Fall does not mean the whole garden is finished. Beds and containers can still look good in cooler weather, even while the trees start dropping leaves. It is a useful time to decide what to clear, what to move and what is better left standing.
Give the lawn and fallen leaves some attention
Leaves can pile up quickly around growing areas. Clear heavy layers from grass and places where they smother small plants, but you do not have to treat every fallen leaf as waste. Where conditions allow, mowing a light layer into the lawn can save some raking; Drop the Rake and Mow the Leaves goes into that approach.
If your lawn needs more grass, fall can be a good seeding window for cool-season turf. Prepare bare ground so seed can contact the soil, and keep it watered while it establishes. Timing depends on the grass and local weather, so do the work early enough for growth before the ground gets cold. Nature’s Friends can help with fall lawn work if the area needs more than a little patching.
Sort the containers before a hard frost
Look through the pots you filled with herbs and flowers. Spent impatiens and other annuals can go into the compost if they are healthy and your composting method suits them. Basil, anise, coriander and dill are also unlikely to keep producing through cold nights. Use what you can from them first, then clear the pots for the next planting.
Perennial flowers from containers may have a place in a bed. Rosemary, thyme and tarragon need more thought: winter survival varies with species, drainage and local cold, and pots expose roots to colder temperatures than ground planting. A sheltered spot or a sunny, well-drained bed may help where the plant is hardy; do not assume all three will overwinter outdoors in every garden. For more on starting herbs in pots, see Starter Herbs.
Leave some seed heads for winter
Purple coneflower and black-eyed Susan stems can stay in the garden after flowering. Their seeds may feed birds, including goldfinches, through the colder months. You can tidy other parts of the bed while leaving those stems where you can watch them. If the planting looks untidy to you, choose a few clumps to keep rather than clearing every one.
That is the balance in a fall cleanup: make room for the lawn and the plants you want to protect, while keeping some of what the garden still offers. Wildlife in the Garden has more ideas for sharing the space.
