Autumn Planning Your Dream Garden

There's so much to do in the fall to get your garden ready to bloom beautifully next spring!  Depending on where you live, your fall gardening time may be almost past, but others may be just about to start. Follow the tips at #SGolis' blog (below) to get great ideas, but now is the time to plan your spring garden, prepare the ground, plant the bulbs you want to bloom in the Spring, as well as some tricks to force blooms for Christmas:
Autumn Season Gardening
Master Gardener S Golis happily answers quick questions in the comments.
We can't all call on commercial landscapers to make our yards beautiful, so watch the temperatures in your area and get to the garden center to get your supplies. If you don't want to deal with flowers, look into some of the interesting ground covers available nowadays, or consider a rock garden or something similar.

Rock Garden photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daryl_mitchell/

There are so many types of gardens these days that even those of us with no green thumb at all can have nice looking gardens year round:
1. Figure out how involved you want to be first. If you don't really want to get your hands dirty but don't have the money for a professional, consider doing the planning and then hiring a neighborhood teen who wants to earn extra money to do the soil preparation, with your guidance. Or if you really want to do everything yourself, you'll only have to pay for supplies.
2. How much time to will you have to maintain your garden -- or how much can you afford to pay someone to maintain it for you? This will determine the kind of garden you need. Start with your dream garden, research the types of plants and the level of care. Then move from the dream garden to something that better fits your lifestyle, pocketbook and yard -- gradually. Perhaps you can keep a smaller version of your dream garden and make the rest something a little easier to care for. Or perhaps your dream garden will fit right into your yard, your time and your budget. Your imagination is the limit! Who says beautiful peonies can't coexist with a rock garden yard? Who says you can't have different types of small gardens in your yard, or make your entire yard grassless and flowerless using rocks and wood and mulch or ground cover.
3. Determine how well your planned garden fits into your budget. If you have to downsize, start with a small area in the front of your house, for better curb appeal, and next year work on the rest. Or if the front of your house is "okay," build yourself a small oasis near your patio, your bedroom or kitchen window.

Your dream garden might have to change a little to fit into your lifestyle, budget and yard, but you can still make a dreamy garden that fits your personality. A rock garden seems totally boring to some people, but when you research them, they are actually quite beautiful and interesting when done right. So look at every type of garden to find your dream garden.

Your dream garden might be a small patio garden.
photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88979981@N00/

Rock Garden photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcsproduction/

Now here's a rock garden:

Rocking rock garden photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindyfunk/

Japanese rock garden photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimg944/

Floral gardens are the norm and they are beautiful. They take more work, generally speaking, but if you choose wisely, you can create a beautiful floral garden that does not require too much upkeep.

Floral garden photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/

Most people love a beautifully manicured floral garden as pictured here, but not many people have the space or expertise to do something like this at home. However, you can make a smaller version if you'd like. Gardens can be very personal and you can make a floral garden in a very small section of the yard as well as all over the yard. It's your choice.






Some people think a garden is not complete without a water feature, which is getting easier and easier to build, with so many kits available from small to large.

Garden water fall photo: