Garden Maintenance Made Simple: Seasonal Tips for Flowers, Water Features, and Lawns

Maintenance is easier than planting—if you stay ahead.

Flower Beds

• Early spring: slow-release fertilizer.
• Deadhead spent blooms.
• Fall: clear debris, add compost/peat, turn soil gently (avoid perennial roots).

Water Gardens

• Plants cover ~50% surface (floaters, submerged, marginals).
• Fish control mosquitoes and algae.
• Pythium blight (white cottony fungus on wet soil): water early day to prevent.

Fall Vegetable Gardening

Extends harvest. Cool-season crops often taste sweeter. Don't quit at frost.

Perennial Rye Grass Alert

In cool, humid nights, avoid wet grass—invites Pythium blight.

Catalogs: Your Planning Ally

Better selection than big-box stores. Plan winter; order early.

Small, timely actions prevent big, costly problems.