Now that mother nature has wet our soils, most of us are tempted to dig in our garden preparing for those fall plantings. To avoid damaging your soil structure, never dig or cultivate when the soil is too wet. If the soil sticks to your shovel - it is too wet.

Are you thinking of expanding your planting areas out into the lawn. Many of our customers are expressing the desire to have less lawn. Chasing weeds, the sound of noisy mowers, working on hot and humid days, and the expense of watering has some of us rethinking the size of our lawns. If you are one of them, use a garden hose to outline the shape you are thinking of and see if you can downsize your lawn to add more perennials and shrubs. We have more native shrubs to enhance and support our birds and butterflies like Itea "Little Henry"  with it's wispy white blooms that attract butterflies. This compact shrub is also deer resistant, can grow in sun or shade and has bright red color in the fall. Another deer resistant native is the gorgeous Muhly Grass with its clouds of soft pink plumes. Many of them are in bloom now so come in and see them. 

Itea "Little Henry"

ANNUALS AND BULBS
Don't wait too long to put in those cool season annuals like pansies and snapdragons. I know we like to wait until our summer annuals die completely. No gardener I know likes to pull out healthy living plants but it is important to get the cool season annuals planted and settled in before the first frost. We have our greenhouse full of pansies in an amazing collection of colors. Of course tucking some daffodils or tulips under the ground before you add the pansies will give you a double blanket of color!

Keep an eye on the watering this month. Newly planted annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees will need more water as they are getting established. Don't wait until they wilt to give them a drink. Check with your index finger around the root ball to see if it feels moist and add some mulch to help the soil retain more moisture and moderate the temperature. We carry mini bark mulch that is perfect for your containers and your garden beds.

Be sure to deadhead those annuals to keep them blooming. If allowed to go to seed they will put all their energy into seed production so removing the dead flowers is key to lots of flowers.  Next time you're in ask us to give you a crash course on annual maintenance.

If deer are browsing your plants we carry 4 different deer repellents. One has a delightful minty fragrance and our customers swear by it. Another popular one is a Deer Repellent enclosed in a cylinder that is odorless to humans but deters little Bambi.

TREES

We can special order any tree you want and there is no better time to put them in so come in and we will help you select the best one for your landscape. We have some Japanese Maples that are looking for a good home in the nursery right now. You can't beat the 'Bloodgood" variety for red color. And once you have seen the infamous Ginkgo tree in its fall color you will be looking for a large space for this incredible tree. The best part is when it drops it's golden leaves all at once for a blanket of yellow.

Ginkgo "Saratoga"

"Bloodgood" Maple

VEGETABLES

For the year round vegetable gardeners this is a good time to seed with Beets, Carrots, Turnips and Radishes. Transplants of Leaf Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Spinach, Pak Choi and Collards can be put in the ground now. Cilantro is a annual winter herb and wonderful to harvest fresh from your garden. Come into the Garden shop for your transplants. A secret to keeping lettuce going through the frost is to grow it in black nursery pots in just a few inches of soil. As it grows the lettuce barely makes it to the top rim of the pot and on those frosty nights you can place a blanket over them without crushing the lettuce. The black pots keeps the soil warm during the sunny days too. Apply fertilizers to vegetables as needed.

We have blueberries too! Check out the care sheet at Clemson and see if you can provide a home for this delightful fruit. Blueberries

Don't forget to plump up your birds for the winter. We carry unique and lovely bird feeders in our store and the best bird food you can find. It is essential that we continue to help the bluebirds out with nesting boxes and we have some unique and gorgeous ones in the Garden Shop that will make great gifts for the bird lovers in your life.

There is still time to divide and replant crowded perennials. No need to fertilize any of your perennials this month since we want to encourgae their dormancy so they can tolerate the winter weather. We have a greenhouse full of perennials. Let us help you design a perennial cutflower garden so you can bring in fresh bouquets of flowers for your spring, summer and fall table.

Don't sheer your shrubs! At this time of year you don't want to stimulate new growth that will be tender and susceptible to frost damage. You can prune out some branches by hand if needed but no heavy shaping or pruning this month. Spring is your major pruning time.

This is a good month to transplant any shrubs. The smaller the shrub, the better it will recover. The more of a root ball the more likely it will live. Water before you dig it up and keep it moist after you transplant it. Continue to keep an eye on the watering for all of your landscape since fall is usually drier than most months.

It is natural for pines, yews, arbovitaes and junipers to shed some of the inner needles this month so don't be concerned.