Care for Autumn Perennial Beds

If colour in your garden seems to have languished after September rolls around, consider putting in some late-blooming perennials to spruce things up. Garden Mums are very popular for fall display, but many other perennials can provide much-needed colour at this time of year. Here are a few to consider: Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Russian Sage, Bugbane, Fall Asters, Toad Lilies and Autumn Monkshood.

Early Fall is a good time to do these jobs:

• Edge your perennial beds.


• Continue dead-heading any daisy-flowered perennials, especially ones like Echinacea, Rudbeckia and False Sunflower (Heliopsis). These will continue flowering for weeks if you prevent the flowers from forming seeds.


• Remove any perennial weeds that have invaded the garden. A non-selective herbicide is a good way to remove the spreading types, applied carefully while the weather is still warm and the weeds are actively growing.


• Remove any annual weeds that are going to seed. Throw these in the garbage, not in the compost pile or next year there will be ten times as many.


• Empty your compost bin. Early fall is a great time for this, since it makes room for all those leaves, dead plant tops, etc. that you will have on hand in another few weeks. If your compost is not quite ready, maybe there is some corner it can be stockpiled to finish rotting before spring.

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