The changing season offers a new opportunity to grow fall-friendly plants.
Gardening is a great way to decorate your space with beautiful blooms, grow fresh vegetables that produce delicious cool season harvests, and is a safe, healthy activity to engage in while practicing social distancing and enjoying the outdoors.
Whether you have a small patio, high-rise rooftop, quaint sunny corner of your yard or even a balcony, the experts at Ball Horticultural Company share their fall gardening insights for growing a successful and stunning garden this season.
Prepare for planting
If you have plants that have matured from the summer gardening season, it’s time to clean up to prepare for new growth. Remove surface plants and use a tiller or hand tools to remove root matter under the soil. Add compost or gardening soil to pots, window boxes and other garden spaces, so they are ready with rich nutrients to support fall plant growth. If you’ve grown hardy perennials, just a brief tidyup is needed. Clip away any brown foliage or spent flowers and provide a light covering of mulch at the base of the plant to ready them for frosty temperatures.
Embrace fall hues
Rich reds, vivid oranges and happy yellows are traditional autumnal hues that add energy to your gardens as temperatures turn. A classic coneflower and pollinator favorite, like the Sombrero Echinacea from Darwin Perennials, will brighten your space even as temperatures fall. Available in a variety of colors, Sombrero Baja Burgundy and Fiesta Orange are ideal for bringing vibrant fall color to sunny spaces and for attracting bees, songbirds and butterflies to your yard. Tip: Leave the older blooms of Echinacea on their stems to feed wildlife into the winter. Then cut them back after their feast to put new energy into the plant for spring.