Fall is the time to plant spring blooming bulbs for that wonderful first show of spring that we all love! When you think of spring, daffodils (Narcissus) or maybe crocus come to mind, but there are many other bulbs for fall planting to bring gorgeous color to your spring garden. Some of these even have bloom times that extend into the early summer. These bulbs are originally from all parts of the world. Aren't we lucky that we can grow them here, too!

Preparing your soil for bulb planting is simple. Amend with a good planting mix where you intend to plant your bulbs. As you dig each hole for the bulbs, add a bulb food. Each bulb, corm, rhizome or tuber requires a different planting depth. Follow the packaging instructions or ask one of us for help.

Following this preparation and giving your bulbs the sun/shade and watering that they require will bring you a vividly colorful spring garden.

By Tamara Galbraith

Here's a basic primer on how to divide some of your perennials. Don't neglect this fall duty; it's nature's way of giving you free plants!

Just like pruning, dividing should be done in the season opposite of planting. In other words, spring flowering = fall dividing and vice versa. Try to plan your dividing project for a cloudy, slightly cooler day with a good chance of rain in the following days.

Most perennials should be divided every three to five years. However, some, like columbines, poppies and euphorbias shouldn't ever be divided, even if they start to clump. Don't divide woody plants like lavender, rosemary or the bigger artemesias either.

Before starting your division project, thoroughly water all plants to be divided a day or two before you dig in. Likewise, prepare planting holes for the new divisions so they aren't languishing (and drying out) above ground for too long. You can also pot up divisions to build up size, overwintering pots in a protected environment. Make sure your tools are clean and, more importantly, very sharp.

Use a sharp pointed shovel or spading fork to dig down deep on all four sides of the plant, about 4 to 6 inches away from the plant. Pry underneath and lift the whole clump to be divided. If the plant is very large and heavy, you may need to divide it right in the ground with a sharp shovel before lifting the new sections out.

Shake or hose off loose soil and remove dead leaves and stems. This will help loosen tangled root balls and make it easier to see what you are doing. Depending on the root system, divide your plants as follows:

• Spreading root systems that have just a mess of disorganized roots include such plants as asters, bee balm, lamb’s ear, purple cornflowers and many other common perennials. Some can get out of control unless you divide them frequently. Luckily, they can usually can be pulled apart by hand, or cut apart with shears or knife. Divide the plants into clumps of three to five vigorous shoots each. Toss the center of the clump into the compost pile if it looks like it's run its course and is weaker than the outside edges.

• As the name suggests, clumping root systems originate from a central clump with multiple growing points and usually have thick fleshy roots. This group includes astilbes, hostas, daylilies and many ornamental grasses. A sharp knife is handy with these guys, as it is often necessary to cut through the thick crowns to separate the divisions. You can also pry apart these roots with two digging forks held back to back. Make sure at least one developing eye or bud exists on each division.

• Rhizomes are stems that grow horizontally at or above the soil level. Irises are the most common perennial with this type of root system. Divide irises any time between a month after flowering until early fall. Cut and discard rhizome sections that are one year or older and/or showing signs of disease and insect damage. Iris divisions should retain a few inches of rhizome and one fan of leaves, trimmed back halfway. Replant with the "shoulders" of the rhizome showing above soil level.

• Tuberous roots, like dahlias, should be cut apart with a sharp knife. Every division must have a piece of the original stem and a growth bud attached. After division they can either be replanted or stored for spring planting.

Silly as it sounds, dividing is probably my favorite fall gardening chore. When you dig up one daylily and all of a sudden it becomes four...well, for an avid gardener, that's like a magic show and a birthday gift all rolled into one!

Product Spotlight: Bog Boots®

From the wet, windy coastal gales to the knee-deep mud and snow of the Willamette Valley and the Cascades, BOGS® quality footwear roots itself in Oregon -- and its weather. With our forty years of shoe industry experience, we've strived to produce the most comfortable footwear for the most uncomfortable conditions, keeping your feet warm and dry -- all day long. Whether it's the farm, the forest or a night on the town, our designs integrate ground-breaking function with style.

BOGS® unique footwear is 100 percent waterproof, offering unsurpassed comfort and warmth, even in sub-zero temperatures. Using non-slip technology to release mud and snow, our soles guarantee the traction you need, specializing in designs for agriculture, hunting and around the town. We've also enhanced some of our designs with new, breathable materials to give you even greater, moisture-free comfort.

An industry pioneer in breathability, the engineered four-way stretch insulated upper actually breathes. BOGS'® unique inner construction is impervious to liquid water but pervious to water vapor -- waterproof materials that release perspiration!

Combine this innovation and quality-construction with styles that offer you the power of self-expression, and you have BOGS®. Offering creative, functional footwear for men, women and children, we guarantee your 100 percent satisfaction.

Oconomowoc Landscape Supply and Garden Center has these boots in stock, and we are happy to ship them as well. Contact us at (262) 567-1777 for more information.

You'll love BOGS® -- and your feet will love you for it.

We may be busy with carving pumpkins, and planning our recipes for the family festivities to come, but if we wish to reap the harvest of a thick, healthy, green lawn come next spring, we need to bundle up and get outside. It's time to prepare our cool season lawns to come through the winter in good condition.

Common cool season turf grasses include bluegrass, fescue, and perennial rye grass. These varieties love growing in the cool of fall and spring, and can handle freezing cold and snow cover. If the summer temps get too hot, these varieties turn brown as a defense mechanism and then green up again when rain and cooler weather return. In fact, the further north they're planted, the more likely they are to stay green and happy looking year 'round.

The deciduous trees that shade us and provide dappled light at day's end during the warm months, become the enemy after the first few frosts. No matter what the size of your lawn, it is vitally important to keep it free from the falling leaves. If your lawn is manageably small, use a lightweight leaf blower to clear pile-ups around the perimeter of your house. Start with your back to the house and aim the blower outwards. Rake the leaves onto a large tarp, or into a kangaroo bag, using bear claws to make the job go faster. You may find yourself cursing each breeze that brings down more leaves to clean up, but why not adjust your attitude towards realizing that this necessary fall clean-up is an excuse to extend your outdoor activities. And it's great exercise as well!

If your property is larger, you might want to consider adding a tractor with leaf collecting bags to your gardening arsenal. Use your leaf blower to send those pesky leaves towards a stretch of grass, where your tractor can then pick them up. Set the blades so that you're not cutting your grass below 3" in height. Empty the bins often, and remember that wet leaves will clog the tractor. A reasonably priced leaf blower will also contain a vacuum for sucking up the tenacious leaves that settle in amongst our shrubs and flower beds.

Your lawn needs to breathe, just as you do. Over the course of the season thatch accumulates and is an especial problem for our northern grasses. Thatch is a tight, brown, spongy, organic layer of living and dead grass roots and stems. There are a couple of ways of removing it; one is by lightly and frequently power raking your lawn. Deep power raking of a thatchy lawn can prove damaging and will often remove portions of the living turf.

A more efficacious method is to rent a core aerator from your local garden center or hardware store. The cost can be split with your neighbor, as two lawns can be easily aerated in the course of a day. Core aerating will loosen up your lawn, promote deep root growth, and reduce soil compaction that can prevent your grass from developing deep roots capable of absorbing rainwater.

Finally, apply a good winterizing fertilizer (31-3-8) at any time from October through mid-November. What may seem daunting tasks now will pay off in a healthy, happy lawn you can be proud to show off, come time for those barbecues!

Product Spotlight: Winter Woods® Northern Lights

The Northern Lights Division of Winter Woods Inc. offers a variety of products for your hearth and home.

One popular fire enhancing product is Winter Woods® Color Cones or Color Sticks will add a new dimension to your fireside nights. Toss them into your fire and watch the flames burn in brilliant greens and blues. 

Northern Lights Fatwood is Mother Nature's fire starter, obtained from the lower portions of long-needle pine trees.  The high concentration of resins enables the fatwood to be ignited with a single match. Fatwood will burn up to ten minutes to safely start your fire, and is great for lighting fireplaces, campfires and barbecues.

And finally, Cone-Pourri is  a hand-picked mixture of cones which are lightly scented with a choice of scents to add beauty and  aroma to any fireside.

These products make wonderful gifts, but we are warning you--once you enjoy a fire enhanced with Winter Woods® Fatwood, Pine Cones, Color-burning Cones, Color Sticks or Scented Cone-Pourri, you won't be able to give them away...unless you keep some to use yourself.

In the rush to celebrate Halloween, and do the early shopping for Christmas, often Thanksgiving becomes merely about football and feasting. In the colder climates, we need to think ahead to be prepared not only with fine food and football snacks, but with an ambience that truly reflects the meaning of this holiday.

Most garden centers that remain open in the north stock pre-made decorations, as well as all of the ingredients you need to out-do Martha Stewart herself. In fact, holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas provide the primary income off-season for such centers, and you will find that they are often so creative that your own imagination is inspired.

Take a walk around your home. Start collecting colorful leaves that have just drifted to the ground. They should be sturdy leaves with thick stems. When you've collected 30-40 of them, staple them to an orange or red ribbon and hang them across the front of your mantle. A walk in the woods will yield lots of pine cones, which can be used in your table's centerpiece; buy an inexpensive cornucopia made of woven reeds and fill it literally to overflowing with pine cones, gourds, mini-pumpkins, even pears, apples and citrus. The goal is color and plenty. The original cornucopias were made of a curved goat's horn filled with fruit and ears of grain, a decorative motif emblematic of abundance.

Don't wait until December to put your mini-lights to use; drape them across the center of your table, or along the top of your mantle. Curve the wires and in each "alcove" place a pine cone that you've spray painted white. Adorn with red berries that you've either found in your outdoor wanderings, or purchased in the craft department of your local garden center. An alternative idea is to collect small branches, spray paint them white, and create a forest of "snowy" branches that can be tied with a bright ribbon and hung on the front door.

Place cards may be fancy or a family affair. Print out personalized place cards that you can find on many websites. Or to give your guests a sparkly and homemade welcome, several days before feast day, write each guest's name in glue onto cardboard place cards. Then sprinkle the glue with glitter in colors of gold, bronze, or red. Tip to get rid of the excess glitter, and allow the cards to dry for at least 24 hours. Then sit the kids down with seasonal magazines and have them cut out the images that most remind them of Thanksgiving. Pasting the overlapping pictures around the edges of the guest's name card will give it the look of collage.

Using the good napkins? Roll up each one and wrap it with some raffia rather than a traditional napkin ring.

And here's a fun and fabulous family tradition to begin this year. At the beginning of November, buy a large piece of white poster paper and some brightly colored construction paper. Draw a tree with as many different branches as you can manage. Cut the construction paper into leaf shapes (the children can draw an outline of their hands for the perfect leaf). Every day, one member of the family selects a leaf, writes something he or she is grateful for, and pastes the leaf onto the tree. On Thanksgiving Day, the entire family may offer thanks for the items listed on the tree.

In between the madness of removing and storing the Halloween decorations, and choosing and decorating the Christmas tree, take time this year to rediscover Thanksgiving, and celebrate it with the beauty of both handcrafted and store-bought decorations. Our garden center experts will be able to guide you towards the creation of what will become your favorite day of the year!

How often should I water my potted plants?

Answer:

Outdoor potted plants tend to dry out more quickly and require more water than plants planted in the landscape. This is because potting soils are lighter in composition and less compact than garden soil. The size of the container also limits the water holding capacity. Watering potted plants once a day, or even twice daily, may be necessary--especially if the weather turns hot and windy or your containers are in full sunlight.

Indoors, most potted plants tend to be over-watered. They generally don't need to be watered more than once or twice per week.

The important thing is to check moisture levels often. If the potting soil appears pale or cracked, or feels dry below the soil's surface, then it's time to water. If plants are wilted and droopy, (or just in a plain old bad mood) then they're already seriously stressed and in need of immediate watering and potentially a trip to a therapist.

The use of a moisture meter can be very helpful. If you don't own a moisture meter, get one--it's better than using your fingers to check, and you'll cut way down on your manicure bills.

The idea is to water thoroughly but allow enough time between waterings for the soil to begin drying out. If the potting soil remains soggy for too long, air will be forced away from the roots and your plants may suffocate or drown.

Don't let plants sit in standing water. If a saucer is used under a container, make sure that it does not remain wet for more than an hour or two after watering. Poor drainage and damp soil conditions favor root-killing disease fungi that can develop as root rot and cause the plant to die.

If a potted plant gets too dry, stand the container in a bucket of water so that it can soak water right up into the soil. This is a better method than watering with a hose or can; in that case, the water will run straight through and around the dry soil where it has shrunk away from the side of the pot.