Fall is a great time for updating your garden. For many perennials, trees, and shrubs, planting in the fall can give them time to establish roots while not spending too much energy on growing leaves, flowers, and seeds. It’s also a great time to find some bargains at the garden store or even start some seeds. This fall, I’ve been shopping the bargain shelves for perennials and one of my favorite trees, the native redbud. I found a redbud that had been out at the garden center a lot of the summer that I will give a new home on a hillside at my house that needs a plant to help anchor the soils and will also provide something beautiful to look at as I sit outside. I’ve planted some fall greens, including swiss chard, lettuce, and arugula, to enjoy and save a few dollars at the grocery store.

It’s also a great time to move things around that I already have. I brought a lot of plants from my previous house to my new one and they have spent more than a year in pots. It’s time for them to find a new home in my yard when they can weather that transition better with a little cooler weather and less harsh sunlight. I’ll be out transplanting my red twig dogwoods, hellebores, and milkweed to their new homes as soon as this rainstorm is done.

What are you planting in your fall garden?

As a gardener, we often talk about leaving a garden when you move to a new house and that is important.  On the other hand, I’ve spent a lot of the last year thinking about how to start a garden at a new house with myself as a client. 

I thought I would spend time exploring what the previous homeowners had planted and finding new treasures. While I didn’t find many plants planted by the previous owners, I have enjoyed finding plants that found their way to my property on their own.  Our backyard is mostly a forest with a lot of native plants like dogwood trees, blueberries, viburnums, and more.  The native wildlife are different as well.

It is a new environment with a different soil type, climate and, to some extent, a blank slate to work with.  We also have a homeowners association that gets a say in how things look as well.  I want the garden to be beautiful and comfortable for my family and pets while also being home to beautiful plants that I enjoy. 

It is a new thing to have myself as a client.  I’m going to be a very budget conscious client, but there are also plants I have or want that need a home along with the normal problem solving like shade, water management, and privacy. And, as always, I’m not the only person that will use this garden, so it is not just about what I want. If this resonates with you, please follow along as I develop a design for this new garden.