It seemed like yesterday when spring gave way to the vibrant colors of summer, and yet now, fall has already set in, with its shades of brown, red, and orange. Fall, however, is best used as a preparation period for winter, a season in which flowers, plants, and trees are at their most vulnerable.

Fall Landscaping Tips to Save Your Garden from the Harsh Effects of Winter People with newly discovered green thumbs may still be unaware of the fact that different types of flowers and plants require different methods of care. It’s important that you employ the right method for the right plant if your wish is to nurture and not to torture.

Seed Stalk Plants - For this particular category of plants, the best thing to do is to remove them completely in order to minimize weeding needs come springtime. As such, if you’re planning to have a new fall landscaping plan for your garden, the area where your seed stalk plants are will soon be vacant for new blood to enter.

Plants with Green Basal Growth - For this type of plants, your most important task is to remove any spent flower stalk and excess growth. Examples of this type of plant are goldenrods and the Shasta daisy.

Subshrubs - These plants should be left as it is because they only need Mother Nature for them to grow back in spring. When creating a fall landscaping plan, it’s therefore important to remember that there won’t be any safe way for you to move subshrubs to a different location in your garden.

Roses - This flower is particularly vulnerable to the harsh effects of winter. That’s why you must make sure to take extra care of them if you wish them to be able to enhance your winter garden. To ensure the continued growth of roses, make sure that they aren’t exposed to any extreme changes in temperature and humidity. A few varieties of roses, however, such as rambler roses, are virtually indestructible in winter.

Perennials - As for this classification of blooms, letting nature take its course is also the best method to adapt in fall. The most favorable time to cut them off, in fact, is during spring but definitely not in fall.

Trees - As for trees, you should take the time to remove heavy growth of leaves on them because this will lead to matting come winter time. Trees that especially need cutting down in fall are maple and iris.

Summer Born Plants - For those that had been planted in the summer, most of these plants probably haven’t reached their full potential yet. Again, it’s best to let them be as they will certainly benefit once winter turns the ground to ice.

Watering - Think of your fall gardening tasks as a means of helping your plants survive in a fallout shed whilst the war rages on outside. In the plants’ case, however, they’re required to hibernate while winter sets in. To ensure that your flowers, plants, and trees have enough nutrients to last them throughout winter, water them diligently and without fail.

Fall Landscaping Tips to Beautify Your Garden NOW Like we’ve said, fall gardening is not all about cleaning. It can still be about creating beauty from seeds and bulbs.

Light It Up - Once you’ve finished planting what needs planting, you can use lights to illuminate the best parts of your garden.

Green Manure Crop - This may sound disgusting but planting one will increase the healthiness of your soil.

Take Advantage of the Colors - When fall sets, almost everything automatically becomes golden, reddish, or orange-like. Take advantage of these colors by using furniture that matches the shades around you.

Fall Landscaping Tips to Take Advantage of Winter Of course, there are plants and flowers that unusually thrive in the cold of winter. These plants however are best to plant during the fall. Examples of such plants are cornflowers, bundleflowers, and some varieties of grasses. Planting and harvesting these flowers will transform the usually monochromatic look of your winter garden to a haven of colors.

Although most people create fall landscaping plans primarily to prepare in advance for the winter, that doesn’t mean cleaning, cutting, and pruning are all you can do during fall. You can plant some fall-loving plants and flowers to take advantage of autumn’s beauty as well.

Price : $15.91

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-06-02
Who would have thought that used coffee grounds would be useful in keeping some plants healthy?!? I love the ideas in this book! We have two small children who often run around barefoot in the yard, and it’s important that I can keep my yard healthy and beautiful while not using chemicals. Love the ideas in this book!!

Review date : 2007-10-04
The book has great ideas but the copy I have is missing pages 129-176. those pages are replaced with duplicates of pages 81-128

It is important to understand that a lawn that is easy to care for and gives you the health and beauty you desire is dependant on several steps including those that occur before you make your first application of fertilizer.

St. Augustinegrass, the type of grass in most Florida homes, comes in many subtypes called varieties and have different characteristics that make them more or less suited for various conditions like shade tolerance and others. The term lawn or turfgrass as found below will be used interchangeably to refer to St. Augustinegrass.

1. Turfgrass Establishment:
Successful turfgrass establishment is important because without it lawns perform poorly and become infested with weeds that later can be difficult or impossible to selectively control. Proper soil preparation followed by the selection of quality sod that is of the appropriate variety (cultivar) for your general shade conditions, combined with properly installed irrigation all contribute to the success of turfgrass establishment.

Neglecting any of these important steps can lead to necessary corrective action in order to maintain a healthy desired lawn. This action can include removing sod from an area that is too shady for grass to grow and replacing it with a more shade tolerant plant material, pruning a tree to allow more sunlight, adding or moving sprinklers, or removing the existing weed infested areas and re-sodding with the appropriate variety following proper soil preparation.

2. Mowing:
St. Augustine grass should be mowed frequently enough to never remove more that one third of the grass blade and always with a sharp mower blade.Mowers should be set on the highest setting for all varieties other than semi-dwarf varieties such as Seville and Delmar, which should be mowed at about two and one half inches high. When mowing once per week, this practice can be easily followed during the slower growing cooler months but becomes more difficult during the fast growing rainy summer months.

A dull mower blade will split and tear the grass blades that will eventually die from their wounds. Split and torn grass blades can thin the grass, encourage weed growth, cause an entry point for fungus and detract from the overall appearance of the lawns color by combining dead grass blades with green healthy ones. Grass clippings should be mulched and returned to the grass to be used as an additional source of nutrients.

3. Irrigation:
Proper irrigation conserves both water and fertilizer and contributes to a healthy lawn by encouraging healthy root growth while discouraging weeds that thrive during constant wet conditions. Irrigation should be performed as needed by recognizing temporary wilt symptoms and then applying three-quarters of an inch of water. If a regular frequency is desired and you are in the St. Johns Water Management District, you must follow the irrigation requirements that allow watering only two times per week and only on specified days that correspond with your street address.You should then apply only three-quarters of an inch of water. Ask your Dr. Jacks horticulturist for a free irrigation gauge to help you determine how long you need to water each area (irrigation zone) and set your timer (controller) up accordingly.

4. Fertilizing:
Fertilizer is a lot like vitamins. There are many different opinions on what fertilizer is the best and what the frequency and rate should be.

Turfgrass experts will all agree that St. Augustinegrass must receive additional fertilizer other than grass clippings in order to be healthy and have a good green appearance. Most turfgrass experts will also tell you that St. Augustinegrass in Central Florida requires 4 to 6 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. Most will also agree that nitrogen should be applied at 1 pound per 1000 square feet, and that formulations should contain some slow-release fertilizer. We recommend that as much as 50% of the nitrogen applied should be a slow-release form.

Do not be fooled by the term organic! Organic can be an expensive slow release synthetic or natural long feeding product, or it can be a cheap quick release synthetic or natural slow feeding product. The important key word again is slow-release.

Since our soils in Central Florida usually contain adequate amounts of Phosphorus, and because Phosphorus is detrimental to the health of our lakes, it should be applied in smaller amounts than Nitrogen and Potassium or eliminated from the fertilizer completely. Potassium is important for root growth and should be included at rates close to those of Nitrogen. Micronutrients such as Iron and Manganese help with turf color but can cause staining if applied to paved surfaces.

Generally, you get what you pay for when it comes to fertilizer. The cheaper the fertilizer the more you will need to buy and the shorter time it will last. This will ultimately cost you more than if you buy a more expensive fertilizer that requires you to use less but feeds your turf far longer.

Good quality broadcast spreader types are the easiest to use and achieve the best results. Avoid getting any fertilizer on paved surfaces and if you do, blow or sweep the pellets back into the lawn area to avoid potentially staining paved surfaces. It is also important to apply fertilizer in a manner that can be utilized by the grass and not wasted or cause pollution to our lakes. Many of our paved surfaces drain into lakes and can carry misapplied fertilizers into our waterways during rainfall. All fertilizers are harmful to our lakes so you should always follow Floridas Best Management Practices (BMP) when making fertilizer applications. You can learn more about fertilizing and other Best Management Practices by visiting:
http://tinyurl.com/eypua
In conclusion, you need to determine several things before you apply fertilizer. Have you purchased the desired blend? Are you going to apply the right rate evenly so that you achieve an even, rich color that you desire while avoiding damage to the lawn from applying too much fertilizer? And most importantly, are you avoiding any detrimental environmental impact?

5. Pest Control:
A certain level of expertise is required to properly identify the different pests that can harm our St. Augustinegrass turf before you decide to use a pesticide. You can view pests that damage St. Augustinegrass by visiting: http://www.pestweb.com
Proper identification of insects, diseases and weeds will help you decide if a pesticide is required and if so which one should be used.

You need to read and understand the label before making any application of pesticides. There are several things you can do to reduce the need for pesticides on your site. These include proper watering, mowing, fertilizing, reducing traffic where possible, and avoiding any other stress to the grass. If you are unsure about what you are attempting to control, you should consult or hire a professional.

Any pesticides that are unused in an application should be stored safely away from children, always kept in their original container with the label attached, and never disposed improperly by pouring them into a sink drain or body of water.

6.Change Your View and Perspective:
If you think your lawn doesnt look as good as you think it should, or it is not as green as your neighbors across the street, try walking across the street to view your lawn.

There is no such thing as the perfect lawn and sometimes we see things up close that arent apparent from further away. You will probably find several things wrong with your neighbors lawn up close that were not apparent from your home across the street. Having a residential St. Augustinegrass lawn that looks like a closely mowed Bermudagrass hybrid that you play golf on is an unrealistic goal. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the street!

For more information, please visit www.greengrassnow.com

Dr. Jack’s, a Central Florida Plant Care & Pest Control company, was founded in 1972 by Dr. Jack Reinhardt (Plant Pathology). The family owned and operated company provides high quality lawn & ornamental lawn care, termite protection, and pest prevention by degreed horticulturists. Jim Reinhardt, Jack’s son, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. Jim’s brother, Rick Reinhardt, president of Dr. Jack’s, obtained a degree in Horticulture. Jim has been a licensed Florida Pest Control Operator since 1985. He has served on the Orange County Agricultural Advisory Board and many tasks committees with the Bureau of Entomology an Pest Control (division of DACS).