Garden Center at La Quinta #6630

Fall is a different time for your garden and lawn, 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 lawn and garden maintenance.

Patch or Fertilize Your Lawn
Patch bald spots on your lawn by spreading fresh grass seed. Autumn is a great time to fill in brown or bare places in your yard. However, make sure leaves don't land on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs water, air, and sun to grow, and leaf litter can block out the sunlight and air 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 fertilizing to get the most bang for your buck. Water your cool-season lawn regularly and tend to any 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.

Fall Planting
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 an annual or florist mum, you'll have flowers this year only.

Succulents and bushes often flower in the fall, especially if they're kept in planter pots or strongly rooted in the ground. Succulent planters allow for easier upkeep of sensitive succulents. You can 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 frost and cold comes.

Cut and Cover Perennials
In climates where you might have a cold snap here and there, but then it'll warm up above freezing, cover your plants. Protect your garden from freeze and frost 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 in the morning when the thermometer goes up again and let them enjoy that autumn 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 the sun angle changes and your annuals start looking rougher, dig up the plants. Northern climates might be putting the garden to bed for the season in October or November. After your vegetables and annuals are done for the year, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the detritus, or 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.

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 should add certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Delicate 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 the leaves equal sunlight. 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 a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or patio heater 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 discover 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 Fall
This fall, tidy up your garden and lawn with us. We've got everything you need for putting the garden to bed, leaf cleanup, and restoring nutrients to your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of fall garden care in our mobile app, online, or in the aisles of your local store.