Garden Center at Bellevue (E Green Bay) #4915

Fall is a different time for your yard and garden, so get out your work gloves. The focus shifts from growing to harvesting, from upkeep to cleanup. We've got fall lawn tips and fall yard prep advice to help you make the most of your landscaping and garden as the season ends. We'll also guide you through planting and fall harvest. Depending on your climate, you might be able to garden throughout the chillier months, too, if you'd like. Read on for more on fall garden and lawn maintenance.

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by overseeding them. Cooler weather is a great time to fill in dead, brown, or bare places in your yard. However, be mindful of fallen leaves on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs sun, water, and air to grow, and leaf litter can block out the sunlight and air it needs to germinate.

If your lawn is in good shape, make sure it stays that way by applying lawn fertilizer if you have cool-season grass. Aerate your lawn before adding fertilizer to get the most bang for your buck. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any weeds that show up. Warm-season varieties, like those in the southern states, are winding down their growth for the year. It's better not to fertilize it now, as you don't want fresh grass growing right before it goes dormant. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.

Fall Gardening
Many colorful fall flowers are annuals, like marigolds, so they last until the end of the year. Hardier plants, like pansies and chrysanthemums, should return in the spring. Always check the plant tag for info. If you want perennial mums, the label should call them chrysanthemum morifolium, hardy mums, or garden mums. If it says they're a florist or annual mum, you'll need to replant next year.

Succulents and shrubs also blossom in the fall, especially if they're already established in the ground or kept in flower pots. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. Customize the soil in the planters to fit these desert plants, as they need a sandy succulent soil mixture. For shrubs, look after the ones you've got or plant new ones, weather permitting. Get in new plants now, especially if you're in a warmer climate and have time before the cold and frost sets in.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap but then warm up above freezing again, cover your plants. Protect your garden from frost and freeze damage to extend their season. You can get extra life out of your garden by covering your plants with 5-gallon buckets, tarps, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a blanket or greenhouse, and they'll survive a frost. Read other fall-planted perennial tips, too.

This works well early on, until you're fully into the colder parts of the season. Uncover the plants when it warms up again and let them enjoy that fall sun. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, say goodbye to the garden for the rest of the year.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates that get cold earlier in the fall might be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November. After your vegetable plants have given a final harvest, dig them up and dispose of the dead plant debris. Feel free to let them decay to enrich the soil unless you had one of two exceptions: if your plants dealt with blight or if you had a snail problem.

After you've removed the old plants, you've got a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a shovel or renting a rototiller. You want to loosen the earth so the topsoil goes down and the deeper soil comes up. It helps nutrients penetrate and lets the soil rest. It's also an excellent opportunity to test the soil and see what, if any, soil amendments you need. Different crops and plants use different nutrients. Test your soil to see if it's balanced or if you need to add certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Potted Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing delicate plants indoors to a sunny window. Indoor gardening allows both outdoor plants to live longer and indoor plants to bring joy into your home. Just make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall, and rotate them regularly to give all those leaves equal sunlight for photosynthesis. If the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes, be sure to add shallow bowls beneath them to catch any extra water.

Warm the Outdoors with a Fire Pit
Stretch out your fall evenings with a patio heater, outdoor fireplace, or fire pit to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking for outdoor heaters for decks, small patios, or cozy porches, we've got options. All you have to do is find the one that matches your decor style.

We've got fire bowls and fire pit tables ready to warm your outdoor space. Check out stylish propane fire pits and natural gas fire pits in a variety of shapes. We've also got woodburning fire pits and the firewood to stoke them. You can even build your own with fire pit kits or make it completely custom and learn how to build an in-ground fire pit to fit your vision. Find the best fire pits for your backyard or stop by your closest garden center to see what's in stock.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, tidy up your plants and flowers with us. We have the tools and supplies you need for putting the garden to bed, leaf cleanup, and replenishing nutrients in your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of fall garden care online, in your Bellevue (E Green Bay) store, or in our mobile app.