10 Landscaping Mistakes Not to Make This Fall

1. Don’t overlook painting of your exterior home

While you may be thinking that landscaping only pertains to living plants and ground cover around your outdoor home, your exterior paint color of your home plays a big role in the overall look of your exterior. The fall is the perfect time to opt for a new paint job, or retouching chipping paint and repairing siding before painting can make your landscaping show in the best light.

2. Don’t forget hardscape areas are just as important as soft landscaping:

Landscaping can be broken into two smaller categories – soft and hard. Soft landscaping is that which is live and has texture and can be planted. While hardscaping refers to sidewalks, driveways, rocks, mulch, and pavers placed around your home for safety, function, and beauty. Keep your driveways clean by power washing throughout the fall months and into the winter months.

3. Don’t overlook plant boxes below your windows for adding texture

Window or plant boxes are a great way to add texture to your outdoor home and to add color to the vast majority of color to your siding, brick, or exterior colored surface. Plant boxes are perfect for homes that don’t have a lot of grounds but still want to add greenery to your home’s façade.

4. Don’t mistake the beauty of fallen leaves as a reason not to rake

If you live in a home that has many mature and older trees in the neighborhood, you may get caught up in the nostalgia of falling autumn leaves, but they can also be dangerous if not raked regularly. Excess fallen leaves can hide sidewalk or walkways that are in disrepair or can get wet and becomes slippery underfoot for pedestrians. Rake leaves weekly during the fall months to avoid a possible accident.

5. Fall doesn’t mean the end of hot tub maintenance

For many hot tub owners the ending of summer symbolizes forgetting about maintenance and getting the hot tub ready for winter! Think again – remember that you need to keep its chemicals balanced levels, but also fallen debris, leaves, and bugs will need to be cleaned out weekly.

6.  Don’t make the mistake of neglecting your yard tools

Every fall your yard and gardening tools get put away in your garden shed or garage and are forgotten about until the spring. Before you let them “hibernate” for the cooler months, ensure they are all working, cleaned off from dirt and debris, and are stored correctly. Don’t let soil, moisture or other debris make your tools unusable in the upcoming seasons.

7. Don’t think that your fall lawn doesn’t need fertilizer and care

Just because your fall lawn isn’t growing at the same rapid growth as the summer months, your lawn still needs upkeep such as cutting and fertilizing.  Look to your local nursery or home improvement garden center for local growing guides based on your climate and demographics. A fall lawn that is fertilized on a fall seasonal routine will help from getting damaged during the colder winter months ahead.

8. Remember your neighbors in the fall outdoor season

Since autumn is a time when families get busier with school, work, and extra-curricular indoor activities, don’t neglect your neighbor’s views and safety in the care of your outdoor home. Remember to keep your shared sidewalks raked free of leaves and ensure overlying tree branches are kept trimmed and safe away from power lines for fall and winter rain and snow storm damage.

9. Don’t forget to plant spring bulbs this fall for colorful blooms next year

The fall is the best time to start thinking about colorful flowers sprouting in the spring. Check with your local nursery on what flowering bulbs are best to plant now while the soil is still soft before winter’s frost. You will love how your fall planting now will lead to a gorgeous garden in the spring. Ensure you follow the grower’s directions and plant them low enough into the ground to prevent freezing of your bulbs and hard work!

10. Don’t forget to use colorful ground cover to add visual interest

While you may think fall means that your outdoor home will lack color, think otherwise with creative and colorful ground covering solutions. Colored wood and rubber mulch varieties provide a gorgeous backdrop for evergreen trees and coniferous plants. Ground hugging plants like cranberry cotoneaster and other hedge plants can make for an autumn show of color outdoor home will love!