The Garden Path
Ultimate Fall Clean-Up Guide: Refresh Your Autumn Landscape
By: Miles Campbell
Campbell & Ferrara Outdoor Living
Leaves are falling, and crisper temperatures signal that now is the time to clean up your landscaped areas and garden beds before winter.
Five areas need your attention this fall when it comes to cleaning up your property:
Also, don’t feel you must rush through your fall clean-up tasks. You can do each job at your own pace and timing.
As we head into the fall, remove weeds now to help prevent them from reseeding and sprouting in the spring. Prune the dead, damaged and diseased branches in your trees and shrubs to keep them healthy. Remove fallen leaves and other debris around patios and fire pits to keep them clean and looking their best while entertaining outdoors in the colder months of Zone 7.
Mulch insulates plant roots from frosts, freezes, and freeze/thaw events. Mulch also keeps moisture in the soil longer and blocks sunlight, helping to prevent weeds from popping up during the fall and spring. Leaves can also act as mulch, adding nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil, benefiting plants in landscaped areas.
To keep your shrubs, perennials, and cool-weather annuals healthy during the fall, we recommend a 2 “-3” layer of mulch around them. It is also time to touch up your tree rings for better winter insulation. Be mindful not to pack mulch against the tree's trunk.
Fall is the best time to remove any dead shrubs and trees while the ground is unfrozen. It is a time to create new space within your garden beds and yard, providing opportunities to install new plant materials and refresh your outdoor living environment.
Are you still trying to determine whether any of your trees or shrubs are dead? Then, do the scratch test, lightly scratching the bark with your fingernail. If you see green underneath, you're likely in good shape, and the plant is alive; however, if it’s brown or tan, there is a good chance that the woody plant is dead.
Don’t be afraid to be thorough with your scratch test. Just because one branch scratches brown doesn't mean the plant is dead. Check multiple branches of the tree or shrub and complete the scratch test in areas closer to the trunk on the tree's limbs or the root ball on shrubs.
How Can I Maximize My New Empty Bed Space? Fall is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs so their root systems can start to establish over the winter. Consider a fall-blooming ‘sasanqua’ camellia for seasonal color or a green screen to entertain with more privacy.
If you prefer to recycle leaves and garden debris, start a compost pile. When cleaning up your landscape and garden beds, you can include spent summer annuals, leaves, and plant stalks.
The compostable materials will break down over the winter and following months to produce loamy soil, which you can add to your garden beds and landscaped areas to amend the soil.
Your garden tools need care after working hard for you during the growing season. You can also extend the life of your garden tools when you clean them and put them away at the end of the fall.
Here are six winterizing tips for your garden tools:
You’ll be ready for next spring when you clean up, sharpen, and prepare your gardening tools and equipment before winter.
Campbell & Ferrara
8351 Richmond Highway,
Alexandria, VA 22309
(703) 354-6724
Campbell and Ferrara provides landscape design/build services and a retail garden center for homeowners living in Northern Virginia.
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Reproduction of this story and photographs, in part or in whole, requires the written permission of the The ENDEAVOR News Magazine. Copyright © 2011 Annandale Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.
(Photographs, on this page, and on this website, are not available for use by other publications, blogs, individuals, web or social media sites.)
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