garden
| know-how
This Month in the
Garden
There are plenty of tasks—beyond the
annual ritual of leaf raking—to keep you
busy in the backyard.
BRING HOUSEPLANTS INDOORS
Don't dillydally relocating tender plants to warm
environs. Most tropicals balk at nighttime tempera-
tures below 4O0F-
so
°F. Before moving them, snip
off yellowed leaves and spent flowers. Check for
pests and, if needed, apply an organic control. Repot
overgrown plants into larger containers.
CARE FOR FIRST-YEAR PLANTS
To survive, young trees and shrubs need to go into
winter well-hydrated. Keep up a weekly routine of
deep watering (5 gallons for a 3- to 4-foot-tall tree)
until the ground freezes. Conserve soil moisture by
mulching around the base of plants with 3-4 inches
of shredded wood or leaves.
GIVE YOUR LAWN SOME LOVE
In the North, grass grows actively in cool, wet fall
weather. To keep grass from matting down under
leaves, lower the deck of your mower to a cutting
height of 2 inches, and mow often to stay ahead of
leaf litter. Feeding a lawn one last time in late
October will help grass green up faster in spring.
FEND OFF FROST
First frost often is followed by summer!ike days.
Extend your vegetable and flower harvest by
protecting tender plants with lightweight woven
polyester garden fabric. It blocks light frost but lets
in sun and rain. Secure corners of the fabric with
stakes or rocks. On warm days, roll back the fabric.
STORE TENDER BULBS
Dig up clumps of dahlias, cannas, caladiums, and
callas after frost browns the leaves. Cut off foliage
and shake off soil from roots; place in a cool place
to dry for a week. Move bulbs to a cardboard box
and cover them with dry peat moss orvermiculite.
Store in a cool, frost-free area, such as a basement.
GET A JUMP START ON SPRING
Enjoy double rewards by spreading a few inches of
compost around perennials. Compost acts as an
insulating blanket, preventing damage to plants
caused by alternate freezing and thawing. And when
warm weather returns in spring, the nutrient-rich
cover will break down and feed the soil.
WHAT’S
HAPPENING NOW
The Chicago Botanic
Garden
(Chicago
botanic,org) has
combined two of its
popular fall events—
the Bulb Bazaar,
sponsored by the
Woman's Board
of the Chicago
Horticultural Society,
and Harvest Festival
— into the Fall Bulb
Festival, October 1-3.
To post your local
garden events,
go to BHG.com/
gardenevents.
DEBRA’S GARDEN
Make Your Yard Glow
As a u tu m n days sh o rte n , p ro lo n g y o u r
o u td o o r pleasures by shedding som e lig h t
on th e scene. Focus on m ood, n o t task
lig h tin g . A s o lita ry candle,
left
, casts ju s t
enough glow fo r lin g e r in g -in to -th e -c v e ilin g
conversations. S trin g s o f lig h ts suspended
fro m an a rb o r o r tre e branches create a
tw in k lin g canopy.
“I love to
illuminate outdoor
areas— patio, deck, walkways—
in autumn so
I
can enjoy being
in the garden after sunset.”
Debra Prinzing
Contributing Editor
170
BETTE H
HOME y AM ) CAKDENS
OCTOBER lOlO
BHC.COM
I d M a g s R
PHOTOS; (DEBRA PRINZING) WILLIAM WRIGHT; (CANDLE) KRITSADA
