How to prioritize fall garden cleanup ≈|≈ Reclaim a weedy area

There's a lot to do in fall to get the garden ready. Here's how I prioritize it all.

My name is Erin and I love sharing inspiration and information with real-life gardeners. I live and garden in southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5.

#FallGardenCleanup #TheImpatientGardener

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The Impatient Gardener
125 E. Main St.
Port Washington, WI 53074

[sharonallen]

Erin, thank you for another great video.

[greatgardensforall]

I just love watching other people work 😆

[mariafolch]

Erin, is it ok to trim my boxwood topiary? With the fluctuation of temperatures these days, it has grown out some and I don't want to loose the shape. Thanks for your fall tips.🍂🍁🍃

[AJsGreenThumbLLC]

Great approach to fall gardening. I’ve since become more aware of beneficial wildlife habitat preservation in the garden. The need to leave spent perennials and such for a more healthier and inviting garden environment...really great video Erin.

[stampinghippo]

Erin, you recommended the "newspaper lasagna" as a weed surpressing form. Let me tell you about a family of widely read squirrels in my garden. They had a blast last winter, reading all the news I had burried in my new to be built gardenbeds. After reading the news they somehow shredded the paper in teeny tiny pieces and left them all over the place. Then came the spring and the usual storms. Raking this mess together made me think of cardboard, which I hoarded for years in the shed. Silly me. But you are so right about leaving the leavesin the beds as a good thick layer of mulch. It is the best way of dealing with fall and getting your garden together .

[chelseab.]

Thanks for the Wilt Stop on boxwood trick! I’ve never heard of that!

[emmalavenham]

Dried flowers such as astilbe and hydrangea linger well into the winter. The bright green stems of kerria glow in the winter sun... and the seed heads of echinacea and rudbeckia look great in the snow - and provide food for the birds. There is a quiet loveliness about winter. It is just a matter of changing your perspective and planting accordingly.

[kerrydibiasio]

I used to want the tidy garden at fall...now I love leaving stuff for the wild and I asked myself why am I removing these leaves??? They are good for my soil. Stay in the bed my friends! 🤣🤣

[JJ-fmhr]

great tips
love your sense of humor!
your laid-back gardening style encourages me

[FlowerPatchFarmhouse]

I don't chop leaves at all (truly lazy) and have not had any issues with matting so far. Nice composters, I would send you buckets of chicken litter if I could, great with leaves! I can already imagine the rich dark soil under all those wood chips. I am still working on getting my Fall bulbs planted so that is my priority right now. We had some freak freezing weather that put a few inch layer of snow on the ground then froze it so it made for miserable planting conditions. This weekend it is to warm up into the 50's with some sun making it much nicer so I delayed some of that bulb planting.

[shannonholmberg]

So wholeheartedly agree with this thinking about garden cleanup in the fall. 👍👍👍 This prioritizing works so well as I age and frankly I just have more drive and energy in the spring because I’m ready to get out there and put into action all my plans I’ve come up with during the winter. 😄

[deechiodo]

Loved the "and then I got distracted"! Ha ha! Seems I cant walk 3 feet into my yard without having 10 garden chores going at the same time! But, I love it all and at the end of the day seem to always get them done! So appreciate your down to earth ways of gardening!

[soonstrgzr]

Great video and love the info. I always say I will get done what I can in the fall. I leave the things that are the least important to do on those days that pop up in the winter that are warm. Just to get outside of the house even if it is just for an hour or 2.

[thepiquinggardener]

I am "the mow it all down" kind because I am so overwhelmed in spring the burgeoning garden. I may alter my method a little to help our birds and bees. thanks for your suggestions.

[karinjohnston]

Love this video and great messaging: embrace the mess! So much better for the garden and eco systems and more interesting. Getting better at letting things just be, neighbours aren’t so happy about it but provides opportunities to educate :) the other day we had deer, rabbits, squirrels and so many birds hanging out on the back lawn at the same time just respecting each other’s space. no one was in the garden beds because we’ve left lots of wildness for them—it was a sweet moment.

[nadapavlekovic]

Hi Erin! As always, very informative. And, if I may remark, I think, after reporting live, you're a lot more relaxed in your videos. Thanks for all the videos. I learn and enjoy it. Nada, Croatia 😊🌿

[jacquelinek]

I so enjoy watching your videos. I can’t get enough of your hydrangea tips in prior videos.
. I also use cardboard box as my weed barrier. Thank you for taking time to make these videos for newbie planters like me..
Also. Wow.. you have the most pretty eyes. 🤗

[lindadavidson]

The birds here also eat the seeds off the dry seedheads of perennials. Great video!

[emkn]

Ooo...I hadn’t noticed deer pressure on my oak leaf...yet. I will be paying attention! And I can’t stop ordering bulbs! After your anemone video I looked into them and saw how daisy-like the blooms were and thought they would be perfect for a gravestone area (just superficial, for remembrance) we have under mature trees. Daisies were my MIL’s favorite flower, but they won’t grow in this area. I’m hoping my FIL will appreciate those anemones in the spring 💚

And YES 🙌 I used Jay’s cardboard idea to make a big, new bed this year, and I have plans for more next year! So exciting ✨

[stacylesniewski]

Thanks for the video. I think I could watch cleanup videos for hours! Seeing you get a new area ready for spring is inspiring :)