80 and Sunny.  Dreamy.

Now, before you kick back and enjoy the day, turn on the sprinkler and start watering those evergreens. Arborvitae, spruce, yews, and boxwood keep photosynthesizing even on the coldest days of winter and they need water now to keep them happy. Water your lawn too if you plan on an application of Fall Fertilizer in the next couple weeks.  Watering late season can lessen the winter damage that can affect your turf and garden.

Ok, so now that the sprinkler is on, get the lawn chair out and gaze out on the garden.  If it’s like mine, it’s a bit yellow, kinda bloomed out, and it’s ready for an intervention.  Scheme what you want to cut down now, to make soil amending easier, and what you want to keep tall to have some structure in the garden in the winter.  Grasses are a great choice to leave tall, as are Hydrangea shrubs and Rudbeckia.

(Shopping supplies:  pruner, lopper, brown paper lawn bags and Fall Lawn Fertilizer.)

And decorate!  Sunnyside is packed with Fall decorating supplies.  Locally grown pumpkins, gourds, and specialty pumpkins are versatile components for design; add them to pots, window boxes, steps, and table tops.  Next, add a fun seasonal doormat, a potted mum and some ornamental corn to hang from the door!  That’s Decorating Made Simple!