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Creative Landscapes 'Elegant Environments for Your Home' |
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Creative Landscapes 380 Sycamore Mills Rd. Media, PA 19063 Phone: (610) 565-9910 |
Garden Planner: October |
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This is a beautiful time of year! Fall colors normally peak in mid October, but are a few weeks earlier in the mountains. As the leaves start to fall, deciduous plants start to go dormant. This means planting and transplanting can be done at this time of year with little risk. This is the best time of year to plant deciduous shrubs and trees, and you can also plant evergreens now, and the cool temperatures will encourage root growth. October is 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 (see September). 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! October is an excellent time to renovate the plantings around your house. Call Creative Landscapes for all your landscaping projects! A list of our services can be found on the What we do page. Check the Garden Planner next month and every month to have the best garden in your neighborhood! Happy gardening from the folks at Creative Landscapes! |
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To set up an appointment with a Professional Designer call 610-565-9910 or Email designs@creativelandscapes.com giving your name, phone numbers, address and a brief description of your project. All photography and articles on this website are copyright Creative Landscapes and may be reproduced, copied or published by permission only. News media may use articles on this website by crediting the source of the article and submitting editorial changes for our prior approval. |
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