What to do in the Garden in September

It is always best to tidy up the garden in the fall, even in our mild climate. Besides, the weather is so lovely right now, it’s a joy to be outside.

Fall clean up is an effective deterrent to disease and a good way to control disease already in the garden. Diseases can over winter on dead leaves and debris and a ack the new leaves as they emerge in the spring. Iris leaf spot, daylily leaf streak, and black spot on roses are examples of diseases that can be dramatically reduced if the dead leaves are cleared away each fall. However, don’t be obsessive. Leave some seedheads to sustain the birds and other garden wildlife throughout the winter.

Now is NOT the time to prune. Cu ing back plant material in the fall or winter will promote a growth response. When this happens the plant wastes energy that it needs to maintain itself over the winter and the tender new growth is likely to be killed by any winter frosts. So trim back any leggy branches that might cause problems when the winter winds start blowing, but otherwise save your pruning chores till next spring or summer.

Mulch or compost your leaves. Sure, you can rake your leaves to the curbside for the municipal leaf clean-up, but then you’d be wasting all that great leaf mulch. Composted leaves turn into leaf mould which is great for acid-loving plants like lily of the valley, lilies, magnolias, and rhodos. Pile leaves in an out-of-the-way place or create a leaf compost bin. Tough leaves like oak and arbutus can be cut down to size for fasting decomposing and quicker release of their nutrients by running your lawnmower over the leaves or running them through one of our great Leaf Mulchers.

Plant garlic from now until mid-October and continue planting spinach and radishes. Le uce or mesclun mix can still be planted under cover.

Add plants for autumn interest. One of the best ways to add autumn colour is to pick up a plant in bloom now from Dig This or your local garden centre. Sedums, ornamental grasses, heleniums, perennial asters and Michaelmas daisies all add colour to the September garden.