Warning this might be a long post! And obviously these pictures are from a while ago, being that I don't think I have seen my yard in weeks with all the snow we have been having...
Perennials fade/die in the late fall and need to be cut back. Some people like to look at the foliage over the winter and cut them back in the spring, other cut them back in the fall so the garden beds look tidy. I did a combination of both. Anything that was looking ratty (like the hosta and the daylily) I cut back, anything that might look nice over the winter with some snow on it (like the cone flower and grasses) I kept.
Here are some before and after...I know it looks so bare in the after, but winter was coming, and there was nothing we could do about it! : (
I just took clippers and cut things back only leaving an inch or two left.
Please note, this is for perennials, not shrubs!
Another reason for cutting things back was to have room to plant bulbs! Yay bulbs!!!
As most of you know, spring bulbs are planted in the fall. You tuck them in the ground and come spring they give you a show! I take comfort knowing they are under all this snow waiting to grow!
At work, we suggest people wait to plant bulbs until all the trees, shrubs and perennials are in, and the beds are not going to change. That way you can coordinate the bulbs with the perennials for a nice well thought out garden AND since as the perennials come up, they can hide the ratty post-flower bulb foliage. : )
Since my front and side gardens are far from finished, I wasn't going to plant any bulbs this year. But my coworker politely told me that if I don't plant any, I will be whining come spring that I have none in my yard! ha! Wise Woman! So I decided to get a few bulbs. : )
I headed to home depot and got some bulbs...oh wait what is that other bag you ask..opps I went to the garden center too and got some more! haha I still think it is only a "few"!
As I said before, bulbs are best coordinated with perennials. At work we typically plant a grouping of bulbs between each perennials. You can assume planting in groups of about 6, but that varies a bit per bulb.
You can see the green clusters of cut back perennials, and you can see the groups of little brown bulbs. If you can't see it, check out this ghetto diagram below. : )
Since I am sure you are dying to know ha!, here is where I put bulbs this fall:
1) Between the Rozanne Geranium I planted some mixed crocus, since this is one area you see when you pull in the driveway and the crocus are one of the first signs of spring!
For the smaller bulbs this little tool was pretty handy, you just push it into the soil to the depth it calls for on the bulb package.
2) In the Hamlin Grasses around the eating patio, I mixed small and large pale two-toned Daffodils. Ice Follies and Jack Snipe. And again I put grouping between grass masses.
("sidewides", geez, sometimes I think my brain is sidewides with all my spelling errors! opps! text within a photo is a pain to edit, so just enjoy my mistake! ha!)
For the large bulbs the little tool didn't work and you had to shovel. I shoveled on big hole for all the bulbs that were in one grouping.
3) In the front on the corner I planted bright yellow Daffodils. Dutch Master. This area is definitely subject to change in the future, but I wanted some color when you turned the corner, for myself and for my neighbors. I was really thinking of my neighbors and being self-less!
4) #1 - 3 were supposed to be it, but I got sucked in with these fabulous tulips and just got two small bags which I put in the perennial border. Tulips don't always come back as well as other bulbs, but however long they last, I will enjoy cutting them and bring in them inside.
I can't wait for this long cold and snowy winter to be over so I can show you pictures of these babies in bloom!!!!!
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