Now is the time to prep your gardens for fall and the winter to come! If you have gardens at your North Shore home, as your North Shore real estate agent, allow me to fill you in on what steps you can take now, to prepare for beautiful fall gardens, and for beautiful spring and summer gardens next year.
To prepare for winter:
- Mark your plant locations. If you planted new perennial bulbs or seeds for next year, mark their location so you don’t accidentally weed out seedlings next spring, or plant something else on top of them.
2. Lift tender bulbs. If you have plants that don’t do well in the ground over the winter, gently dig them up, rid them of dirt, allow them to dry out, and then store in a cool, dry place, such as a garage.
3. Leave the leaves. This is sure easier than raking! Leaves actually break down in your garden beds over the winter, adding valuable organic material. They also provide more shelter and warmth for what is growing below. But if you’re selling this fall, raking will leave your yard looking nicer.
To prepare for fall:
- Mix up your gardens. Aside from annual and perennial fall flowers, decorate with trees, shrubs, vines and grasses as well. This gives your gardens and yard more texture, variety and color.
2. Combine colors that compliment each other. For example, on the color wheel, green compliments red, blue compliments orange, and purple compliments yellow.
3. Decorate with potted flowers. If your permanent gardens are pretty much done for this time of year, show off some beautiful fall annuals in pots around your front porch for a burst of color.
4. Cut out spent plants and flowers in your flower pots, to make room for those still thriving. Fill in the empty space with fall blooms, such as mums, asters, pansies or flowering kale.
5. Continue to water. Just because it’s not stifling hot anymore, that doesn’t mean your plants don’t still need water. Water until the ground freezes, and consider fertilizer for potted plants, but not gardens.
6. Have a plan for frost. Keep an eye on the weather, and plan for frosts. Either have coverings to put over your gardens, or bring potted plants inside on those extra cold nights.
7. Add other fall features. Aside from flowers and plants, fall has other great decorating options as well, such as pumpkins, gourds, haystacks, dried corn cobs, pine cones, etc. Get creative!
Enjoy making the most of your fall gardens. If you have real estate goals you’d like to achieve this fall, give me call! As your North Shore real estate agent, I can answer any questions you may have, and I am here to help guide you through the entire home-selling and/or home-buying process. This is a great time of year to act, as the real estate market is hot. Don’t delay in achieving your goals!
Janie Bress
Your North Shore Real Estate Expert
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