South Eastern Connecticut Landscaping

This year’s wacky weather has given way to quite a lot of speculation about when the actual peak time for the leaves is. I’ve noticed that this year hasn’t really had a peak color moment. The normal sequential leaf change has been extremely erratic and some plants still haven’t begun to change while others no longer even have leaves. Fortunately not everyone has the same issue and we can enjoy the autumn sights brought to us by other bloggers!

Janet at Plantalicous is Celebrating Autumn for another Fall Color Project Post! (Anyone is welcome to do multiple posts – especially if you can’t fit all that gorgeous foliage into one!) Ornamental grass tassels, coneflower seed heads, and many other fall features add color and interest the garden this time of year.

Gail’s post at Clay and Limestone is a great one for who everyone who enjoys gold! And who doesn’t this time of year? Shagbark hickory, witch hazel, and of course good old Rusty! Rusty is a little more orange than gold but definitely has awesome fall color!

Jan’s put together a perfect post for the fall at Thanks for Today! All the things you think of when imagining the perfect fall scene are there. Wildlife in the form of herons and geese, water with fall colors reflected upon its surface, and picturesque farm house landscapes really set the perfect autumn mood!

More rustic barns and lake scenes await you over at Growing Goodness! Pictures of the backroads remind me of when I was a kid in Pennsylvania riding the bus home in the fall. The view of her property with the cutting garden would be the envy of many a gardener!

Shady Gardener took a different approach when it came to her Fall Color Project post. She showed a sequence of fall as it progressed through her neighborhood! The orange colored maples appear to be on fire. Her words “breathtaking” and “gorgeous” definitely ring true!

Perhaps the number one tree for fall color is pictured in Prairie Rose’s Fall Color Project post – maple! Ash, sumac, and brightly colored crabapples also add color to her post. I’m extremely envious of the free pine needle mulch she has available. I would love to have a few of her pine trees in my landscape!

VP’s second Fall Color Post this year shows us what thoughtful landscape planning can do around roadways! The colorful trees in the fall make roundabouts and roadways into welcoming locations. Let’s just hope that the beauty of these trees doesn’t distract drivers too much!

Related Posts:

• FAQS
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• Preparing the Vegetable Garden in Spring

Home Depot has just begun running a promotion aimed at helping you “maintain your outdoors” with significant savings on a large number of maintenance-oriented products, from the simplest rake to the largest storage shed, and everything in-between. The biggest savings are on blowers, mowers, chainsaws, pressure washers, and sheds–almost literally every big-ticket item you could need to keep your yard pristine in the autumn months. Most of the savings are online-only, but fortunately, the majority also come with free shipping.

View the full list of promoted products at Fall Clean Up at The Home Depot.

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Fall Cleanup Guide
Find out what you need to be doing in your garden once your harvest has ended.

By Zazel Loven

	In This Article > Dr. Green’s tips for your fall garden > OG Checklist Related Articles > Fall Lawn Care > Fall Bird Feeding Tips > Flowers For Fall > Cover Crop Basics Discussions > Over the Fence

You and your fall garden benefit when you give your plants the same TLC in fall as you do in spring and summer. Wildlife will find food and shelter, weeds will be easier to control, and plant diseases as well as pests will no longer drive you crazy. Follow OG’s guide to the tasks and tools to help you through the season’s finale-and you can thank us come spring.

Home gardeners should first identify their pests and then act to reduce the potential for exacerbating these problems through overwintering, says Tom Green, Ph.D., president of the IPM Institute of North America.

Dr. Green’s tips for your fall garden

* Remove all rotten fruit from the ground around trees-infestations last through winter.

* Mulch to maintain soil quality, using weeds (but not those with seeds), cocoa hulls, grass clippings, leaves, and straw.

* Plant cover crops after harvest to correct soil compaction.

* Confuse pathogens by mapping out a garden plan for crop rotation.

* Protect perennials from frost heaving by mulching after the ground freezes.

* Protect ornamentals such as azaleas and berry bushes from bud-eating deer with deer netting.

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Putting the Garden to Bed Terry L. Yockey
		This is the time of the year when we begin thinking about putting our gardens to bed for the winter. It  is especially important here in our harsh northern climate. LeafMaster Blower/Mulcher Gardeners Supply Start preparing your plants to overwinter in midsummer using only “winterizer” fertilizer. These fertilizers are high in potassium and low in nitrogen. Late applications of nitrogen heavy fertilizers will stimulate new, soft growth which doesn’t have a chance to mature before frost. For the same reason, avoid severe pruning late in the summer. The exceptions are a few late blooming shrubs such as hydrangeas and clethras. Just before a freeze, water all shrubs and plants heavily to ensure that soil around the roots is moist going into winter. This is especially helpful with evergreens, as they transpire moisture all winter. Wrap the trunks of smooth barked trees to prevent frost cracking. Construct wind breaks or sun screens around plants predisposed to winter damage. Rhododendrons and other broad-leaf evergreens are particularly susceptible. Drive four wood stakes around the plant, wrap with burlap and staple at each corner. For large shrubs a two-sided, V-shaped windbreak may work. Point the V in the direction of winter winds. Evergreens such as arborvitae may be split by wet snow or ice. A good preventative is wrapping the plant with burlap. Garden netting, used to protect crops from birds, also works well. In the flower and vegetable gardens, cut off old flower stalks, and discard any diseased plants. Diseased vegetation should always be removed so eggs won’t hatch early and infect your plants next year. After clean up, let your garden air dry for at least a week. Mark the location of any young plants that have self-seeded over the summer. You can then transplant them when spring arrives. It is a good idea at this time to draw a rough sketch showing where all your plants are growing. This is invaluable when you are going through all those seed and plant catalogs in the dead of winter. After the airing, spread an inch of compost over the garden followed by a loose mulch. I’ve used leaves in the past, but a better mulch is straw or hay. Leaves tend to mat down and smother the plants when the spring thaw comes. Mulch is not meant to keep the soil warm, but to keep the temperatures around your plants even. This keeps the plants from heaving during an early thaw followed by freezing. It also keeps the plants from starting growth too early in the spring. Lay mulch around shallow-rooted plants after the ground freezes. Avoid piling it against trunks or crowns which can cause rot. If mice are a problem where you live, a thick mulch may not be a good idea. Mice are very fond of straw and hay winter homes. It may seem like a lot of chores, but I love this time of year and I even like fall cleanup. It gives me a great excuse to be outside enjoying the last weeks of nice weather before our long, gray winter sets in. Fall Clean-up Tips Video How to cut back your fall garden before winter from author Tracy Disabato-Aust

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How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn

Spring and Fall are the best times to fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn with grass seed. Any area the size of a basketball will probably fill in on it’s own by the end of summer if you fertilize, water and mow properly, but for larger areas, fresh grass seed can help speed up the process. Keep in mind, if you are going to plant grass seed, you will use these tips for large or small areas. First, choose the right seed for your lawn by reading this article.

3 Keys to Growing Grass Seed

1. Moisture: it seems obvious, but no plant can grow without proper watering. This is especially true with grass seed, as the moisture triggers the actual germination process. The secret here is constant moisture. Allowing the seed to dry out in between waterings will kill it. Grass seed germinates at different rates. Ryegrass sprouts in about 7 days, whereas Bluegrass can take up to 2 weeks … BE PATIENT!
2. Seed-to-soil contact: The seed must be wrapped in soil. The soil beneath is used for rooting, and the soil above supports the young sprout as it reaches for the sky. Soil also retains moisture and heat.
3. Heat and sunlight: Temperatures must be above 40 degrees at night in order for most grass seed to germinate. Ideally, temps will be in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day. Sunlight is important because the young seedling needs to create its own food through photosynthesis so it can keep growing. The energy stored in the seed is only enough to give it an initial push.

The pictures below illustrate the seeding process. In this example, I am using Scott’s Tall Fescue blend seed and Scott’s Lawn Soil as a seed covering. Normally, landscapers use a slurry mixture of peat moss and top soil in equal parts to cover the seeds, but Scott’s now sells their “lawn soil” as a seed covering which saves you the hassle of mixing.

Another very good quality grass seed is the Eco Lawn Fescue seed sold online. It is cold hardy and can be grown in sun or shade with outstanding results!

The lawn soil bags are $3.50 each at Menards. One bag is enough to cover an area 3 feet by 3 feet when seeding.

Here are 2 other articles that relate to this one if you care to learn more.

“Grass seed types for your lawn”

“Growing Grass in Heavy Shade”

Below are a couple updated pictures taken just 2 weeks after the above pictures. You will see the germination is very favorable.
Keep in mind that quality seed is very important!

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10 time-saving tips to give your backyard a head start on spring

(ARA) – Aaaah, autumn. The kids are headed back to school, the leaves are turning, and a chill is in the air. If you’re like most homeowners, fall also means an opportunity to spruce up your yard and cut down on the work you’ll need to do when the weather turns warm again.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned landscape professional or somebody who just wants their yard to look as good as it can with as little work as possible, everyone can benefit from backyard fall cleanup, says Michael Miller, president of Minnesota-based backyard tool manufacturer Hound Dog Products. “A little bit of work in the fall will really pay off when spring rolls around,” he says.

Miller offers 10 tips that the professionals use to ensure a successful backyard fall cleanup effort – and to get a head start on next year’s growing season.

• Rake those leaves. Once the snow flies, an unraked layer of leaves can get matted down over the turf and smother it all winter long. Raking or using a mulching mower in the fall helps avoid dead patches in the spring. But don’t worry about getting every last leaf, especially in the garden. They help insulate plants, and as they decompose, they provide valuable nutrients.
• Feed the grass. Fertilizing in the fall is like a day at the spa for your lawn. Using a slow-release fertilizer allows the grass to soak up nutrients and – just as important – spend the cool days and nights of autumn recovering from summer heat and stress. And building a healthy, rejuvenated lawn is one of the best ways to protect against heat, cold, drought, insects and other stresses.
• Weed all about it. Weeding in the fall is probably the most valuable thing you can do to prepare for spring, and it’s one that many people overlook. The good news: Pulling weeds used to be a backbreaking chore, but tools like the Weed Hound have come a long way from the tiny weeding forks of “the good old days.” There’s no reason to get down on your hands and knees and gouge at the turf. All you do is place the tool over the weed, step lightly on the footrest, and pull.
• Pick up the poop. When the snow melts next spring, the last thing you want to see on your lawn is pet waste. Fall is the perfect time to get out there and clean up Rover’s little leftovers. Don’t look forward to getting on your hands and knees? Hire a neighborhood kid to do the dirty work, or invest in a long-handled pooper scooper.
• Remove thatch build-up. A build-up of aboveground roots called thatch prevents sunlight, oxygen and moisture from getting to the nutrient-hungry soil below. But it’s easy to remove, especially if you don’t wait until it overwhelms the yard. Just go at the yard with a dethatching rake in early fall, or for an easier – but more expensive – option, rent a power dethatcher.
• Aerate. Heavy use throughout the summer can cause soil to become compacted. Perforating your lawn with small holes helps reduce compaction and lets water, air and fertilizer get down to the soil, which strengthens the grass plant’s root structure. For smaller yards, a manual aerating tool that removes plugs from the turf while you step should be just fine. If you’ve got a larger yard, consider renting a power aerator.
• Water trees and shrubs. Dehydration during the colder months is an all-too-common cause of tree damage, but it’s easily preventable. To sustain them over the long winter, it’s important to give trees a drink before putting them to bed. After they go fully dormant – but before the ground freezes – use a soaker hose or root irrigator to water them thoroughly.
• Clean out your garden. Fruits and vegetables left in the garden can rot all winter long, and provide a comfy home for insect eggs. Gross? Not as gross as they’ll be in the spring. Now’s the time to get rid of diseased plants, too, but keep them out of the compost pile so the problem doesn’t spread to the rest of your garden next year.
• Plant spring bulbs. Fall is not all about closing up shop. It’s also the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips. But pay attention to the weather in your area; planting too early can cause bulbs to sprout before winter, and planting them too late can mean their roots don’t have enough time to develop before the ground freezes.
• Give your tools a tune-up. When it comes time to put away the backyard tools for the season, don’t just shove them into the garage or shed. Spend a few minutes wiping them down and removing debris and dirt, then apply a light layer of oil to keep them from rusting over the winter. That way they’ll be all set to go again come spring.

Old Man Winter may be on his way, but with a little work now, you can lay the groundwork for a happy, healthy backyard that’s ready to thrive next season. For more backyard tips, visit www.hound-dog.com .

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The nights are getting cooler and the air has that refreshing crisp in it. It is the time for sweaters and light jackets to keep you warm. Once again the seasons are changing and trees are showing their beautiful array of fall colors. Autumn never ceases to amaze me with it spectacular colors that seem to go beyond an artistic pallet. It is a time of harvest and coming together to share the years hard work from our crops and gardens.

Autumn is a beautiful time of year and we should all enjoy it. However, there is still work to be done! A good fall cleanup is perhaps one of the most important steps in preparing your lawn and garden for the spring. In this article I will pass on some very important musts and some time saving tips so you can use and share with others.

Don’t leave the leaves

The leaves are a sight to see on the trees during their color change. But watching them fall to the ground may leave property owners feeling that there is a long road of work ahead of them. Not many people enjoy spending hours and hours of raking leaves and bagging them. But it is an important step in the fall cleanup process because once the snow flies, an unraked layer of leaves will get matted down over your lawn and smother it all winter long. This will result in dead patches and give rodents a cozy home to live in.

*Tip* Instead of waiting for all of the leaves to drop off your trees try mulching small amounts using your mulching lawn mower when you mow your lawn. Doing this weekly will make the work seem lighter when it is time to rake. Plus small amounts of mulched leaves will add nutrients to your soil making your lawn healthier.

Feed the Green

Your lawn is still using energy during the cool nights before winter. And what better way to show your lawn your appreciation for looking its best during the grueling summer then to feed it. Apply a slow release fertilizer to build back up its nutrients and prepare it for the long and cold winter. This is also a very good time to remove all weeds from your lawn as well to give a better start in the spring. Don’t add commercial fertilizer to any other garden plants (except bulbs) or you may spur growth too late in the season.

Compacted? Aerate!

Heavy traffic throughout the summer can cause soil to become compacted. Perforating your lawn with small holes helps reduce compaction and lets water, air and fertilizer get down to the soil, which strengthens the turfs root structure.

*Tip* For smaller yards, a manual aerating tool that removes plugs from the turf while you step should be just fine. If you’ve got a larger yard, consider renting a power aerator or calling your local lawn maintenance company.

Compost and Re-Use

Don’t get rid of all of your fallen leaves they make for attractive mulch in your garden. Collect leaves and put them through a mulching machine (if you don’t have one you can find them at most hardware stores for about $100 – $200) and add them to your garden. You can also use your push lawnmower by running over the leaves and bagging them. Not only does this provide a beautiful mulch but adds vital nutrients to your soil making your plants more vibrant.

*Tip* One way to turn autumn leaves into nutritious compost is to gather them in a big pile surrounded by chicken wire in a corner of yard where they can be left for a year or two to break down into rich crumbly goodness. Don’t compost any plants or leaves that look diseased. Throw them out. You will only contaminate next year’s gardens.

Water your trees?

Water any trees and shrubs that still have their leaves because they are more than likely dry from the past several months of drought (this year may be an exception to the rule). This is especially true of young trees planted less than three years ago and street trees, which endure extra punishment from traffic, pollution, and paving. Though your town may plant street trees in front of your house, it’s up to you to water them when rain is lacking. Leave a hose dripping by the trunk for several hours so the moisture can sink in.

Also, water your evergreens each week that there’s no rain. Rhododendrons and pine trees will continue to lose moisture from their leaves and needles all winter. So help the roots stock up on water now. Wrapping small evergreens with burlap will especially serve to protect them from browsing deer and from harsh winter winds. However, if your trees are near salted winter roads avoid wrapping your trees in burlap. The salt will soak into the burlap causing direct exposure to the host plant. In this case try making burlap screens instead.

*Tip* Don’t plant evergreens this late in the year, but feel free to plant deciduous trees and shrubs once they’ve dropped their leaves and gone dormant. Take advantage of late season sales at your local garden center.

Mushy Annuals

Once the frost hits, it is usually the end of the road for annuals. They can easily be removed by pulling them by the base of the stem. This is also a good opportunity to remove any weeds from your garden and cultivate the soil. You can compost all of the annuals you pulled out…but make sure to watch for diseased plants, just toss them into the trash.

Veggie Garden

Clean out your vegetable garden. Fruits and vegetables left in the garden can decompose all winter long, and provide comfy living for insect eggs. Gross? Not as gross as they’ll be in the spring…well at least you won’t have to mash your potatoes. Now’s the time to get rid of diseased plants, too, but keep them out of the compost pile so the problem doesn’t spread to the rest of your garden next year.

Spring is just around the Corner

Fall is the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips. But pay attention to the weather in your area; planting too early can cause bulbs to sprout before winter, and planting them too late can mean their roots don’t have enough time to develop before the ground freezes.

*Tip* Make sure to plant the bulb 2 – 2 1/2 times deeper than the size of the bulb. So if your bulb is a small 1 inch bulb, you would plant the bulb 2 to 2 1/2 inches deep. If your bulb is a larger 3 inch bulb, you will want to plant the bulb 6 to 7 1/2 inches deep.

Get ready for next spring

Give your tools and equipment some love. When it comes time to put away the backyard tools for the season, don’t just shove them into the corner. Spend a few minutes wiping them down and removing debris and dirt, then apply a light layer of oil to keep them from rusting over the winter. That way they’ll be all set to go again come spring. And as for your lawnmower, if you are not going to drain the fuel from the tank and carburetor make sure to add some fuel stabilizer to the gas. Doing this will prevent your gas from going bad and keep the carburetor in good working order.

Fall is here and by applying some of these best practices you’ll be in great shape for the spring…just as long as we make it through the winter.

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