10/08/2026
October Gardening and Landscaping:
-Fall is a great time for planting shrubs, trees, and sod. Plants spend their first year growing roots before focusing on foliage growth and they will be happy with the cool weather. Don’t forget winter watering for new plants and winter droughts can be damaging;
-October is the month to get your irrigation system winterized. Once your irrigation is safely off, watch for warm weather and weeks without rain or snow because you may need to pull the hose out;
-Once your gardens are done for the season, it’s time to winterize them! Leave a generous amount of mulch (wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, pine needles, and straw all work well) over any bare soil. Your plants will thank you next spring;
-Fall Cleanup is weeks away. In lawns, we often recommend shredding leaves up into the lawn to improve soil and nutrients. It’s also fine to leave some leaves in garden beds overwinter for insulation and bee nesting until Spring Cleanup. Leave your coneflowers, ornamental grasses, and seed heads up overwinter. They provide winter interest and the finches will thank you;
-Hold off on any hard pruning for shrubs and trees until plants have gone fully into dormancy;
-Fall is a wonderful time for hardscaping (mulch, borders, retainer walls, paths and patios, fencing, etc). Your landscaper will be thankful to work in the moderate weather and you may get better pricing than if you wait until busy season next spring!