| Divide and transplant perennials | | | | South of USDA Zone 5, pansies make an excellent |
| Fall is the ideal time to divide and transplant those | | | | fall flower to plant. They endure cold winter |
| overgrown perennials. The plants will benefit from | | | | temperatures. Pansies have bloomed during mild spells |
| cooler autumn temperatures and will establish | | | | on Christmas Day, New Years Day and one year on |
| themselves for fresh, vigorous spring growth. | | | | February 29th. By late March the pansy will begin |
| Plant spring flowering bulbs | | | | blooming in earnest and continue until July heat |
| Tulips, crocus, daffodils, hyacinths are all planted | | | | exhausts them. My Indiana garden once had a |
| during the autumn months from late August through | | | | stretch of sixteen consecutive months with |
| January, if the ground is soft enough to get them in. | | | | something blooming, mostly because mild spells during |
| Most of the bulbs need a minimum of about sixty | | | | the winter allowed the pansy enough time to bloom. |
| days of cooling in the soil to guarantee spring | | | | Leaf cleanup |
| flowering. | | | | Raking leaves is an annual chore, and many people |
| Cut back and clean up perennial beds | | | | just throw the leaves away. But the leaves, after |
| The perennial bed by fall is usually looking kind of | | | | running; them through a shredder, make an excellent |
| untidy and needs to be cleaned up. Cut back the | | | | mulch for the perennial garden. The leaves can be |
| foliage to about an inch above the ground line. | | | | vacuumed up with a lawn blower/vacuum and added |
| Compost the foliage, or shred it. Use the shredded | | | | to the beds. These machines usually produce an |
| foliage to mulch areas of the garden. Pull any weeds | | | | extra fine mulch which is ideal for garden beds. |
| you can find. You may also sprinkle a bit of slow | | | | Plant perennials and shrubs |
| release fertilizer around the plants and use a garden | | | | Fall is the best time to plant most perennials and |
| scratcher to work into the soil. | | | | shrubs, especially potted or balled and burlaped stock. |
| Mulch perennial beds | | | | The plants have time to establish themselves before |
| Most perennials will benefit with a light mulching of | | | | the rigors of winter and will continue putting out |
| shredded tree leaves, usually in good supply this time | | | | fresh root growth during mild spells. By spring they |
| of year. Don't mulch too heavily, but an inch or so of | | | | are raring to go. |
| finely shredded leaves will help keep down weeds | | | | Take advantage of the beautiful autumn days to |
| the following spring, help conserve water, and enrich | | | | spruce up the perennial garden. Working outside in |
| the soil as they break down. The mulch will also | | | | the garden is great exercise for both body and soul |
| encourage earthworms, which also fertilize the earth | | | | with the added benefit that the perennial garden will |
| with their castings as the eat the decaying mulch. | | | | be ready to produce excellent blooms next season. |
| Plant pansies | | | | |