Provided by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.

October 2001 - Fall Garden Wrap-up

By Jenny Silver, Master Gardener Intern

For many gardeners, fall clean up is a bittersweet time. We reflect on what was sublime in our gardens—maybe a thrilling combination of craggy herbs and sedums atop a stone wall, or a late summer hot garden saturated with in-your-face oranges, reds, and yellows. It's also a time when we reflect on those not-so-wonderful parts of our gardens—the trumpet vine that didn't grow vigorously because there wasn't enough light, the peonies that didn't bloom because they were planted too deeply, the roses that succumbed once again to those insidious Japanese beetles.

Luckily, the fall is a great time to reimagine our gardens; to document our errors; to move unhappy plants to more suitable locations; to divide or remove crowded or invasive perennials; and to rid our gardens of the plants that require too much maintenance or were just plain duds. Once and for all, fellow gardeners: buy a notebook or cheap disposable camera and map your beds lo keep track of what you've planted where. You don't need to be Monet or Cartier-Bresson to make a rough sketch or snap a picture. This will help you make plans in winter and direct your efforts next spring.

In a 1998 Garden magazine article on fall clean up, writer Rita Buchanan poses these practical questions: "What parts of your garden please you the most? Where could you add some variety, improve the color scheme, fill a gap, or adjust a shape? What plants should you move? Are there some plants you should throw away? Where could you start a new bed or border? What structures or ornaments could you build or buy to add interest to your garden?" Take thee time now to jot down a few notes.

In addition to refining your garden design, here is a list of some important maintenance tasks to do be done right now:

* Continue weeding.
* Water new autumn plantings.
* Prune back collapsed foliage of herbaceous perennials that turn messy, such as peonies, hostas, astilbes, monardas, nepetas, thymes, yarrows, and lilies. This will reduce the spread of harmful insects and diseases and eliminate places for them to overwinter. Do not throw diseased foliage into compost piles—dispose of in separate bags.
* Prune sub-herbaceous perennials such as rudbeckias, penstemons, scabiosas, and Shasta daisies to 2 or 3 inches above green basal foliage. Only the stems and upper foliage die back on these plants. Many gardeners prefer to leave the seed heads intact for the birds to dine on and for winter interest. Either way is fine.
* Prune old flower stalks and leggy growth—but no more of evergreen perennials such as heuchera, moss phlox, and iberis. These perennials continue to photosynthesize over the winter and in spring should have only their winter­damaged foliage pruned back.
* Don't prune sub shrubs—those with a woody framework—such as caryopteris, buddleia, lavenders and perovskia until spring. Natalia Hamill, of Fine Gardening magazine, warns that cutting back these plants will remove leaf buds for next season. She suggests waiting until spring to cut back to healthy wood, leaving at least 6 inches above the ground.
* Leave ornamental grasses for winter interest or cut back to a few inches tall by pruners or saw.
* Protect new perennials planted in August with 4 inches of compost after the soil has frozen. This will help stabilize soil temperature and keep plants from heaving.
* Add leaves around shade garden plants to mimic the native conditions of woodland plants. Leaves will break down and improve the soil structure.
* Add lots of organic matter to soil. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening reminds us that good drainage is critical in overwintering perennials.  Most plants won't tolerate cold, waterlogged soil.
* And finally, take a moment to acknowledge the infinite pleasure and peace our gardens have brought to us this year and will do so again before we know it.