I want to share with you my best yard and rose maintenance tips for fall!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Easy Elegance® Roses. The opinions and text are all mine. Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of this post!
Throughout this year, I’ve been sharing updates on our backyard and how I’ve recently added color to our otherwise very green space. In May I started by adding in some Easy Elegance® Roses (My Girl variety) and potentilla shrubs, and in July I gave a mid-year update, including info on some of my planters filled with annuals around the pool. Today I’m going to share some additional progress, as well as how I’m preparing our backyard for fall and winter.
One of my favorite features of the roses I added is that they re-bloom all year long! Even after being hit by a massive hailstorm in June (the one that totaled our roof), the shrubs recovered quickly and even now, several of the shrubs still have colorful blooms! This picture is from three weeks ago. Can you believe how much these new shrubs have already grown? And how many blooms there still are?! I’m thinking that by next year, the pool equipment will almost be fully covered.
As of last week, it’s definitely looking more like fall around here, but the pretty roses are still providing some color even into early fall! Sadly, we’ll be closing our pool in another week or two, so I’m enjoying this view while I still can!
The great news is, Easy Elegance® roses are specifically bred to stand up to winter cold. This means you don’t need to do any of the in-depth winter protection like you do for many other roses! I see so many houses in our neighborhoods that cover their roses with buckets or other forms of protection, but thankfully, these hardy rose shrubs are carefree and don’t require any of that! I’m not sure I could handle looking at a covered pool and buckets all over our yard!
I did some minor deadheading last week in prep for winter, but it really isn’t necessary with these roses. You’ll want to ensure you stop deadheading roses by August or September to allow the stems to harden and form hips. If you deadhead too late, the frost can kill the stem. For additional helpful tips throughout the seasons, text EASYELEGANCE to 73095 for timely care tips. I just love how little maintenance these require – they truly are roses anyone can grow!
Since our fall seasons tend to be drier than spring, we like to give our trees and shrubs several deep waterings in the early and mid-fall days. This will help ensure they stay hydrated should we have a dry winter. If your beds don’t already have mulch, you may want to add that around the base of your plants in case you do have an extremely cold winter.
In terms of our annuals, I also pulled many of them last week as well. We’ve still had several days up into the 90’s this month, but we’ve also had nights that have dropped into the 40’s and 50’s. I think it’s confused so many of my annuals and I decided to pull the ones that weren’t doing as well and leave the more hardy versions. Admittedly, I wasn’t watering them as much these last few weeks either, but that can be the issue with annuals. They need so much water and nearly on a daily basis, so I was getting a bit lax. I’ll likely pull those as well in the next week or two, since they’re so much easier to remove before it really starts to freeze.
Random aside. Did you know sweet potato vines actually grow potatoes? I have no idea if they’re edible or not, but it’s always fun to find them! These were actually the smallest ones I “grew” and they came from just one of the vines.
It feels good to have most of the backyard cleaned up and ready to go for the colder months. Especially since I got most of it done while the weather was still beautiful!
As we look into 2018, we have some small plans to add a few more evergreen trees, additional colorful perennials, and more roses throughout our backyard. We’re also looking to expand our back patio and possibly build in an outdoor kitchen (if budget allows). After that, dare I say we’ll be 100% finished with backyard landscaping? I’m already looking forward to spring and summer next year when I can see all of my plants blooming again!
**Giveaway is now closed. The winner (Pam) has now been notified by email**
Now for the giveaway! We are giving away One (1) pair of Rose Gloves, one (1) Pocket Pruner, and one (1) pair of Easy Elegance branded gloves. Simply leave a comment telling me how you prep your gardens or planters for fall/winter! The giveaway will be open until Friday, September 29th at 11:59 PM Central. Must be 18 years or older and a US resident to enter the giveaway. Good luck!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Easy Elegance Roses. The opinions and text are all mine.
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Heather S says
I don’t usually do to much. I prefer low maintenance plants. The only thing we have to do is cut back our ornamental grasses. 🙂
ellen from Ask Away says
So i actually pull EVERYTHING, till my soil, and mulch with leaves in my veggie garden. other than that i dont really have to do much else because i just do potted flowers over my stone mulch.
Stephanie Phelps says
We weed and put out some fertilizer and then mulch well in the fall. Plus we plant some fall and winter plants!
Karenann says
I love gardening in the fall. I always trim all my shrubs and plant beautiful mums for color. I clean out all the beds and neaten up all the gardens before the cold winter begins.
Pam says
I tend to cut down everything so that in the spring there isn’t much dead stuff when the new growth starts. Love to see everything come back to life in the early Spring!
Sharon says
I’m stubborn about keeping tropicals growing up north, so I dig them up and winter over inside in pots (a big hassle) and replant in the spring. I mulch my vegetable garden with raked leaves and till them in in the spring, and I cover my roses with styrofoam covers covered with leaf piles.
Kathy says
Cut down some grasses and my daylilies. Clean up so come Spring a clean slate. Hoping to do some perennials in the Spring.
Liz says
I weed, prune, and hope for the best!
carol clark says
i clean up around it and i put mulch on my plants cause i know winter is coming and thats it
Amy Orvin says
I just clip everything back and try and add more soil to the areas.
Renee says
We cover our patio furniture and roll up the rug. This year we’re planting some rye grass in the lawn for winter…no snow here in the Central Valley of California.
Heidi says
I clip everything back and switch out my begonias for mums. Great post!
Jennifer says
I like to trim the hostea mid July to give them a new appearance for fall
Linda says
I actually just removed all of the overgrown bushes and planted smaller plants that I’ve always wanted. Going to add mulch and hope they survive the harsh NE winter!
Kim says
Have filled my pots with kale and mums…looks terrific for fall. Emptying the pots that are tired looking.
Kathy Beemer says
Cutting certain things back is about all I do. It seems I do more work in the spring.
Marilyn says
I usually mow my grass and gather my pots to prepare for Fall. The flowers that are remaing are kept in a safe place away from the Winter weather. Thank you for the giveaway.
Marilyn
Melissa Storms says
I really don’t do nearly enough to prepare my gardens for the winter, it definitely makes things harder in the spring though.
beverly e says
Ha, ha! I just discovered the “taters” growing in a pot this Spring from last years vine. I don’t know if they’re edible either. For Fall, I just empty the dead pots and replace with mums. Everything else is good til the first frost, then I cover or bring in.
Anonymous says
This year I am planting a ton of plants for our new two year old home.
We will be transplanting some plants and getting everything ready for next year.
Angela Hendricks says
I prune them if they need to be pruned and I put down fresh mulch!
Ashley Kolpak says
I trim back plants and prepare my garden for the winter.
Ericka says
I cut back all of my flowers, and trim back any bushes during the fall. I dump potted plants and put the planters away so they don’t get cracked in our cold, Michigan winters. I love watching everything pop up in the spring and start turning green!
Tiffany says
This is my first year in our single family home (we moved from a condo) so I am def taking note of your tips to get started this upcoming weekend. I will likely pull out all of the annuals, hydrate everything else, and PRAY! LOL
Alina says
The best time of the year to garden. Not too cold or too hot. I ensure all weeding is done, mulch to protect and feed soil and definitely prune.
Sean says
I didn’t know that the sweet potatoes vines grew potatoes. I’m going to have to try it out next year.
It’s get very windy here in Michigan, so I cover my pine trees and ensure that I have ample mulch.
Sean says
I make sure to mow sufficiently and mulch. Also cover my veggie garden to protect it from the brutal winter.