There's lots you can do in the garden in September and October. This is a good time to plant, to move plants, and to plan.
Planting
Conifers and broadleaf evergreens: It's best to get these in the ground by 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. These are the pines, spruces, arborvitae, junipers – the needled plants that stay green all winter – and the rhododendrons, hollies, boxwoods and other plants with broad leaves. Because they don't lose their leaves in winter, these plants give your home some color in what for us is the longest season. Every garden needs some of these plants.
Because they are evergreen, they need to go in the ground in time to get their roots well established before a hard frost. Their leaves (in conifers, the needles are the equivalent of leaves) continue to breathe out moisture all through the winter. Where you have good snow cover, this doesn't cause you any problems, but in dry years, it's important to provide them moisture right up to a hard frost. Otherwise they can get dried out and brown. Later I'll devote a blog or two to choosing evergreens for the home garden.
Woody deciduous plants: Plant these once they've changed color or lost their leaves. When they're in dormancy, it's easier for them to resist transplant shock. Give them plenty of water when you plant (or move) them, and continue to water until the ground freezes hard. Turn your hose on very low and allow it to drool water in the root ball area of the tree two or three times a week.
Peonies, Hostas, and Daylilies: Peonies like full sun, which means 6 hours a day of direct sunlight. Plant them so the bud or eyes in the roots are no deeper than 2 inches below the soil surface or they won't bloom. Water well. For Hostas and Daylilies, take a sharp spade and cleanly split the overgrown plant clump. Take soil from around the roots with you on the spade and move the plant to a prepared spot in the garden. Fill in the soil where you took half the plant if you're not transplanting the other half. Water well. I always use a root feeding solution when I plant or transplant. The formulation of these products provides the nutrients plants need to build strong roots. You can find these in any garden center or big box store.
Lawn care:
If you had grubs in your lawn, now is the time to check for them. Grub damage causes brown spots in the grass, because they chew the roots. The turf lifts up easily. Pick some up and check for c-shaped white grubs with black heads. A few grubs aren't enough to get medieval on, but if you spot a dozen or more in a square foot of soil, you can consider some chemical treatment. Alternatively, wait till next June and apply imidacloprid.. Personally, I don't like to use pesticides on my lawn or garden, and other than the root feeder, I don't use other chemicals either. Healthy soil is the best innoculant, and simple compost – preferably home made – will add the organic matter that retexturizes and nourishes your soil. But that's another blog.
If you have your lawn professionally done, do talk to the service about what they put on the lawn. Pesticides get into the water system; fertilizers do too, and they can cause as much damage by promoting the growth of algae that suck up all the oxygen from bodies of water and kill off the insects that feed fish. Here's a web link on chemical-free, ecologically sound lawn care: http://www.life.ca/nl/43/lawn.html
Annuals
If your annuals, whether in the ground or in containers, are looking leggy or brown, now's the time to replace them with some cool-weather plants that will continue to look good on into the fall. Mums are great, but after they bloom, what have you got? I like to get a variety of mums so there's bloom from mid-September through to frost, but I always add ornamental cabbages and kales, which keep their color even after a frost, along with pansies and African Daisies or osteospermum, which do very well in cool weather. That way you've got color in the garden when the clock falls back and we're facing long hours of night.
Perennials
One of the best things you can do for your garden now is to invest in some fall-blooming perennials. New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae), preferably in the Purple Dome cultivar, along with Obedience Plant (Physostegia virginiana), Hardy ageratum (Eupatorium coelestinium), Monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii), and the Bugbanes (Cimicifuga racemosa and ramosa) can give a fall garden a real boost of color year after year.
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