This year why not fertilize your entire yard with a complete commercial fertilizer? Late fall fertilization does not start growth which winter will injure, as many gardeners fear. Use an analysis of 10-10-10 or 12-12-12, either granulated or pelleted; scatter by hand. Each analysis is potent—apply only two pounds per 100 square feet.
Wildflowers and ferns add interest to your yard and garden. Order from a wild flower nursery or gather from an area being cleared for a highway or building project. Plant wildflowers and ferns in the soil of half peat, where they will receive the same amount of sunshine as before.
Dig tender bulbs such as glads and dahlias when their tops are frosted. Store in labeled boxes for convenience next spring.
Plant daffodils and squills under any ground cover. Leave and forget until they come up to delight you next spring.
Plantain lilies grow well in shaded spots where other plants fail. Their foliage is bold and attractive, their flowers interesting. Grandma called them funkia; we term them hosta. In addition to the fragrant white flowered variety, try fortunei, sieboldi, and caerulea. Slugs love to chew their foliage, so take necessary preventive measures.
This is your last chance to kill lawn weeds with 2,4-D. Do so now.
For An Enriching Project
Study trees and shrubs that provide vivid autumn hues. Visit nurseries and show gardens to see cotoneasters, viburnums, barberries, chokeberries, Amur maple, euonymus, oak-leaf hydrangea, fragrant sumac, sweet gum, sour gum, sourwood, and red maple. Observe when leaves change color and when they fall from various trees and shrubs.
44659 by Victor H. Ries