get ’s not Konmari our backyard . It does n’t need to be a attractively curated and perfect quad before we settle in for the winter . No , let ’s make flow garden the relax activeness it ’s supposed to be ! Here ’s how to make your fall garden tasks easier to take on when you ’re feeling overwhelmed .

If you were to pop into my household , you ’d see the burial ground of half - complete to - do list . A post - it note here , a scribbled diaper there , and perhaps even the remnants of a half - finished task .

Some have most things crossed off , some just a couple . I’m meddling , I ’m overwhelmed , and that ’s fine .

fall gardening made simple: quick cleaning tips for busy gardeners

Planting bulbs with apower planteris always something I do in the fall.

It happens to us all , and have a long list of to - dos can get very overwhelming very quickly .

When it comes to the fall garden , I always make a checklist ( like this one here ) . There ’s a lot of workplace that goes into putting the garden to rest while still trying to twinge out as much of the remaining sun and warmth as possible .

Us gardeners do it that leaping and fall are truly the busy gardening months , not the summer when the works are busy doing their own thing .

Stephanie with the power planter for fall gardening

While checklist and to - do tilt are very helpful for some , include my yesteryear self , I ’m trying a dissimilar attack this year , and I wanted to deal it with you .

This mail will cover …

Making Fall Gardening Tasks Attainable

Rather than make a braggy list of affair you require to do in the garden and set out a 24-hour interval or even a week to do them , give yourself a little saving grace .

My philosophy to gardening has always been to do what you could , and do n’t mother about it . Gardening should never be a stressful activity where you ’re run ahead with a blood in one bridge player   trying to get the leaves and a hose in the other spray down your gardening pots .

You ’ve got all the time in the world !

branching sunflowers

Start with five minutes a day , or ten min a day , or even half an hour double a week . Whatever time you think you have to dedicate before getting accentuate about everything else you necessitate to do in your life should be the start power point .

localise the minimal time you want to drop in the garden and make it a daily ritual . Maybe skipping a rainy Clarence Day or two ( I wo n’t tell , I promise ) .

For example , your first “ task ” might be to manage with thecompost bin . On the first day , you might turn your compost and see if it ’s ready . On the third twenty-four hours , you could empty it and put a layer down on your horticulture bed . The fourth day , you could give your compost bin a rinsing , and voila ! You ’re done .

pink echinacea in the fall garden

Go With the Momentum

pose out in the garden for just five minutes a sidereal day is a well outset . Often , starting is the hard part . But once you ’ve bulge , you may find yourself with more momentum than you initially thought .

This is why I always tell Kiddo that the very first affair to put on a to - do tilt is “ make a list . ” Because you instantly get to check it off , and you feel so serious . That rush of Intropin propels you into doing the next thing .

Prioritize Your Tasks

Some undertaking you must do , like putting away your outdoor furniture and clean out your water feature of speech , while some task you could get off with not doing , like dividing perennials or reprocess plant pots .

Make certain to get to those must - dos firstso you know that if you run out of time and get-up-and-go for the others , it ’s not the end of the world .

Work From Front to Back

If you attend out at your garden and all you see are tasks and too much to do , you might need a different approach . In this face , I care towork from the back of my garden to the front , the left to the right wing , or frailty versa . Just start out with one spot and slow work your agency over until the garden is more doable .

Fall Gardening Tasks to Consider

you could unquestionably stillmake a ecumenical leaning , or break up orotund job into modest single . However you desire to do it , you ’re welcome to do it .

This yr , we’re coming from a place of forgiveness and peacefulness . There ’s no pressure to make your yard look unadulterated and to get everything done before the first frost touches ground .

Below are some task I normally care to make out in the garden . Use them as inspiration for gain your own list , but remember , you only do what you could . Your garden will be okay , disregardless !

empty plastic nursery pots

Plastic Nursery Pots

If you ’re like me , you might have a diminished good deal of plastic glasshouse slew hiding away somewhere in your garden .

If they ’re collected cobwebs and stand water and are overall gooey and not something you want to even tinge , it ’s time to get disembarrass of them . reprocess them the next garbage mean solar day in your urban center allows them .

More on reprocess plant life pots in this mail .

cleaning terracotta pots in the sink

Yes , it ’s nice to keep a few forseed starting . But reuse what you do n’t require !

Clean Your Pots

For all those pots you ’ve decided to keep , it ’s sentence togive them a clean . you’re able to give them a straightaway clean with the garden hose , or wash them with dish soap and a sponge for a more thoroughgoing sporting ( I like to do this with my terracotta ) .

Stack them neatly and safely , somewhere where they ’re ideally covered and protected from nesting animals and the cold from potentially cracking them .

Container Plants

If you have plant that will be stay put in their container for the winter , AKA your perennials , you ’ll want to give them some TLC . Everyone needs a helping hand to get through the wintertime , let ’s be real !

debilitate any water you might have fromself - watering pots . Butkeep any stamp plants secret or pucker them away in the service department .

I also care to still get my originative itching out in the fall , and container are a great way to do this . You candecorate hardy planters with twilight annualsand someevergreensfor some seasonal and merry horticulture .

fall annuals for fall container gardening

Discard Old Seeds and Bulbs

I know you attend at that crusty , dusty bag of electric light you block to set and think,“Maybe I can still get them in the ground next twelvemonth . ”

It ’s clip to let go . Ditch the guilt , and compost those old bulb and get rid of those seed . hear again next year with some new summer bulbs or found some spring bulbs right on now !

you could always examine and sow some seeds now and see what happens . You never know , you could get some beautiful flowers next give . Or not . But it does n’t really weigh !

Stephanie holding a bag of bulbs for the bulb garden

Clean Out the Garden Shed

I bet you there are either dried - up grass clippings , little pieces of caked mud , mouse droppings , or cobwebs hanging out in your garden shed .

Give the floor a straightaway sweep . If you ’re feeling up to it , organise and purge as necessary .

Soil Prep

Your garden beds are easy peasy . I leave all the seed heads , dead leaf , and dying plants to retrovert to the earth . Do n’t concern about making everything look pristine .

The only affair I do with my garden bed is add together a layer ofcompost . I then cover it with folio . I ’m a truehearted believer ofleave the farewell , or else leaving them to be chopped up in the lawn mower or promote into the gardening beds to becomenatural mulchand feed the stain .

Prepare Your Water Features for Winter

If you have weewee features in your garden , such as a pond or natural spring , you will desire toprepare them for winter . Otherwise , they might ruin or be damaged the undermentioned spring .

Clean Your Garden Tools

Now , I know I’msupposedto hygienise my pruners whenever I clip something new , but that does n’t always bechance . And there maybe a footling rusting on them too . Just maybe .

The remnant of the summer is a good time togo through your gardening tools and give them a good clean . I name out mytool care in this postif you desire to correspond it out .

Move Furniture Undercover

Outdoor piece of furniture goes through A LOT , and the winter certainly is n’t its friend . Most outdoor piece of furniture has such a short life-time ( it ’s actually quitea big pet peeve of mine ) , and we want to draw out its living as long as possible by insert it away for the winter .

Before storing it for the wintertime , I like to make haunt to any broken pieces , wash any framework , and sand and stigma Mrs. Henry Wood ( which can be a freehanded undertaking ) .

Divide Perennials

If you ’re taking a look at your garden and things are starting to attend a little overgrown , it might be clock time to separate some of your perennial . And fall is the perfect meter to do so !

Generally , you need todivide your perennials every three to five years . I have a whole post dedicated to instruct youhow to split perennial .

Plant Shrubs and Trees

What if I narrate you that drop is theperfect clock time to make design changes to the garden ? Yes , I ’m giving you license to go to the garden centre and buy some new plant . And better yet , all the plants are on discount .

I have some aim trace you could followin this station . You require to get the perennial in the basis ideallysix weeks before the first big frostto give the plant time to settle in before the wintertime .

Trim Hedges

I ’ve already started to notice the fall soldier of hedge trim when I go for a walk in my neighbourhood . Fall is also a gravid time totrim your hedges . This will give them the arrant bod for all winter .

Buy New Garden Items

I like to seem on Facebook Marketplace or in costless groupsforsecond - hand items I might want , whether that ’s replacing some get out tool or something that ’s been on the wishlist for a while .

A lot of people do n’t require to store their gardening materials for the winter , so they will give away or inexpensively sell their out-of-door piece of furniture , piss features , slew , etc .

And you may be there to scoop them up !

grey she-shed with a vibrant green door with a wreath

Harvest Your Food

You ’ve spent all springtime and summertime carefully tending to your vegetable , berries , herbs , and fruits , so do n’t let them go to waste . See if you could dedicate a twenty-four hours to lay in your nutrient . This can includecanning , dry , orpreserving them .

If I ’m strapped for clock time , I wish to immobilize what I can and save it for a day when I ’m not so busy and can do something with it .

I desire this got the juice flowing . So make a fall gardening lean … or do n’t ! Just endeavor to enjoy your fourth dimension , because even though the days may be get shortsighted ever so slowly , it ’s a great time to still be out enjoying the garden .

scoop of compost

More Fall Gardening Tips

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sectional outdoor patio with pillows

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hedge trimmings

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