Fall is a great time for planting, whether it’s seeds, trees or plants. First of all, we are finished with the hot weather and that alone makes it easier to work outside! Second, you can get a little help from Mother Nature in the form of water. What you do at this time of the year will add color now and last through next summer.

Of course, flower beds are a great place to begin. Now is the time to clean up any old plants and add some new ones. When working the soil in your flower beds, you may want to incorporate compost, a mild organic fertilizer and rock powders. There are numerous annuals to plant in those flower beds to keep them looking good. Pansies, violas, snapdragons, flowering cabbage and kale are good choices. You can add English daisies, Iceland poppies and wallflowers to the list. It’s also a great time to replace any shrubs. Want to try something different? Plant strawberries in those flower beds. They will add nice white flowers and red fruit to eat in the spring. If you like fresh garlic, plant it now.

Hot summer days are not that far removed, and if you have parts of your yard or flower beds that face west and they’re hard to keep watered, now is the time to clear the area, add 1/2″ compost or some mild organic fertilizer. After wards, spread a wide variety of wild flower seeds. Double the amount of seeds, and you will have great color from spring to fall next year, with little water required during the summer. Create an area with large rocks and add the wild flower seeds around the rocks with native grass seeds. After they start growing, there’s little work or watering required.

Mulch is a good item to finish off the flower beds after planting. You don’t have to go as deep as summer, but you will still get insulation over the bare soil for those nights when temperatures drop. The yard is another place to have nice color. It is time to plant cool season grasses. Mow the lawn pretty short prior to planting so you can get soil/seed contact. Spread a mild organic fertilizer at a rate of 10 to 20#’s per 1,000 square feet. If you have sandy/red soil, it’s a great time to spread dolomite lime along with some lava sand. If it’s black soil, add Texas green sand and lava sand. Rock powders such as these are like slow-releasing fertilizers that balance the soil. Water the areas afterwards about 15 minutes per section daily to help germinate the grass seeds. Water longer if using an oscillating sprinkler.

The final tasks: lightly prune shrubs as needed and save the heavier pruning for winter.  Remove dead and damaged wood from the trees. Replace or add bird feeders.