Autumn in the Gardens

by Mary Welch-Keesey
Consumer Horticulture Specialist
Purdue University

It’s October and the gardening season is almost to an end. You’ve been admiring autumn’s show of blazing foliage and perhaps already jumped into a pile of leaves.

Don’t abandon your garden quite yet. A good garden clean-up is worth your time, especially if you’ve had any pest or disease problems. Remove annuals and vegetable plants. Cut back and discard the foliage of perennials if they had insect or disease problems over the summer. If not, consider leaving some of these plants to provide food and shelter for the wildlife that shares your space. Or, simply leave them standing to add interest to your winter garden.

While you’re cleaning, don’t forget to add a few bulbs for early spring color. They can be planted in October, November, even early December if the ground still hasn’t frozen. Crocus bloom early, ornamental onions bloom late and there are tulips and daffodils of all colors and shapes to fit in between.

Now, what to do with all those leaves you’ve been jumping into? If there are only a few, simply mow over them a few times and let them decompose into your lawn. Larger volumes can be shredded and worked into your vegetable or annual beds to add needed organic matter. Organic matter helps the fertility of your beds and often improves drainage. It’s great for soils high in clay. If you have more leaves than garden beds, make a compost pile! With a little effort, by spring you’ll have black gold to help your garden along.