Your NOCO Fall Garden Glow Up

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If you are anything like us, you love seeing the vibrant colors in the spring and summer, and those first buds popping through the cold ground give you a serotonin burst you didn’t know you were waiting for every spring. But if you are anything like us, you also kind of tune out from all garden care once the buds start to fall. Every fall, I think to myself I should care for my garden now to get it prepped for next spring, but I get so lost in where to start that I just don’t, and end up not doing anything until the spring.

We met with Senior Horticulturist Kelly Kellow at the Gardens at Spring Creek to help us get a handle on fall garden care, planting, and prep to have a happy and healthy garden each spring.

To leave the leaves?

Glowing Northern Colorado Garden

We have many mature trees in and around our yard, something we absolutely adore, but every fall we end up having the same fight. Do we leave the leaves or rake them? We all have heard the argument that the leaves make homes for our pollinating species and insulate our garden, so why are we spending all this time raking and cleaning up the leaves every fall? But the clean yard advocates want us to care for the aesthetic and plants of our yard by raking the leaves away, and if you are like Ben, it means spending hours and hours getting those leaves cleaned up. We asked Kelly what the right answer is, and to our surprise, we are both right! Okay, maybe more accurately, the answer is somewhere in the middle. The “leave the leaves” crowd is definitely right that the leaves insulate your garden and provide a winter home to pollinators. But this does not mean to just leave a foot of leaves covering your entire yard, so this is where the aesthetic crowd gets a point or two. Kelly states that it is also important to clear the leaves off our grassy lawns. A small, controlled layer of leaves among your garden beds is enough to create a comfortable home for pollinators and a layer of insulation for your plants. However, be mindful that too many leaves on your grassy lawn and in your garden could lead to mold or too much moisture being retained. So “leaves off the grass but keep them classy” is a great way to both keep the grass clean and leave the leaves.

Pluck, Prune, Protect.

In an effort to keep our garden happier next year, I wanted to know what the most important care items are to accomplish in the fall each year — surprise, I have not been doing any of them. A few of the most important steps to a happy, healthy garden are to remove the dead blooms, known as deadheading. This is as simple as removing them once you notice they are done blooming, or taking some clippers to each plant. Next, you want to cut down the bulk of the plant but leave enough for it to continue to grow and thrive. A layer of mulch over your garden is important for insulation for your plants to make it through the cold of winter.

So when you are getting ready for the fall and winter, don’t forget: pluck, prune, and protect.

Get ready for fall

Pluck – Remove those dead blooms (aka deadhead) to keep plants clean and tidy.

Prune – Cut back plants, but don’t scalp them — just enough to tidy and prep for next season.

Protect – Add a cozy layer of mulch to insulate roots and protect your garden through winter.

Plant those Perennials

Once you have your garden ready to tuck in for the winter, don’t leave it alone quite yet, as fall is the perfect time to plan ahead for that serotonin hit in the spring from those early buds. When speaking with Kelly Kello, Senior Horticulturist at Gardens on Spring Creek, she gave us a breakdown of some of her favorite bulbs and perennials for fall planting.

A Happy Globe thistle

Perfect Perennials for Northern Colorado:

1. Meadow Blazing Star

2. Globe Thistle

3. Seediums

4. Cone Flowers

I Like Big Bulbs and I cannot lie

1. Crocus

2. Tulips

3 .Daffodils

Spacing and planning ahead

Kelly was kind enough to demonstrate proper planting techniques while we were with her as well, and let me tell you, I am not giving my plants enough space. She said you want to think ahead to the full size of the plant, so maybe 3-4 years down the line. Remembering that the plants we are planting in the fall will continue to come back and mature year over year until they reach full size.

So even though we want our garden to be full of blooms and sometimes we think that equals planting them as close together as we want the plants to be (okay, maybe I am just guilty of that). If we plant them too close, we cut off the space for the roots to mature and grow out from our new plant.

Kelly also set her plant up for success right from the beginning by mixing compost into the soil in her freshly dug hole. When it came to digging the hole, she made sure to make a hole big enough to bury the plant up to the leaves, but not covering the leaves of the plant, as this can cause rot. A good trick to remember is to place the plant inside the pot it came in in the hole. If you can nicely place it, then your hole is probably big enough to allow growth for your plant.

So now I am done till spring, right?

We have picked, pruned, and protected our current garden, and now we have new plant babies in the ground waiting for next year — so we are done until the spring, right?

Unfortunately, for all of us lazy gardeners, Kelly says that is not exactly the case, especially for those new perennials and bulbs in the early to late fall. She reminds us not to forget that plants still need water in the winter, especially those new ones we just got in the ground — they need to grow and mature their root balls before the first frost (so be sure to get them in the ground by mid-October — 'cause we have all been those kids in winter coats here, am I right?).

For those freshly planted bulbs and perennials, water them once a week for the first 3–4 weeks, and then you can taper off. But water matters for all plants, all the time, so an important reminder: when there is no moisture falling from the sky, you still should be watering your outdoor plants about once a month.

So in the years where we are not getting much rain or snow (or any on some years) throughout the fall or early winter, you should run outside and give your plants a drink, including your trees and shrubs. 'Cause just because it is cold does not mean they are not thirsty.

Every day (or every other day) for a week

Every week for a month

Once a month, all winter (if there is no moisture)

Now you have the tools for the perfect Fall Garden Glow Up to get your garden and yard in perfect shape for pretty perennials and a blooming spring!

Need more hands-on tips? The Gardens on Spring Creek hosts adult education courses throughout the year that give you just that, from landscaping 101 to beekeeping and more, they can ensure you and your garden are glowing all year long.