Fall is great time to be in the garden. It’s cool outside and pleasant for planting. Think of us for:

• Mums in all colors, cabbage and kale, pumpkins and gourds, ornamental grasses and so much more.
• We have it all for Halloween! Fantastic carving kits and tools, fun flags, outdoor lights and decorations.
• Dearborn is the place for lots of fall family fun. Click here ( provide link) to find out all of our fun events.
• There are terrific and informative FREE Garden Center Seminars going on in October. ( Click here for a link to seminars) There will be refreshments, free give aways and some great door prizes. Simply call 732-264-0256 to reserve your space.

What’s Going on in Your Garden:

October is here. Time for harvesting the last few vegetables from your garden and bringing in the remaining mums and other annuals to become part of your Thanksgiving table. We love to walk through the woods at this time of year and bring back woodland vines such as Bittersweet with its lovely orange and red berries. I also like to collect brightly colored leaves, acorns, seed pods, dried grasses, interestingly shaped branches and other autumnal flora. They’re fun to use as part of dried arrangements or to make a fall vignette using gourds and other items displayed on an old plate or tray. It can be a welcome presentation when used in a foyer or on a dinning room side boy.

Remember those coffee table terrariums once quite popular in the 1970's? They’re making resurgence now and we’ve planted up several in the store. I like to use woodland mosses, wild ferns and other small plants that I’ve collected on my trips into the local woods when planting up my terrariums. The scale of the plants need to match the scale of the bottle or other container you are planting. Don’t be afraid to incorporate small twigs, pebbles, sea glass or other items with your plantings. (Just be sure it’s OK to collect these items from the woods you wonder through!)

Here are a few other things to keep in mind during this month:

• Keep leaves racked off your lawn. Heavy wet leaves can suffocate and kill even the hardiest grass beds.
• Now is your last chance to plant Fall grass seed and fall fertilize your lawn. Don’t wait too long!
• Plant those fall bulbs now. Follow directions to plant bulbs to the proper depth. We like them best naturalized in clumps around the base of large trees or underneath small shrubs. This is your last chance to remove those tender summer bulbs.
• Now is the best time to fertilize trees. Their roots will store the food all winter long.
• Clean out any bird houses now so that they’re ready for the first Spring arrivals. Take in an unusually delicate houses that might become damaged from a winter storm.
• Check those outdoor Holiday light sets now. It’s no fun to plug in a dead set once your outside in the cold. Some stores run preseason sales on lights.
• Thin and prune back your lilac bushes now to insure beautiful blossoms next Spring. In general, all smaller trees and shrubs should be pruned back of any dead or diseased wood now.
• Plant azaleas now. Examine the tag carefully to ensure the correct color placement within your garden. Mulch them well with plenty of peat moss.
• Tie up your evergreens subject to snow damage. These include Arborvitae, Junipers, Yew and Box.
• Spray your broadleaf evergreens (such as rhododendrons) with “Wiltpruf” when the temperature is over 40 degrees. This will protect them from the worst freezes.
• Mulch around delicate plants, shrubs and bushes to get them through those particularly cold nights.
• Outdoor ponds should be covered with bird netting to prevent Fall Leaves from spoiling the water. Use rocks or pieces of slate to make the netting taught across the pond. Take out, clean and store pumps and underwater lights. Stop feeding fish once the temperature drops to freezing. They will no longer each and the food will only rot in the water. Any water plants should be dropped to a depth of at least 18" to 24" to prevent freezing.