Each year I enjoy the arrival signs of fall such as the tree leaves turning colour but I don’t really consider fall to be here until the first heavy ground frost. In the Woodstock Ontario area we woke up Saturday morning to a heavy frost. Now it’s time to clean up the gardens.
In the picture you can see how one good frost destroyed annuals like Marigolds and perennials like hostas. Many people will leave these plants for a spring cleanup. To avoid giving disease and pests like snails and slugs a place to over winter, remove these plants now. This gives the garden a clean start in the spring.
Any accumulated leaves in the garden or on the lawn should also be removed. Some leaves can be left to protect plants but on the lawn if the leaves can’t be mulch they should be removed to avoid dead spots in the spring.
Now is also the time to plant spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils. Also dig up gladiola and canna bulbs and after drying and removing the soil store them in peat moss in the basement and replant in the spring.
Here in Woodstock the city has a dumping area for all garden debris. They compost the debris and put it out for the residence to use for free. (tree branches are turned into wood chips). I don’t know if other local communities like Brantford and Paris has a program like this but it is worth looking into.
Hope everyone enjoys the fall season! Contact us for a quote on your Fall cleanup and landscape maintenance needs.