September is a great time to start cleaning up the garden and dividing up perennials that have become a little too invasive. There is no better time to do this, i.e. dividing, when it is raining. The soil is easier to work and even though it can get a bit messy, it makes it easier to work the soil. This is also a good time to plant any new perennials or shrubs.
When the annuals have past their prime, you can remove and compost them. The annuals in my hanging baskets are still doing well so I will not be dealing with them until later in the season. You need to lift any tender bulbs, i.e. gladioli and dahlias, then store the corms/tubers in a cool place but somewhere free of frost. If you have any tender perennials, in my case there is a variety of penstemon and saliva that does not survive the winter, this is a good time to lift them too and store in a suitable cool/dry environment. Every year I always dig out my lacy leaf maple by the pond. I am afraid of losing it so this way I can make sure that it will survive. Obviously it does stunt the growth but I still prefer to do this.
Most importantly it is spring bulb planting time. I have mentioned in earlier posts some of my favourites, i.e. grape hyacinth, miniature daffodils, chionodoxa, but each year I do like to add a new variety and see how well they do. I always like to pot up a few bulbs in a container and I sink the bulb potted container in my vegetable bed with lots of mulch (fallen leaves are good enough) so that I have something cheery to look forward to in early spring. Shortly I will be visiting my favourite nursery or Home Depot to view the vast array of bulb options.
Once I do start to dismantle the baskets I will be overwintering again the geraniums and fuchsias and this is a good time to take cuttings. I make the cut under a node, remove the lower leaves and dip the cutting in rooting hormone before potting up.
I continue to prune back perennials, shrubs and rose bushes throughout this month and with regard to rose bushes, it is a good idea to clean up any fallen leaves to avoid disease like black spot.
In the vegetable patch, I continue to harvest as much as possible and then I will do a big clean up and mulch as much as possible with all the fallen leaves. This will then be worked in with compost when preparing the bed for sowing vegetable seeds next Spring.
Plants that I associate with Fall are asters, chrysanthemums and sedum (Autumn Joy) and there is one particular perennial that has graceful arching sprays of small yellow flowers related to the solidago family (see http://www.finegardening.com/goldenrod-solidago for further details). Even though the asters have a tendency of taking over my garden I do still enjoy them.
