Garden Center at West Inglewood #6855

When a cool day breezes in, take advantage of it to do a second round of planting and outdoor maintenance. Now is a great time to get flower bulbs and fall flowers in the ground. Neaten up your trees and bushes, too, with pole saws, pruners, and chainsaws. Read on for more on fall gardening and how to transition to your fall lawn and garden.

Patch or Fertilize Your Lawn
Fix bald spots on your lawn by overseeding them. Cooler weather is a great time to fill in brown or bare places in your yard. However, be mindful of fallen leaves on freshly seeded areas. New grass seed needs water, sun, and air 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 fertilizing to get the most bang for your buck. An edger gives extra polish to the perimeter of your yard. 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.

Get Bulb Plants in the Ground
If you've got your eye on spring-blooming bulb plants, 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 flowers should be planted in spring instead. Plan your iris, tulip, and daffodil displays now. Garlic and onions can also go in for next spring's harvest, but they won't need soil additives.

Try using retaining wall blocks to surround or accent your garden. A beautiful garden wall or hardscaping gives a finished look, especially when you spread a layer of rubber mulch. It'll overwinter well and resist fading longer than other mulches.

Skip the soil amendments when planting onion or garlic bulbs instead of flower bulbs. Simply plant them now, pointy-side up, and you'll have a fresh harvest by next summer. These plants will spread though, so be careful not to let them flower, dry out, and go to seed after they mature. Snip off the dried flowers to avoid planting a field of volunteer garlic and onion plants.

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 buckets, tarps, or even painting drop cloths. It'll warm your plants like a greenhouse or blanket, and they'll survive a frost.

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 autumn sunshine. Once the temperatures regularly dip below freezing, it's time to say goodbye to the garden for now.

Put the Garden to Bed
When your annuals start looking rougher, it's time to 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 yielded a final harvest, dig them up, then chop and dispose of the detritus, or dead plant debris. You can let them return their nutrients to the soil, 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've got a clean slate. Prepare your garden bed for the spring by rotating the soil with a rototiller or shovel. You want to send the topsoil down, bring up the deeper soil, and loosen the earth. It lets the soil rest and helps nutrients penetrate. 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 restore certain nutrients that have been depleted.

Bring Potted Plants Indoors
Gardeners with potted plants can extend their growing season by bringing the 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 fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or patio heater 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 pick 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 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 build an in-ground fire pit to fit your vision with pavers that lead to and surround the pit. Stop by your closest garden center to see what's in stock.

Ease Into Autumn
This fall, tidy up your garden and lawn with us. We have the tools you need for leaf cleanup, putting the garden to bed, and restoring nutrients to your soil so it's ready for next spring. Shop our wide variety of outdoor living products and fall garden care in our mobile app, online, or in the aisles of your local store.