant in soil that’s been well amended with compost. Your plants will grow that much faster when spring arrives and require less coddling on your part when the weather turns hot.

Peonies, Alliums, Lady’s Mantle, White Candles and Hardy Geraniums in June

Not sure about a design? It’s always fun to combine several plants that bloom at the same time. White Daffodils, Forget-Me-Nots and Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart are charming together in early May while the romantic blooms of Peonies, Iris and Lady’s Mantle put on a glorious show in June. For a long-lasting summer garden you might try Russian Sage, Purple Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans. As the growing season slows, Sedums, Asters, Montauk Daisies and Perennial Grasses pick up the slack well into fall.

Photo courtesy of Matthias Bockel on Pixabay

Add Bulbs to Your Garden

There is no sight more welcome in spring than those first blooming bulbs! If you want to add some early color to your garden and be delightfully surprised by their appearance at winter’s end, then bulbs are the way to go. Planted in the cool days of fall, bulbs quickly set down roots and then patiently wait for spring. The variety of shapes, sizes and colors available is seemingly endless and with a little creative planning, you can have non-stop blooms all season long. For more tips on planting bulbs, see my earlier post, The Wonderful World of Bulbs.

Early Spring Perennial Planters with Heuchera, Candytuft, Violas, Solomon’s Seal and Japanese Painted Fern

Get a Jump on Spring Planters

Do you love to place colorful planters around the house and garden? Many of us routinely do this in late spring or early summer, but why not start some planters now for early spring? Place early-emerging hardy perennials like Heuchera, Candytuft, Basket of Gold, Creeping Jenny, Violas or Solomon’s Seal in a generous planter and then tuck in some early bulbs for a stunning April through May show. I overwinter perennial planters in my unheated garage and move them outside again when signs of life appear in spring. After the early bulbs bloom and start to die back, the perennials quickly fill out and hide any fading foliage. Later, when the weather turns warm, I can add some colorful summer annuals to keep the show going.

Pot up Bulbs for Indoors

Whether planted individually or layered in pots, bulbs make wonderful indoor winter displays. The colors and sweet fragrance of potted bulbs placed around the house in dreary February will lift your spirits like nothing else! Fall is the perfect time to pot up bulbs since a cold period of 12 to 15 weeks is required to “force” these bulbs to bloom early. Once brought into the warmth of our homes, they’ll respond with quick growth and blooms!

For tips on how to pot up bulbs, check out this link: https://www.longfield-gardens.com/article/How-To-Grow-Spring-Bulbs-In-Containers.

By taking advantage of fine autumn weather and handling some projects now, you’ll be rewarded with early-blooming planters and perennials that are vigorous and eager to grow come spring!

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