At the beginning of October my mid-south, zone 7 garden is still full of blooms but by Halloween it begins its steady decline toward dormancy.  So I start the month in harvest mode and transition into doing a serious fall clean up by the 15th or so.  The to do list is getting shorter, but the tasks seem to require a little more elbow grease.  That’s okay because there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of seeing a garden tidied up for its winter nap.

Here are a few tips to help you get your own garden ready for bed.

• Cut back perennial foliage after a killing freeze. For a wildlife-friendly garden, cut back plants that have had disease problems during the growing season but leave stems and seed heads that will provide food and shelter for birds.
• Mark areas where hardy volunteers have dropped their seeds so that next spring you can be on the look out for the seedlings.
• When using dried flowers with fuzzy seed heads, spray them with hair spray to keep them from shattering.
• Rake up and remove any leaves on your lawn. It is important to remove dead leaves because over time they will form a dense mat that smothers your grass.
• Clean and oil garden tools before storing for winter. Read more about storing hand tools.
• Protect your water features from fall leaves with netting. Stretch the netting over the water surface and secure the edges. Remove the leaves that land on the netting on a regular basis.
• Before you put away your mower, drain gasoline and take it to the shop for any repairs needed.  It’s also a good time to have the blade sharpened and balanced.
• Use hardware cloth to wrap around the base of small fruit trees and roses. This will protect them from rodents.
• Transplant deciduous trees and shrubs after the leaves have fallen.
• Pot up amaryllis bulbs now for indoor blooms during the holidays.  Read more about growing amaryllis.
• Hill soil to a height of 8 to 10 inches around roses for winter protection. Mulch after the ground freezes. Read more about winter rose care.
• Save packets of half used seeds in airtight containers in a cool dry place.
• In my zone 7 garden and other mild winter climates it is best to sow larkspur in mid-fall because the seeds need cool soil temperatures to germinate (50 to 60 degrees F). Read more about sowing larkspur.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs such as tulips, daffodils and globe alliums.