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Late fall can be a pleasant time to work in your garden. Try to take advantage of the next mild day that you have a little time to spare.
I relish the opportunity, for the biting bugs are gone and the cooler temperatures make me feel more energetic; I need to move to keep warm.
GARDEN HOSE
If your garden has become a little overgrown, it's hard to know where to start. I begin by cutting down any unsightly perennials, right to the ground. With most perennials, whether or not you cut them down is a matter of aesthetics — the plant doesn't care. I like to leave some stems standing to add some interest during the winter, but I remove anything that I'm tired of looking at.
Then I step back and assess the whole garden. This is a good time of year to alter the shape of the bed or expand it a bit for next year. My garden has a couple of curves in it, and I'm forever changing the dimensions as areas fill in or I want more room for plants.
When I want to change or adjust the shape of my garden, I find it really helps to lay a garden hose where I'd like the new edge to be. By standing back and even going inside and looking out the window, I can get a better idea of what my proposed changes will look like. Once I get the new contour laid out to my satisfaction, I leave the hose in place until I've cut the new edge with a shovel.
WEEDING TIME
Even if I'm not changing the shape of my flower bed, I still like to cut a nice clean edge this time of year and get ahead of the encroaching grass and weeds. To get a smooth line, I use a shovel or spade and move down one whole side of the bed, cutting as I go. Then I go back and lift up the clumps of grass and weeds, shaking as much soil as possible from them.
It is possible to just turn these clumps upside-down and mulch heavily over them, but one of my worst weeds, quackgrass, has such aggressive rhizomes that I find physically removing them works better in the long run than just trying to smother them.
Once my edge is cut and cleaned out, I move through the rest of the garden, digging up the long roots of any perennial weeds such as quackgrass, mallow and dandelions and pulling up every bit of ground ivy I can find. This is my favorite time of year to weed, probably because I know my efforts will last the longest. As I cut back my faded perennials, I'm often surprised by how many weeds were hidden underneath. Get a handle on them now so next spring your emerging perennials won't have so much competition.
As I work in my garden, I come up with ideas for next year. For the past few years, I've taken to leaving notes for myself, right in the garden, to remind me of those brilliant ideas next spring. I cut up quart-sized yogurt containers into strips and write on them with a pointed permanent marker. I've also used old mini-blinds cut into lengths. These notes remind me which clumps need dividing, which need moving to the back or front of the garden and which ones I've promised to give my friends. As your garden expands, you'll appreciate how helpful these notes can be.
Amy Ivy is executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County 561-7450, Essex County 962-4810, Franklin County 483-7403. Web site: http://www.cce.cornell.edu/ecgardening. E-mail questions to askMG@cornell.edu
