Garden Center at Broadview #1901

When a crisp day breezes in, take advantage of it to do outdoor maintenance. Trees and bushes need a trim with a pruner or chainsaw as they're slowing growth for the season. Fallen leaves are likely a concern, so check out leaf blowers, rakes, and leaf bags. Be sure to get buckets and a wheelbarrow to gather your harvest. You may even be able to garden throughout fall and into winter. Read on to learn how to transition to your fall lawn and garden.

Fertilize or Patch Your Lawn
Patch up bald spots on your lawn by learning how to seed a lawn in the fall. Autumn is a great time to fill in brown, dead, or bare places in your yard. However, make sure leaves don't fall on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs air, sun, and water to grow, and leaf litter can block out the air and sunlight it needs to germinate.

If you're in a northern climate, prepare your cool-season grass for the fall with lawn fertilizer. Aerate your lawn before adding fertilizer to get the most bang for your buck. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any pesky fall weeds that show up. It'll need different maintenance than warm-season grass, which goes dormant as the weather cools. Taper down watering on warm-season lawns.

Get Bulb Plants in the Ground
If you've got your eye on bulb plants that greet the springtime sun, get those planted soon. Although their roots look different because they sprout from bulbs and not just below the stem, they still need time to grow downward. Check your plant hardiness zone before planting. In colder climates, some bulb plants should be planted in spring instead. Find ideas for spring flowering bulbs and plan your iris, tulip, and daffodil displays now. Garlic and onions can go in, too, for a harvest next spring or summer, but they won't need soil additives.

Encourage the bulb roots to grow deep by sprinkling bone meal in the surrounding soil before you plant the flowers. Follow the instructions on the package and do not apply more than recommended. If you do add more, you may end up with a tulip plant with one gigantic leaf and no blossoms, for example.

There are a few instances where you can skip soil amendments or add one that's not bone meal. If you've already got very healthy soil that's full of rich nutrients and compost, just plant the flower bulbs. Superphosphate is an option if your dog tries to dig up the bulbs because the bone meal smells good to them. It's also smart to use the phosphate if your property has mice, raccoons,, or squirrels who may, like your pets, want to dig up the bulbs and bone meal for a snack.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap but then warm up above freezing, 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 tarps, buckets, 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 the thermometer goes up again and let them enjoy that fall sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, bid a fond farewell to the garden for the rest of the year.

Put the Garden to Bed
When the sun angle changes and your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates that get cold earlier in the fall may be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November, while warmer climates might wait until November or December. After your vegetables and annuals are done for the year, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the earth, but there are two exceptions: if your plants dealt with disease or if you had a slug problem.

If your garden is prone to slugs, move the departed plants from the garden to another part of your lawn to decay, or put the plant remains in a yard waste bag. Although snails and slugs are often considered garden pests, they're still part of the ecosystem, so relocate them elsewhere if possible. As for the exception of your plants struggling with disease or blight, simply pack up those dead plants in the lawn bag to avoid passing any issues on to next year's crop.

After you've removed the old plants, you have a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a rototiller or shovel. You want to bring the deeper soil to the surface, send the topsoil lower down, and generally break up the ground. 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.

Indoor Gardening
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 house plants to bring joy into your home. Just turn them regularly to give all leaves equal sunlight, and make sure they get enough water now that they won't benefit from rainfall. Remember to place decorative dishes beneath them if the pots don't have built-in overflow dishes to catch any extra water.

Warm the Outdoors with a Patio Heater
Stretch out your fall evenings with an outdoor fireplace, patio heater, or fire pit to take off the chill. No matter if you're looking to heat a small patio, a cozy back porch, or a spacious deck, we've got options. All you have to do is find the one that matches your decor style.

When you're curious about how to choose or build an outdoor fireplace, we have the supplies you need. Bricks, mortar, a wheelbarrow, trowels, and more — let us help you get this fall project done. If you'd love some extra heat but rather not install a fire pit or fireplace, we also have patio heaters, including gas, propane, and electric models.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, tidy up your flowers and plants with us. We've got everything you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and replenishing nutrients in your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of outdoor living products and fall garden care in your Broadview store, online, or in our mobile app.