GARDENS & VERSES

October Tips

“Autumn … the year’s last, loveliest smile.” 

–William Cullen Bryant

Time to start putting the gardens to bed for the winter ahead. Here are some seasonal tips: 

Clean the garden with consideration for pollinator nesting sites and food for birds by:

1. Saving stems. Many pollinators need stems of various diameters as shelter for overwintering and nesting. Prune dead wildflower stems to varying heights from 8” to 24” and leave them standing until new growth starts in the spring. 

2.  Keeping flower heads of native plants that feed birds, including sunflowers, asters, goldenrod, coneflowers, blazing stars, Joe Pye weed and rabbitbrush.

3.  Leaving the leaves. Leaf litter is critical habitat in cold climates for pollinator eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises and adults, as well as other invertebrates that feed many types of wildlife.

Continue to harvest crops and watch for frost in the forecast.

Use fallen leaves to mulch trees, shrubs and tender perennials. Pile them into garden and vegetable beds as mulch.

Leave a thin leaf layer on lawns to decompose, add nutrients and retain moisture.

If you can’t repurpose it, add healthy garden waste to compost piles or bins.

Apply lasagna gardening to sod if converting lawn to garden area.

Bring container-grown herbs indoors. 

Save small pots of volunteer plants to trade with others in the spring. 

Turn off sprinklers and give them a blowout. 

Garden tips comes thanks to members of the Park Hill Garden Walk committee. The annual tour of local gardens is a major fundraiser for Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. To volunteer, or suggest local gardens or artists for upcoming garden walks, contact Paula Marinelli at paulagardenwalk@gmail.com.