October is a great month to renovate the plantings around your house. This is the time of year to plant deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees as the cool temperatures will encourage root growth.

October is also the month to start planting Bulbs. There are a number of ways to plant bulbs: You can dig a trench at the appropriate depth (normally up to 7″ deep depending on bulb), sprinkle ‘Bulb-tone’ or bone meal, and place the bulbs out in a natural grouping and cover with soil. This is a lot of work!

Another method is to plant with a bulb planter: Lay the bulbs out where you want to plant them, and plant them with a hand tool, small shovel or bulb digger.

The easiest method to plant bulbs involves owning a strong electric drill with lots of extension cord and attaching a bulb augur! With this attachment one person can plant more than 600 bulbs in a day! Big sweeps give the best effect. There are many species of bulbs that will grow fuller every year and give you decades of color.

The first hard frost will usually come sometime this month. All houseplants should be brought in before the frost.

After the frost it is time to pull out dead annuals, and clean up the vegetable garden. Leave carrots and beets, which can be harvested in the early winter, and Swiss chard which will often make it through the winter.

After the frost dig up your tender summer bulbs such as dahlias, cannas, and tuberous begonias, and store in the back of the garage, wrapped in burlap and placed in big pots or cardboard boxes. Occasionally apply a little moisture to prevent from drying out completely during the winter.

Keep the leaves from building up on your lawn, and also keep your gutters clean to avoid flooding of basements!

Call Creative Landscapes today to set up an appointment with a Landscape Designer.