I’d love to say that there’s nothing to do in October in your garden, so I hope you rested well…but that would be a lie.
Truth is, I got a little overwhelmed with everything we are doing at Alchemy Gardens and Design (designing community centers, a lake house garden, clean ups, maintenance, planting thousands of tulips, and even taking on a job in the Big Easy), that I just didn’t have the bandwidth. Good news, unless the work implodes there will be an October next year and I can write about it then! Is that better? Good.
So I hope everyone is putting the garden to bed, pruning perennials down, and finally settling in to several months of nothing-to-do in the foreseeable future.
THAT WAS A TRAP! (Cue evil laughter.) That is not what you should be doing because in Georgia, fall is not a time for rest. It is a time for sprucing up, making plans, planting plants, and just being super busy…if you want to. You can also just shut everything down and no one will judge you (side eye).
General Notes
November
November typically sees the break in dry weather brought to us by October. Rains become slow and steady and the ground feels less baked and caked.
Our average first frost is November 10th, but it’s been a while since we’ve had one that early. If the soil isn’t frozen, we can still plant.
We are in spring blooming bulb planting season. Daffodils, Hyacinth, tulips, crocus…All those should be going into your garden now. If concerned about slicing into a spring bulb, plant in groupings and mark with sticks where they are. Established and naturalized bulbs can handle a slicing or two.
If you have any plants that have been sitting in pots at the back of your drive or garage, now is a good time to get them in a home.
Power equipment that requires gas need to be drained and stored if not being used. Inspect your other tools while you are at it. Pesticides, herbicides, and other liquids should be moved to a frost/freeze free area.
Cool season annuals like pansies, snapdragons, parsley, poppies, and bachelor buttons can be planted now (poppies and bachelor buttons should be sown).
Transplanting of perennials and woodies can be happening now. Make sure you get a healthy sized root ball if you didn’t root prune.
Perennials
You can start pruning down any perennials that are fading. I personally like a good clean sweep of everything fading despite my more chaotic nature. But if you don’t like a bare look, just cut down what is yellow or brown. I do like to leave seed heads up of echinacea, rudbeckia, and sunflowers for the finches. But you do you.
Roses
Roses can be planted now. I’m excited that I recently bought a Peggy Martin rose (a rose found in the Louisiana garden of one Ms. Peggy Martin still alive and thriving after sitting under 8’ of brackish water for weeks post Katrina) and will be finding her a home in the upcoming days. It will be fun because I am completely maxed out. For anyone from the north, there is no need to mound soil and mulch around roses down here. Watch for any twisted or brambly growth as this may be rosette virus.
Plant any foxglove and delphiniums now for spring blooms. They may die back if we have a hard winter but they will shoot right out of the ground come spring.
Shrubs
Fill in spots where shrubs have failed. Wood plants establish best fall through spring, despite what the big boxes want you to believe.
It is never a bad time to prune out dead wood and branches.
Otherwise hold off on pruning for a few more weeks.
Lawns
If you aren’t overseeding, there isn’t much to do right now. Preorder preemergent for late winter application to deter weeds. Note that preemergent will also inhibit grass seed from germinating so do not use if you are going to be seeding in the spring.
Mow fescue at 3” if the weather is still warm.
Trees
If you want INSTANT GRATIFICATION, now is the time to plant balled and burlap trees (and shrubs). The cooler weather will stimulate roots to grow.
Planting container grown plants if perfect now. Remember to mulch and water if it isn’t raining. Just because trees are losing their leaves doesn’t mean they still don’t need water.
Veggies and Herbs
You probably think you’re off the hook now with veggies. You are not. There is a lot of hook, to be honest.
Continue to plant lettuces, peas, cruciferous veggies, carrots and beets. If frost is in the forecast, cover lettuce with frost cloth and extend your season.
The Take Away
Despite cooling temperatures, there is still a good bit to do.
Make notes of anything you want to move in the spring. Plant woodies now. As long as the ground isn’t frozen you can plant.
Remember to connect with your garden because every time you connect to your garden you’re connecting to nature and to a piece of yourself.
Alchemy Gardens and Design 