Can you believe that the nights are getting cooler already?  It doesn’t seem like August can be almost half over – summer just started!  As fall gets closer, let’s look at what we can do to prepare our yards, flowers and gardens so that they are spectacular next spring!  A little work now will go a long way to preparing the gardens at your Ottawa home for the winter months.

Lawns

Don’t stop watering your lawn just because the hot weather is gone.  Lawns need approximately an inch of water every 2-3 weeks.

Fall is the perfect time to fix any sun-scorched areas or thin areas in your lawn.  Simply spread ¼ inch of soil and sprinkle some grass seed.  It should start growing in a week or two and be well-rooted before the snow flies.

If raking leaves is not your thing, don’t worry.  Simply run your lawnmower over the leaves in your yard to generate a fine mulch for the winter.  Just be sure that your “fine mulch” is not a “heavy blanket” – then you WILL have to do some raking.

Vegetable gardens

Most people clean out their vegetable gardens in the fall and pull out their onions, carrots, potatoes and pumpkins.  These are definitely good practices, however, you can still enjoy some quick-growing crops if you start early enough.

If you have a section of your garden that is cleared, consider planting some lettuce or radishes.  In many cases, they grow to harvest in less than a month, so you can still enjoy some home-grown salads during the fall months.

Flower gardens

Fall is a good time to transplant those out-of-control hostas or get rid of those plants that just didn’t work this year.  Prune your ornamental shrubs one last time and clean out your annuals.  Keep your ornamental grasses, though, as they can be enjoyed all season long.

Spring bulbs

Now is the time to plant those beautiful, spring-flowing bulbs that are one of the first signs of spring.  Tulips, crocuses and daffodils are fabulous when planted in bunches.  They make beautiful cut flower arrangements in the spring and you can always plant other annuals and perrenials around them, so that there are no holes once they are done flowering.

Fall gives you a great view of where any holes are in your garden that could potentially be filled with spring-flowering bulbs.

Container gardening

If you live in a condo or garden home and just don’t have the room for a garden, why not consider container gardening.  Many plants and even vegetables can be planted in containers and enjoyed year after year.  Try planting a hosta in the middle of a container surrounded by some spring-flowering crocuses.  The host will grow year after year and requires very little maintenance.  Also, hostas thrive in both full sun as well as full shade.  It is truly a no-fail plant!

Prepare it and then forget about it!

Once you have taken all of the steps to “winterize” your lawn and garden, relax!  You deserve it!

Finally, why not consider starting a journal of the plants you grew this year, including the ones that worked and the ones that didn’t.  One thing you can be sure will happen every year is that we will have too many plants (or weeds!) and not enough time.  Keeping a journal each year can help keep you garden producing beautiful plants and produce year after year!

Contact the Renaud Otten Team at (613) 288-0090 for all of your real estate needs, including help finding the perfect home for you and your family.