By September, lavender plants that flowered heavily through early and mid-summer are often looking a bit scraggly. Lingering faded flower stalks might be poking up like spent toothpicks, and the center of the mound may be splaying open under its own weight. So it’s very tempting to grab the shears and start pruning lavender back hard right about now to make your border look neat and tidy ahead of winter.

But fall is where lavender care can become a little counterintuitive. Lavender is not an herbaceous perennial that can be cut to the dirt. It is a woody subshrub, which means that its older, lower stems harden into wood over time. Once you slice deep into that leafless wood, it rarely pushes out fresh shoots again. Making aggressive cuts in fall is one of the quickest ways to ruin an established lavender plant.

Three lavender pruning cuts in particular tend to go wrong if attempted in fall. But that doesn’t mean you have to dodge cutting altogether – it just means you have to adapt your approach, and respect your plant’s needs in the approach to the cooler, damper months ahead. Understanding this will help to keep your plant healthy and resilient ahead of the new year. Do the right thing this fall, so you don’t ruin future blooms. Here are the risky cuts to avoid – and the one safe snip to try before winter.

Why Fall Cuts Hit Lavender Harder

Plenty of soft-stemmed perennials can be sheared nearly down to the ground in fall and will return without a hitch next spring. Lavender works differently: its active growth buds sit almost entirely within the soft, leafy green growth at the top. The older, woody lower stems lack the buds needed to sprout new foliage once they are trimmed down. Cut too far into those stems and you wave goodbye to future blooms.

Different lavender species react with varying degrees of drama, but late-season cutting puts them all at risk. Cold-hardy English lavenders (L. angustifolia) like Hidcote and Munstead tolerate light shaping, but deep cuts expose their woody cores to severe winter frost-cracking. Hybrid lavandins (L. x intermedia) such as Grosso hold onto heavy, sap-rich stems that bleed energy if clipped late. Meanwhile, tender French (L. dentata) and Spanish (L. stoechas) lavenders struggle to recover from any major structural disturbance as temperatures drop.

(Image credit: Wita Design / Getty Images)

Furthermore, cutting lavender coaxes out a fresh flush of tender growth. In early June, encouraging fresh shoots is exactly what you want. Late in the season, though, soft new shoots won’t have time to harden off before the first freeze hits. Extreme cold can damage that new growth easily, and frost can turn tender tips into black stumps, opening the plant up to fungal infection in USDA growing zones 4-7.

That’s a tough price to pay for a slightly neater shrub, and yards with an early freeze can feel it the most. Keeping a thermometer handy, like the budget-friendly Serundo Mini Digital Thermometer from Amazon, can help you pinpoint where temperatures are at on a particular day for your lavender. But what do you do about straggly plants in fall? Read on to find out about the cuts that hurt, and the one that can help…

The 3 Risky Cuts to Skip

(Image credit: Andrii Tatarynov / Alamy)

Each of the following fall cutting mistakes seems sensible and well-intentioned enough in the moment, especially when you’re having a backyard cleanup spree. The trouble is that the damage rarely shows up immediately: it hides quietly through the chilly months, only revealing itself in spring when dead, brown gaps appear.

By the time warm spring weather arrives, there’s little you can do to repair fall pruning damage, except wait and hope a few stray buds green up. Understanding how different varieties react to late-season trimming can help to ensure your plants survive the winter unscathed. But you’ll be doing your lavender a massive favor if you dodge the following cuts now.

1. The Hard Scalp

(Image credit: Almaje / Getty Images)

Picture a lavender mound sheared down to a few inches of brown, leafless stubs, the same way someone might cut back spent daylilies. Bare lavender wood is a one-way street: cut into that brown bark without leaves attached, and that branch almost certainly stays bare forever.

Some scalped plants recover in patchy, uneven tufts, and sit lopsided for 2-3 seasons, while older specimens don’t come back at all. Even an aged, leggy specimen that desperately needs reshaping is better renewed gradually over a couple of years, with gentle cuts in early spring rather than a tragic fall slaughter. Container-grown lavender is especially vulnerable to hard scalping, as pot-bound roots cannot recover from total foliage loss.

2. The Late Month Flush

(Image credit: Westend61 / Getty Images)

Here, the cut itself might be perfectly gentle, but it’s the timing that trips things up. Trimming lavender stems too close to your local first frost date will trigger the plant to push out a quick flush of tender, sap-rich green tips that have zero chance of toughening up before those freezing temperatures arrive.

A common rule for pruning lavender is to wrap up trimming 6-8 weeks before your region's average first hard frost date. In colder northern zones (4-6), the seasonal window can be closing as early as mid-August. In warmer southern climates (8-10), light trimming can be extended into late September, but that’s about it. Checking your local frost dates removes all the guesswork before your shears get busy.

3. The Flat Top Box Cut

(Image credit: Dorling Kindersley Ltd / Alamy)

A crisp, squared-off lavender hedge cut like a formal boxwood might look sharp – at least along a sunny brick walkway. But by February, however, maybe not so much. In fact, that box cut can wind up becoming a structural liability for your fragrant hedge as winter rolls in. A flat top can collect wet snow and hold heavy rain instead of shedding it naturally.

Under the weight of winter snowdrifts, a flat-topped lavender mound can also split down the center, exposing the interior to frost damage. Straight, vertical box cuts can also drag the blades down deeper into bare wood along the sides. Instead, lavender hedges stay healthier over winter when maintained as a continuous series of soft, rounded mounds that allow snow to slide off effortlessly.

The Fall Cut That Works

(Image credit: Ekaterina Varnakova / Getty Images)

As you can see, quite a few of the cuts we might embrace earlier in the year become liabilities in fall. The Hard Scalp and Late Month Flush cuts can directly endanger the plant's survival, while the Flat Top Box Cut does its structural harm more slowly over a snowy winter. But there is one type of cut you can safely carry out in fall: the green tip sweep. As the name suggests, this fall snip is focused on a gentle tidy-up.

Grab your sharpest pruners or snips. If you don’t have any, I can recommend the nimble Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips with Softgrip Handles, available at The Home Depot. They give you precision cuts that slide easily between crowded shoots and won’t gouge surrounding shoots. Start with the spent flower stalks, snipping each one down to where the top cluster of green leaves begins.

(Image credit: Toni Jardon / Getty Images)

Once the dead stalks are cleared, gather a loose handful of leafy stems in one hand and clip an inch (2.5 cm) off the soft green leafy tips. Work your way around the plant so the outer growth ends up slightly shorter than the central crown. This creates a gentle dome shape that snow can glide off rather than pile on. As a basic guide, always leave 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) of green foliage above the woody part of every stem. If a stem looks thin on leaves or a bit stressed, skip it.

For individual specimen plants, precision snips work best to slip between crowded shoots. For walkway hedges, hedge shears speed up the job, provided you follow the curved contours of each plant rather than cutting flat lines. Whichever tool comes out, keep the edge sharp, as dull blades tend to crush stems. If you haven’t got a sharpener, it’s worth investing in the Orange Ninja 7-in-1 Knife Sharpener from Amazon, for razor-sharp cuts that slice cleanly through stems. Do this right, and you’ll create healthy evergreen mounds that retain their shape through winter.

When to Skip the Sweep

(Image credit: Aninka Bongers-Sutherland / Getty Images)

Depending on your lavender variety and late-season conditions, you may need to skip pruning until spring. Tall, vigorous lavandin hybrids (such as Grosso and Phenomenal) bloom later in summer. Their framework handles winter best when left intact until early April. Similarly, tender Spanish lavenders should only receive a very light deadheading in fall, as heavy pruning in colder climates frequently proves fatal.

Whatever gets cut, make sure you give your tools a quick wipe with Equate 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol from Walmart to prevent any disease from traveling plant to plant. However, if frost is already creeping into your local 10-day forecast, just snip off the dry flower stalks and leave all the foliage intact to shelter the crown.

After completing any light trimming, rake fallen stems away from the base of the plant. Damp, decaying leaf litter packed against the plant all winter can trap moisture and invite fatal root rot. Happily, those fragrant trimmings need not go to waste. Dry the aromatic leaves and tuck them into muslin sachets for your linen drawers.

Best Lavender Care for Fall

(Image credit: Paul Hanson / Alamy)

Beyond pruning, good fall lavender care needs to focus on water management and root insulation. Soggy soil kills far more lavender plants than freezing temperatures ever will. Reduce watering significantly as the days shorten, allowing the top couple of inches (5cm) of soil to dry out completely between rains.

Where your lavender is growing in heavy clay soil, work some coarse sand, pea gravel, or crushed horticultural grit into the surface around the plant to help improve drainage. For ground-based lavenders, a sprinkling of Vigoro Mini Marble Chip from The Home Depot can help to protect crowns and enhance drainage as the weather deteriorates. For container-based lavenders, top-dressing a little Back to the Roots Organic Perlite from Amazon with some coarse sand can help with drainage. Also, elevate the pots onto terracotta pot feet to further improve pot drainage.

If you act fast, you can take a few cuttings from your parent plant. Plant into a fast growing coarse growing medium, or even try starting a couple in water. Cuttings will form strong root systems within 4-6 weeks, ready to overwinter in a protected frame or cold greenhouse. Then sit back and wait for spring, when your parent plant will hopefully start to grow again after your gentle green tip sweep. Come June, those same leafy stems are where the next round of flower spikes will come from.

Shop Lavender Essentials

Transforming your fall lavender routine from a risky seasonal chore into a rewarding ritual is easy with the right kit. Precision cutting tools and targeted soil amendments make all the difference to vascular health and good drainage in damper weather. Whether you are maintaining a formal walkway hedge or tending a few container pots, these curated essentials will keep your lavender healthy through to next year.

Cheeky Cut and Care Trio

Sanitizing Maintenance

Equate Equate 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, 32 Fl Oz

An often-overlooked biosecurity step for every gardener is giving your pruning tools a quick wipe with rubbing alcohol. Use this excellent money-saver between plants to prevent the spread of fungal spores, wood rot, and bacterial blights.

Soil Alkalizer

Jobe's Organics Jobe's Organics Garden Lime Soil Amendment, 6 Lbs

Lavender demands gritty, highly alkaline soil to flourish. A light top-dressing of this fast-acting hydrated lime neutralizes any acidic rainfall, improves soil structure, and strengthens subterranean root resistance against winter dieback.

Drainage Enhancer

Back to the Roots Back to the Roots Organic Perlite, 8 Qt

Cold, waterlogged soil is the primary killer of lavender from fall into winter. Blending this lightweight, coarse volcanic glass into planting holes or pot mixes boosts aeration, allowing heavy rains to drain freely so roots never drown.

(Image credit: Nicola-K Photos / Alamy)

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Zooey Deschanel has had something of an iron-grip on our hearts ever since she starred in (500) Days of Summer. So, when she shared a recent snapshot into her home, it's little wonder that many of us sat up and paid attention.

I know, I know; at first glance, it's Zooey's cat (and rather fabulous cat tree) that steal the show in the Instagram photo. But look beyond the window? Why, then you'll find that there's another detail worth noticing: a tall black trellis, partly hidden by greenery, that adds a lovely vertical element to the terrace.

It's the sort of garden feature that's easy to overlook, but I think it's a particularly clever addition to a space that's viewed from indoors. Rather than simply providing support for a climbing plant, this particular type of trellis creates a focal point outside the window, giving the eye something interesting to land on beyond the glass.

Zooey Deschanel's Black Trellis

The benefits to Zooey Deschanel's black trellis (very similar in style to this trellis obelisk from Amazon) aren't purely aesthetic, either; as the climber grows, it creates a little more privacy, softens the view from the window, and provides some welcome shade from strong summer sunshine.

Better still? For those of us with distinctly smaller gardens or terraces than a celebrity, a well-placed trellis can make an outdoor space feel greener and more enclosed... all without taking up the floor space that a hedge would require.

Check it out:

A post shared by Zooey Deschanel (@zooeydeschanel)

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It's an approach that seems particularly fitting for Zooey Deschanel. When she and Jonathan Scott opened up about their home to Architectural Digest, the New Girl star explained that they wanted their terraces to capture the cottage garden feel they love about their Los Angeles garden, and noted that they incorporated “a lot of trellis” into the design.

Now, a trellis is often treated as a purely practical garden accessory: put it against a wall, give a climber something to cling to and let nature take over, right? Wrong! Because positioning one where it can be seen from a window changes its role, allowing it to become part of the garden's architecture. The dark framework provides structure, while foliage and flowers gradually soften its lines.

Viewed from inside, that can create the impression of a much greener outlook (without requiring any major landscaping!). And this could be particularly useful on a terrace or small patio, where there may not be room for mature trees or a traditional hedge.

(Image credit: Maryviolet/Getty Images)

You don't need to find an exact match for Zooey Deschanel's trellis. Instead, look for a tall black metal obelisk (like this 100% Metal Garden Obelisk Trellis from LeJoy Garden) or open-frame trellis with enough height to create a noticeable feature from the window. (Honestly, using something like Amazon's Spiral Frame Trellis for Climbing Plants in a pot would do the trick).

The key is positioning. If your main reason for installing one is to improve the view from inside, don't automatically put it at the back of the border. Think about where you'll see it most often, and consider placing it where the framework and foliage will sit naturally within the sightline of a window.

Then, choose a climber suited to the conditions; clematis, climbing roses, honeysuckle and jasmine can all provide an attractive leafy screen, while sweet peas offer a faster-growing seasonal option.

Shop Climbing Roses:

Gertrude Jekyll

David Austin® Gertrude Jekyll® Rose

Zephirine Drouhin

Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose

Lavender Crush

Lavender Crush Climbing Rose

Sometimes the best garden ideas are the ones that improve what you see from inside the house, and Zooey Deschanel's trellis is a brilliant reminder that a climbing plant doesn't just need something to grow on – the support itself can become part of the view.

And just like that, I'm off to buy myself a trellis. Race you to the checkouts!

Following a hot, dry summer, lawn-destroying chafer grubs are a big problem this year so if your yard has any patches of brown or discolored grass, check these common garden pests aren't the cause. The sweltering El Niño weather followed by late-season rain has led to a sharp surge in numbers of these plump white C-shaped grubs that feed on grass roots, spelling disaster for many gardens. While grub worms are easy to treat right now, by mid-October the larvae will begin burrowing deeper into the ground, making them far harder to eradicate.

But don’t fret: as part of our Garden ER series, we’re here with straightforward solutions to treat this season’s biggest backyard problems, including this common lawn pest.

Take swift action with this straightforward five-minute test and the prognosis for your lawn is excellent. Ignore those dead patches of grass, however, and your lawn could be in serious trouble, so this quick check is a vital part of September lawn care. Come on in to Garden ER and let’s diagnose and treat your lawn.

(Image credit: Getty Images)Why Chafer Grubs are a Big Problem This Year

In a typical summer, you probably won’t even notice that chafer grubs are living in the soil beneath your lawn. Healthy grass will grow new roots just as fast as a small population of grubs eat them, so all’s well.

However, a hot, dry summer changes everything. For a start, drought-stressed grass struggles to grow roots at a pace to keep up with damage, which means a lawn can fail with far fewer grubs per square foot. During drought conditions, gardeners’ lawns can become magnets for chafer grubs, leading to higher concentrations, too. The adult beetles who lay the eggs that hatch into these larvae need soft, moist soil to burrow into, which means they prefer irrigated lawns – and even if you didn’t routinely water grass through summer, keeping borders hydrated inevitably means some lawn areas get more moisture than in many of your neighbors' less looked-after yards.

Brown, drought-stressed or dormant grass also masks the damage caused by white grubs. If your lawn is already looking pretty crispy, you’re unlikely to spot the discoloration that's an early sign of a grub worm infestation. And now late-season rain has arrived, grubs that burrowed deeper to find moisture in summer have all migrated upwards to feast on roots, causing catastrophic damage to grass.

(Image credit: Getty Images)Triage: Carry Out a Simple Test for Grub Worms

In a typical year, the tell-tale signs of a white grub infestation are patches of dead, brown grass in your lawn. Grass that has discolored because it’s gone dormant during a drought period will quickly bounce back to green once rain returns. Grass that's discolored because it's had its roots gobbled up by grubs won't recover, so if you’ve still got any bare or brown patches in your lawn in September, you should test for chafer grubs.

First, grab a good handful of discolored grass and tug. If grub worms have eaten the roots, the blades will easily pull away from the ground.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If that’s the case, use a spade to peel back a square of affected turf. Use the sharp edge of the spade to slice a U-shape in the grass, then fold this section of turf back on itself. With a trowel, have a look for fat, C-shaped grubs that are a creamy-white color. Their bottom half is usually plumper than the top, and they can measure over half an inch long. If you find some, take a closer look. If the larvae has a slightly darker head and three pairs of front legs, you can confirm the diagnosis: your lawn has a grub worm infestation.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Another clue is that the damaged areas of lawn feel slightly soft and spongy when walked on, and you may find crows, skunks and racoons have further destroyed the grass as they hunt for juicy larvae.

Treatment: How to Get Rid of White Grubs in a Lawn

Diagnosis complete? Let's crack on and cure your lawn…

1. Use Nematodes to Treat the Problem Safely

There’s no need to use an insecticide as you’ll eradicate all sorts of beneficial insects as well as the grubs. Far better to use microscopic worm-like animals called nematodes that will kill lawn grubs and some other soil-dwelling pests. Beneficial nematodes are natural, effective and safe for use around people, pets and pollinators. They're a sustainable, environmentally-friendly option and all you need do is water them into your lawn.

Nematodes work by hunting down their prey, entering its body and infecting it with a harmless-to-humans bacteria that kills the grub. Once all the grubs are gone, the nematodes naturally die down to normal soil levels.

The species most commonly used as a biological pest control for grub worms is Heterohabditis bacteriophora and these beneficial nematodes are available from Bug Sales via Amazon. While the nematodes themselves are cheap, do expect to pay for postage as these are live creatures and need to be kept refrigerated. You’ll need to store the packet in the fridge until use, too, and only buy as much as you need now as once opened, nematodes can't be stored.

(Image credit: Getty Images)2. Keep Soil Moist

Nematodes need moist soil to survive and travel to hunt down the grubs, so saturate your lawn and for best results, apply the nematodes in the evening or on a cloudy day. Follow package instructions to mix the nematodes with water, and then apply evenly to your lawn. Treat the discolored patch plus a four-foot area all around it, and if you’re dealing with several patches, it’s best to treat the whole lawn. You can use a watering can, or attach a dispensing sprayer such as this Hose-End Sprayer from Walmart to your hose to speed the job up.

After treating, immediately irrigate lightly with fresh water to ensure the nematodes are washed down into the soil. It’s vital to keep the soil moist for the next two weeks, watering if it doesn’t rain, as the nematodes will only survive to do their job if conditions stay damp. Beneficial nematodes are a very effective form of natural pest control, but only if the soil is consistently moist enough. A cheap rotating sprinkler with a lawn spike such as this from The Home Depot and a basic programmable hose faucet timer like this from Walmart will save you a ton of time for very little outlay.

If your lawn infestation is severe, it's a smart move to keep your lawn moist a little longer. From the moment those original nematodes infected the grub worms, it takes around 12-15 days for a new generation to hatch so, as long as you keep the soil moist, a fresh army of beneficial nematodes will hunt down any remaining grubs.

(Image credit: Kinga Krzeminska / Getty Images)3. Treat in September or Early October

To deal effectively with grub worms, it helps to understand their lifecycle. Part of the Scarabaeidae family, beetles lay eggs in lawn soil in early summer, which hatch into larvae July to August that gobble up grass roots for a couple of months before lying dormant for the winter; in late spring they transform into pupae then hatch into adults to start the process all over again.

So right now, grub worms are actively feeding on grass roots so they’re just beneath the soil surface and within easy reach of the nematodes. However, as soon as the temperature starts to dip, chafer larvae begin burrowing deeper into the ground to lie dormant beneath the frost line, and it becomes impossible to eradicate them. Use a simple soil thermometer such as this from Amazon to check: as long as the soil temperature is above 54°F, those white grubs will still be busy eating so it’s ok to go ahead with the treatment.

Patient Notes

Don’t worry if you spot grub worms elsewhere in the garden. It’s only the chafer grub species that target lawns that are destructive enough to create problems for gardeners, and need to be controlled. If you find white grubs in border soil or a compost heap, leave them be as they do a useful job breaking down decaying material and don't cause significant damage to plants.

More Garden ER Help

Every week, the Garden ER series brings you simple solutions to this season's most pressing problems, for happy and healthy plants without any hassle.

Peace Lily Flowers Turning Brown?

Work out what your peace lily needs to recover if spathes develop brown patches or look dry and crispy around the edges.

Leaves turning white?

Here's everything you need to know to prevent common fungal disease, powdery mildew, starving your plants of nutrients.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

I absolutely love the idea of birth month bulbs. There's always been, after all, something wonderfully satisfying about finding a flower that supposedly matches your personality, particularly when that flower is something you can actually plant in your garden.

Of course, this isn't exactly a new concept around here. We've already had birth month trees, birds, flowers, animals and even bugs, because apparently we will take any opportunity to decide that January people have the personality of a particular plant or that October babies are somehow inherently more butterfly-like than the rest of us.

Still, bulbs are particularly well suited to this concept. Unlike an annual flower that appears and disappears in a single season, many bulbs return year after year, quietly sitting beneath the soil before suddenly putting on a spectacular show. And there's something rather lovely about that, especially when you consider how different each bulb can be despite all starting out in much the same unassuming form.

All 12 Birth Month Bulbs

When it comes to birth month bulbs, some are delicate and understated, some are gloriously dramatic, and one or two are so striking that I suspect their birth month owners may have a slightly larger-than-life side to them. (I certainly wouldn't want to make any assumptions, of course).

So, whether you're a resilient snowdrop, a mysterious Queen of Night tulip or a bold November hyacinth, meet your birth month bulb... and find out how to grow it in your own garden, too.

January – Galanthus Nivalis

(Image credit: James Nature Pics / Shutterstock)

If you were born in January, you probably don't need a lot of fussing over. You're perfectly capable of getting on with things while everyone else is still recovering from Christmas, and there's something quietly determined about you that I rather admire, and that's why the snowdrop is such a great birth month bulb.

Galanthus nivalis is one of those tiny flowers that seems almost impossibly delicate until you remember that it can push through the cold and appear remarkably early in the year. Think of them as the first flower of the year, basically.

How to grow it: Pick up some Galanthus Nivalis Bulbs from Burpee and plant them in partial to full sun, around 3 inches deep and approximately 3 inches apart. They prefer soil that doesn't stay waterlogged, and they're particularly lovely planted in groups where their small white flowers can make a bigger impression. Burpee lists Galanthus as an early-spring bloomer and a fall-planted bulb.

February – Anemone Blanda

(Image credit: brytta/Getty Images)

February can be a slightly awkward month; winter isn't quite finished, spring isn't quite here and we're all getting a little impatient for some colour. But if you're a February baby, I'm guessing you're the optimist who can find something to look forward to anyway.

Anemone blanda (or Grecian windflower, if you prefer) has that same cheerful quality. Its daisy-like flowers arrive in spring in shades of blue, pink and white, creating a surprisingly generous carpet of colour from relatively small plants. A pretty cheery birth month bulb, right?

How to grow it: Soak these Blue Shades Anemone Blanda Bulbs in warm water for a few hours before planting, as Burpee recommends, then plant them around 1–2 inches deep and 2–3 inches apart. They can grow in partial or full sun, and the Blue Shades variety is particularly useful if you're looking for a spring groundcover.

March – Ranunculus

(Image credit: Isabel Pavia/Getty Images)

There's something about ranunculus that makes it almost impossible not to be a little bit sentimental. Those layers upon layers of petals look as though someone has sat down and decided that one flower simply wasn't enough.

So, March babies, I'm going to assume you're similarly inclined towards the finer things in life! Especially as, just like your birth month bulb, you're creative, charming and perhaps just a tiny bit dramatic when the occasion calls for it.

How to grow it: Ranunculus bulbs (try these Purple Sensation Ranunculus Bulbs for something profoundly pretty) are spring-flowering and prefer full sun. Burpee's general bulb guide recommends planting them around 2 inches deep and 3–4 inches apart. Give them well-drained soil and avoid keeping them constantly soggy; the bulbs need moisture to establish, but sitting in water is another matter entirely.

April – Geranium Daffodil

(Image credit: Olga Seifutdinova/Getty Images)

April babies have got sunshine in their personality. You're welcoming, generous and probably the person people end up talking to for much longer than they intended because somehow you've made them feel completely at home.

Geranium daffodils as a birth month bulb, then, makes so much sense. It's one of those daffodil varieties that feels cheerful without being predictable, and it has a particularly lovely secret: in other words, there's more to this spring favourite than meets the eye.

How to grow it: Daffodils generally prefer partial to full sun and should be planted around 6–8 inches deep and 4–6 inches apart. Let the foliage die back naturally after flowering rather than immediately cutting it to the ground, because those leaves are busy replenishing the bulb for next year's display.

May – Blue Pearl Hyacinth

(Image credit: Photos by R A Kearton / Getty Images)

You know those people who walk into a room and somehow everyone notices them? That's May energy, and it makes sense, then, that they have a hyacinth to call their birth month bulb.

Not just any old hyacinth, though, but the Blue Pearl hyacinth. Oh sure, it isn't necessarily the loudest bulb in the garden, but it has two things going for it that are difficult to ignore: beautiful flowers and fragrance, which makes it a lovely match for anyone who likes their garden to engage more than just the eyes.

How to grow it: Plant hyacinth bulbs around 4–6 inches deep and the same distance apart, in partial or full sun. They work beautifully in groups, particularly near paths or entrances where you can actually enjoy their fragrance as you walk past.

June – Queen of Night Tulip

(Image credit: Rob3rt82 / Getty Images)

June babies, I'm not saying you're secretly plotting something. I'm simply saying that if anyone was going to have a favorite color that technically isn't a color, it would probably be you... which makes your birth month bulb a true icon.

Queen of Night is one of those types of tulips that makes you stop and look twice. Its flowers are such a deep burgundy-purple that they appear almost black, giving the spring garden a wonderfully gothic little moment.

How to grow it: Bag yourself some Queen of the Night tulip bulbs, and plant them around 4–5 inches deep and 3–6 inches apart in partial to full sun. Tulips are classic fall-planted spring bulbs, so autumn is the time to get them into the ground for a future display.

July – Princess Irene Tulip

(Image credit: Alex Manders/Getty Images)

Hey there, July. You're warm, you're sociable and you don't particularly see the point in being forgettable. If you're going to do something, you might as well make an entrance, right?

Princess Irene is a more than appropriate birth month bulb, then. Its orange flowers are dramatically marked with purple flames, so it has absolutely no interest in quietly disappearing into the flower bed. And, honestly, the color combination alone makes it a pretty good match for a July personality.

How to grow it: Plant your Princess Irene Tulip Bulbs around 4–5 inches deep and 3–6 inches apart in partial or full sun. Choose a spot with good drainage, water after planting to help establish the bulbs, and then let them settle in for winter.

August – Blue Grape Muscari

(Image credit: Nataliia Kozynska / Shutterstock)

August babies have a special knack for bringing people together. You're friendly without necessarily trying to be, you probably enjoy a bit of chaos, and you're rarely the person standing silently in the corner at a garden party... much like your birth month bulb.

Blue grape muscari is small, but it certainly knows how to make an impression. Its dainty clusters of deep cobalt-blue blooms are the sort of flowers that look even better when planted in a generous group, which feels very appropriate for the most sociable month of summer.

How to grow it: Plant your Blue Grape Muscari Bulbs around 3–4 inches deep and 2–3 inches apart in partial to full sun. They're spring bloomers and are particularly effective when planted in groups, along paths or allowed to naturalize among other spring bulbs.

September – Iris

(Image credit: Alex Manders / Shutterstock)

If you're a September-born soul, you're not necessarily the loudest person in the room, but you've probably noticed everything that's going on. You have excellent taste, you know what you like and you don't need to announce it to everyone else.

Your birth month bulb, the iris, feels like the floral equivalent. In particular, something like Burpee's Harmony Iris Reticulata has some of the most intense blue colour you'll find on a dwarf iris. Basically, it proves that you don't need to be enormous to make an impression.

How to grow it: Plant iris bulbs around 3–4 inches deep and 2–3 inches apart in partial to full sun. They bloom early in spring, so they're particularly useful for bringing colour into a garden before many of the bigger spring flowers get going.

October – Allium

(Image credit: Zigmunds Dizgalvis / Shutterstock)

October babies, we were never going to get a completely predictable flower as our birth month bulb. And, while alliums in general are the one for us, these Allium caeruleum from Bulbs Direct have, in particular, those wonderful spherical flower heads that make it look as though someone has scattered little blue fireworks through the border.

An easy-growing allium with a sky-blue color? Speaking as an October personality, I think that's exactly the sort of unexpected garden choice we all deserve.

How to grow it: Plant allium bulbs in full sun, around 4–6 inches deep and 3–6 inches apart. They flower in late spring, and the upright stems and rounded flower heads work particularly well among lower-growing perennials.

November – Crocus

(Image credit: Kabar / Shutterstock)

Born in November? I see you, caught between Halloween and Christmas, and I know that you're resilient, perhaps a little understated, and quite capable of brightening things up when everyone else is starting to retreat indoors for winter.

That makes the crocus a rather lovely match. These petite flowers may not have the imposing presence of a tulip or the drama of a giant allium, but they have an uncanny ability to appear when we need them most, bringing little flashes of joy to the garden when the seasons are beginning to change.

How to grow it: Plant crocus corms in well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade, generally around 3–4 inches deep and a few inches apart. Choose the specific crocus carefully, though, as flowering time varies between species and cultivars; personally, I rate Flower Record Crocus Vernus Bulbs from Burpee for that truly intense purple pop.

December – Thalia Daffodil

(Image credit: onepony/Getty Images)

December is already doing a lot. There's Christmas, New Year, approximately seventeen thousand social engagements and the small matter of trying to remember where you put all the presents. It's only fitting, then, that December gets something a little more refined for its birth month bulb.

Thalia is a pure-white daffodil with an understated elegance that makes it feel completely different from the traditional yellow varieties. It smells beautiful, is hardier than many yellow varieties, and is an all-round brilliant choice for anyone dreaming of a classy spring display.

How to grow it: Pick up some Thalia Daffodil Bulbs from the Garden State Bulb Co. Store and plant them around 6–8 inches deep and 4–6 inches apart in partial to full sun. Water them after planting, then allow the foliage to die back naturally once flowering has finished so the bulbs can store energy for another spring display.

Shop Bulb Planting Essentials:

Toresano Toresano Bulb Planter

Espoma Bulb-Tone 3-5-3 Natural & Organic Fertilizer and Plant Food

OFXDD Plant Trays 4 Pcs

And just like that, you know your birth month bulb! Will you be planting yours this fall, ready to see it break through the soil come spring? I know I certainly will; I'll be filling my garden borders with alliums quite happily... and I'm sure local pollinators will thank me for it next year, too!

Stanley Tucci recently shared a fascinating lesson in growing tomatoes from the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. While filming his series Tucci in Italy, he visited Ercolano (Herculaneum) in Italy’s Campania region to explore the heirloom tomatoes grown in its volcanic soil. In an Instagram post, the actor praised the “really special tomatoes that grow in the shadow of Vesuvius,” calling them the best he had ever tasted. The crew was also seen enjoying the tomatoes and commenting on their sweetness.

There may be more to their exceptional flavor than the tomato varieties themselves. The volcanic soils around Vesuvius, formed from layers of ash and weathered rock, can be rich in minerals while remaining loose and free-draining – two qualities that support strong, healthy plant growth. And it’s not just tomatoes that benefit. The region is also famed for its citrus fruits, olives, grapes, apricots, grains, and vegetables, including different types of root vegetables.

While you may not be able to recreate the conditions of an Italian volcano in your backyard, there are ways to capture some of the benefits of volcanic soil and improve your own growing conditions. I spoke to soil and crop experts to find out whether horticultural volcanic rock dust or similar amendments can help at home, and how to use them safely. Here is what gardeners should know before adding them to vegetable beds or potted citrus trees.

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What Makes Volcanic Soil So Special?

Soils near volcanoes are not exactly the same as the soil in your backyard. Around Mount Vesuvius, two features are particularly important for growing flavorful produce: the minerals supplied by volcanic ash and weathered rock, and the soil’s ability to drain excess water.

Gardeners can replicate part of this mineral-rich environment by adding a horticultural volcanic mineral amendment to their soil, like this Down to Earth All Natural Fertilizers Organic Azomite Minerals Powder, available from Amazon. It comes as a fine powder that you simply mix into soil or potting mix.

Lindsey Boney, Grocery Manager and Produce Expert at Windmill Farms Market, explains why volcanic soil is prized for its drainage properties. “One aspect of volcanic soil that many people forget is that it does not hold excessive water. As a result, this naturally avoids dilution, which helps with richer flavor. That’s why the tomatoes often grown in this area of Vesuvius have been known for their unique sweetness, acidity, and richness ever since.”

Tomatoes need consistent moisture, but excess water can leave fruit tasting less concentrated. In contrast, well-drained soil can help prevent waterlogging and may support a stronger concentration of sugars and flavor compounds as the fruit ripens.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Steve Corcoran, gardening expert and co-founder of Lawn Love, points to volcanic soil's nutrient content. “Volcanic soil is packed with nutrients that really help tomatoes to thrive, like potassium and phosphorus.”

Potassium and phosphorus are both commonly found in quality tomato fertilizers, although the nutrients in volcanic soil are not necessarily available to plants in the same amounts. The same combination of mineral content and good drainage may also benefit fall root crops, which need loose soil to develop properly, and citrus trees, which are particularly sensitive to waterlogged roots. A volcanic amendment can support good soil conditions, but it should not replace compost, organic matter, or a balanced feed where those are needed.

What to Add to Your Soil for Vesuvius-Inspired Growing

Down to Earth All Natural Fertilizers Organic Azomite Minerals Powder

This volcanic mineral powder contains more than 70 naturally occurring elements in an ultra-fine formula that’s easy to mix into soil, compost, or fertilizer for small gardens and containers.

Earthcore Pure Icelandic Potting Pumice

This pure Icelandic pumice helps recreate Vesuvius-like growing conditions by improving drainage and aeration while retaining essential nutrients.

Jobe’s Organics Granular Garden Fertilizer for Vegetable Gardens and Tomato Plants

This quality NPK fertilizer is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These match the nutrients that are naturally occurring at high levels in the soil near Mount Vesuvius.

How to Recreate Volcanic Growing Conditions at Home

The best way to grow a delicious Vesuvius-inspired crop of tomatoes is to focus on the conditions in which the plants grow. You cannot recreate Mount Vesuvius in your backyard, but you can replicate some of the features associated with its growing environment.

Start with soil testing to check the pH and nutrient levels in your garden. The MySoil test kit, available on Amazon, is a great all-round test kit (and was recently reviewed by Content Editor Kathleen). Tomatoes and many other crops need fertile, well-drained soil, plenty of full sun, and consistent moisture without becoming waterlogged. If your soil is heavy or depleted, improve it with organic matter and a suitable horticultural volcanic rock dust or mineral amendment, following the product’s instructions carefully.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Mediterranean climate around Vesuvius also provides abundant sunshine and relatively dry conditions, while the volcanic soil allows excess water to drain away. Together, these conditions can help fruits and vegetables develop a more concentrated flavor. However, this does not mean allowing plants to become severely drought-stressed.

To grow your own tomatoes like the ones Tucci was enjoying, Lindsey recommends tapering off watering. “When fruit begins to ripen, reduce water gradually while avoiding severe plant stress. It produces more sugars and flavor compounds.”

However, fall root crops still need even moisture while they develop, and citrus trees need good drainage without being allowed to dry out completely.

For all of these crops, the most useful lessons from Vesuvius are to provide plenty of light, avoid waterlogged soil, and supply nutrients based on what a soil test shows they actually need.

One small scoop goes into every fall planting hole I dig – and synthetic fertilizer has nothing to do with it. What is inside that little scoop is alive and can give key garden plants a genuine boost. And to do its miraculous job, it just needs to make direct contact with a plant’s roots while the fall soil is still cozy and warm…

Most traditional fall planting advice will walk you through the basics of digging the hole. Dig it twice as wide as the rootball, keep it no deeper than the original nursery pot, and backfill with native soil. And that’s all fine, but there’s another special element to fall planting that can give a special boost. Before any new shrub or perennial drops into the ground at my place, its roots receive a light dusting of mycorrhizal fungi first. Say what, I hear you ask? Well, I spend a lot of time with mushroom cultures in the lab, so call me biased. But you don’t need a microbiology degree to harness the magic of these special fungi in your backyard.

Beneficial mycorrhizal fungi are not fertilizers. They are living partners that form a lifelong underground network with host plant roots. Fall gives that partnership one of its best starts of the year. However, a couple of details frequently get overlooked by home gardeners: exactly where the fungi must be applied, and how warm the soil needs to be when you introduce it. Getting this right transforms your late-season planting success. Here’s how this simple root dusting can supercharge your fall shrubs and perennials.

Understanding Mycorrhizal Fungi

At its core, mycorrhiza is a mutually beneficial partnership between a soil fungus and a living plant root. The fungus sends out millions of microscopic, thread-like filaments called hyphae. These fine threads act as an extension of the plant's own root system, mining the surrounding soil for locked-up moisture and essential minerals. These minerals include phosphorus, which powers root growth and vibrant blooms. In return, the host plant pays the fungus in sugars created through photosynthesis.

(Image credit: Angela van Oeffelen / Getty Images)

Retail inoculants usually contain 2 main types of fungi: endo (which penetrates inside the root cells of soft-stemmed perennials, roses, fruit trees, and vegetables) and ecto (which forms a protective outer sheath around the roots of woody trees like oaks, pines, birches, and beeches). Unlike edible mushrooms, which can grow happily on decaying wood or sterilized grain, these specialized garden fungi cannot survive or multiply without living host roots. That is why buying fresh, high-quality inoculants matters so much when you are setting out your late-season plants.

How to Apply Mycorrhizal Fungi

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On its own, a fungal spore can only germinate and grow a tiny distance through the dirt before it starves. If it fails to find a living root to attach to within a few days, it dies. This is why you shouldn’t stir your fungal inoculant into a wheelbarrow of backfill soil or mix it loosely into a garden bed. Spreading a scoop throughout pounds of surrounding dirt guarantees that most of the spores end up buried inches away from the rootball, where they will rot unused before roots ever reach them. And fall doesn't leave many warm weeks for new roots to grow out and find it.

You need to add your mycorrhizal fungi directly against the plant's root surface. Dust the outside of the rootball where white root tips are visible, and drop a concentrated pinch right into the bottom of the planting hole before lowering the plant in. Using a beginner-friendly option like Ultrafine Endo/Ecto Power from Amazon, you’ll find it dusts on almost like flour. However, damp roots hold the powder better. So make sure the roots are damp first. Labels rarely require more than a light, even dusting, and a little goes a long way, so a small bag copes with dozens of fall plantings.

Why Fall Gives Fungi a Headstart

(Image credit: Bohdan Bevz / Getty Images)

While perennials and shrubs wind down their top leafy growth as fall progresses, underground root growth continues vigorously, as long as soil temperatures stay above roughly 40°F (4°C). Soil retains summer heat for weeks after the air cools down, creating ideal subterranean conditions for biological activity. Introducing fungi in fall gives the microscopic network all winter to weave into the root system. Mycorrhizal plants tend to ride out drought a little better. So, when spring arrives, the plant emerges with an expanded root network ready to get to work.

Colonization speed relies on soil warmth. Active fungal colonization slows down once soil temperatures drop below 59°F (15°C). While cold soil encourages slow root elongation, it delays the speed at which the fungal partnership sets up shop. In milder regions, planting can extend into November, but late-season gardeners should check soil warmth first. Use a good diagnostic tool, such as the Stainless Steel 5in Compost Thermometer and Soil Temperature Gauge Tool from The Home Depot. Pushing 5 inches (12cm) into the planting site should give an accurate reading on how warm your soil is. If temperatures are well below 50°F (10°C), the fungus will sit dormant on the roots until spring soil warms up.

Where It Pays Off Most

(Image credit: Dominik Spalek / Getty Images)

Established beds with healthy, undisturbed native soil already carry some natural mycorrhizal networks, so store-bought inoculants provide only incremental boosts. Where these fungal inoculants truly perform miracles is in disturbed soils, such as new housing developments where topsoil was scraped away, and in potted stock. I’m adamant about using mycorrhizal fungi in containers. Plenty of bagged mixes start out with few, if any, of these fungi (unless the label says they were added), so a perennial has nothing to partner with unless someone adds it.

I like to use Xtreme Gardening Mykos Pure Endo-Mycorrhizal Granules, available from Walmart, which is the gold standard for fall containers. At potting time, I add a tablespoon of my mycorrhizal fungi and tuck it right against the roots, to accelerate root development and increase nutrient uptake. Pure endo covers most perennials and ornamental shrubs just fine.

There are a few exceptions. Members of the brassica family (cabbage, kale, broccoli) and amaranth family (beets, chard, spinach) do not form mycorrhizal partnerships. Furthermore, acid-loving blueberries, azaleas, and rhododendrons need specialized ericoid mycorrhizae that standard retail bags do not contain, requiring acid-loving soil amendments instead.

What Fungi Won’t Fix

(Image credit: Bulavka / Alamy)

Fungal inoculants are biological boosters, but they are not magic wands. They help plants efficiently absorb nutrients already present in the ground, but they cannot replace missing soil nutrients or repair heavy, waterlogged clay soils where fungi can drown. A single, correct application at planting time lasts the entire lifetime of the plant. As the roots expand through the soil year after year, the fungal network grows right along with them into the surrounding soil profile.

Dusting more powder over the top of established beds every spring is a waste of money. Surface-applied spores rarely migrate down 6 inches (15cm) to reach active root zones in useful quantities. Getting it into the right place at the right time is the real magic – and that’s why it's so important to add it to the roots in fall.

Avoid using high-phosphorus transplant starter fertilizers alongside your inoculant. Heavy concentrations of synthetic phosphorus trick the plant into shutting down its fungal partnership. Similarly, avoid soil drenching with synthetic chemical fungicides right after planting, as this can destroy beneficial fungal networks instantly before they can establish. If you are going to use fungicides as a drench, go for something organic and gentle, such as Arber Bio-Fungicide from Amazon, and use sparingly.

Select the Best and Preserve Storage

(Image credit: Future Publishing Ltd)

When shopping for mycorrhizal fungi, read the product label carefully before buying. Look for named species (such as Glomus intraradices or Glomus mosseae) and a clear propagule count per gram, which proves the product contains viable, living spores.

Most perennials and a good share of shrubs pair up with endo-mycorrhizal fungi, while oaks and pines lean on ecto types. Check for an explicit expiration date on the bag, as living fungal spores gradually degrade in viability over extended time on store shelves. For general beds and mixed plantings, go for a combined endo/ecto blend, which offers broad-spectrum coverage across different plant families.

Finally, proper storage is crucial. Fungal spores are living organisms that can easily be killed by excessive heat or freezing conditions in an uninsulated space. If a bag sat in a metal shed or hot garage all summer, living spores may be compromised. Keep your inoculant in a cool, dark, climate-controlled closet until planting day.

Shop Soil and Planting Essentials

(Image credit: Maryviolet / Getty Images)

Building healthy, living soil is the single best investment you can make when setting out new trees, shrubs, and perennials in fall. Alongside beneficial mycorrhizal inoculants, make some room for high-quality organic amendments so new arrivals can establish deep roots and withstand winter stress effortlessly. These soil boosters prepare your yard for a spectacular spring comeback.

Fall Soil Trio

Root Booster

Xtreme Gardening Mykos Pure Endo-Mycorrhizal Fungi (1 Lb)

This single-species endo-mycorrhizal inoculant is designed to be applied directly to the rootball. Ideal for perennials, fruit trees, and flowering shrubs, it gives roots a boost and increases nutrient uptake.

Pathogen Shield

Arber Arber Organic Bio Fungicide Concentrate (16 Oz)

Apply this drench (made from beneficial soil bacteria) around newly planted stock. It guards vulnerable roots against soil-borne pathogens like root rot without harming beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.

Ocean Tonic

Bloom City Organic Liquid Seaweed and Kelp Fertilizer (8 Oz)

Give your soil a healthy dip with this cold-processed liquid blend laced with trace minerals, amino acids, and gentle nitrogen. It feeds both the newly planted roots and beneficial soil microbes without scorching tender fall growth.

Next time you bring a shrub or perennial home in a nursery pot, make time for this extra step. It takes just 30 seconds at the planting hole. Simply dust the damp rootball while the ground retains its warmth, and water in deeply, then let nature take its course. Whatever the fungal network does not finish establishing before the freeze, it will pick right back up when the soil warms again in spring, rewarding you with lush, drought-resilient growth next year.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

There are a lot of reasons to love hellebores. These unusual flowers are prized for their pretty blooms, low maintenance needs and for the fact that they bloom in early spring or even winter in warmer climates. While other plants are preparing to go dormant in September, hellebores are getting ready to grow strong roots and buds.

If you know how to grow hellebores, you know they don’t need a lot of fussing. However, these simple September steps will prepare your plants for the coming growing season and ensure healthy foliage and abundant blooms.

Here’s what your hellebores need in fall to ensure stunning winter blooms.

1. Clean & Tidy Up Plants

(Image credit: PamelaJoeMcFarlane / Getty Images)

Don’t prune hellebore foliage all the way back in fall. Spring, as the new growth is coming in, is a better time to do this. Now is a good time for a light tidy up of faded blooms and problem foliage. Look for and remove any foliage that is damaged or diseased. If you suspect any disease, dispose of the foliage in the trash. Do not compost it.

Clean your tools well after trimming. Content Editor Laura likes to use a disinfectant wipe, like these ones from Walmart, for quick and easy cleaning.

You can also clean up around your hellebore clumps. Lift up the leaves and look for any loose debris to rake up and remove. This will improve airflow during damper fall conditions and limit any disease risk.

2. Provide a Light Fall Feeding

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Hellebores are not generally heavy feeders, but fall is a good time to provide some extra nutrients. They are about to break summer dormancy and start active root growth again, so a little food helps.

Use a balanced, mild fertilizer, either a liquid or slow-release product like this organic plant food from Walmart. Alternatively, you can add some compost as a top dressing. A bloom-booster is definitely not necessary to ensure hellebores flower.

Because established hellebores need so little fertilizing, it’s a good idea to check for alternative causes of any poor growth you see. It’s more likely to be an issue of soil moisture or disease. Check to see if the soil is too dry or isn’t draining well and for any signs of common hellebore diseases, like mold or spots.

3. Refresh Mulch & Manage Moisture

(Image credit: Alamy)

Early fall rainfall can be unpredictable. Moisture in the soil is essential as hellebores begin a period of active root growth, so keep an eye on both rain and the soil around your plants.

If the soil keeps drying out and the weather becomes unseasonably hot and dry, provide regular and deep watering at the soil level, not overhead. Use a drip irrigation kit or soaker hose, like this one from Home Depot, for easy watering. Be especially careful to keep the soil moist around newly divided and transplanted hellebores.

A layer of mulch is a good way to keep the soil more consistently moist. Apply a layer of organic mulch to a depth of about two inches (5 cm) all around the plants. Keep the area right around the crowns bare to prevent rot.

4. Divide Large Clumps

(Image credit: P_PHOTO / Getty Images)

Hellebores develop nicely into large, dense clumps that flower year after year and don’t need to be divided annually. In fact, they don’t particularly like having their roots disturbed, so let large plants establish for at least three years and only divide healthy, oversized clumps.

If you do think your hellebore is ready for dividing, early fall is the right time to do it. Cooler air and still-warm soil make for good conditions to help transplants establish before the winter freeze. Dig up the entire root ball to divide your hellebore and cut cleanly through it to make divisions that have at least two to three healthy crown components each. Replant the new divisions right away.

5. Check for Volunteer Seedlings

(Image credit: Anna Nelidova / Getty Images)

If your spring hellebore flowers were allowed to go to seed, you will probably see a crowd of small volunteers all around the mature plants. These self-sown seedlings can get overgrown by September, so look for them and pull them out. Take care not to disturb the roots of the parent plant as you do this.

You can simply dispose of volunteers, transplant them, or pot them up. You can also leave some in place to create new clumps. Just be aware that many hellebores are hybrids, so the volunteers will not be the same as the parents.

Hellebores are very easy-going plants that don’t need a lot of care once established. A little attention in early fall can benefit these mostly hands-off plants, though. Keep an eye on moisture, tidy up lightly, and feed or divide if necessary, and they should transition well into their active growing season, providing gorgeous late winter to early spring blooms.

Terracotta pots not only bring classic good looks to your patio but provide growing conditions that help some plants flourish and cause others to fail. So, if you’re choosing planters on looks alone, listen up! Pair the right plants with terracotta rather than plastic, resin or ceramic pots, and they’ll be happier and healthier, rewarding you with more flowers and foliage. And once you know which popular plants detest growing in clay containers, you'll avoid unnecessary patio-pot deaths, too.

You see, terracotta clay is breathable, rather like your fancy Gore-Tex jacket that lets moisture escape when you work up a sweat. Terracotta works like a membrane between the potting mix and the air, drawing excess water outwards to ensure the soil never sits soggy. There's another factor that's vital to successful container gardening, too: as well as being porous to allow moisture out, terracotta lets air in. Almost all plants have respiring roots that must continuously consume oxygen to survive, just like us humans. Some plants need more airflow than others, so really benefit from a clay container's breathable sides.

It just so happens that most plants that evolved to flourish in a dry, fast-draining environment also like well-aerated soil packed full of oxygen – and it’s no coincidence, as the more moisture sits in the soil, the less room there is for oxygen. So, pair those plants with terracotta pots and hey presto, you have containers brimming with healthy growth.

All these 10 plants grow far better in terracotta containers than they do in suffocating plastic, resin or ceramic pots. Give yours a clay-based home before fall rain arrives and they'll survive winter far better for stronger plants and more abundant blooms and leaves next year.

1. Thyme

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you're growing thyme in a patio pot, know that it will do far better in a terracotta pot that removes dampness from the soil to create the dry, fast-draining conditions that this flavorful herb loves. Mimicking the plant's native Mediterranean habitat, the clay walls wick excess moisture away, which is vital as thyme is highly susceptible to root rot if it sits in soggy soil. There's a benefit for you, too, as these quick-drying conditions concentrate the thyme's essential oil production, resulting in tastier, more fragrant leaves for cooking.

2. Lavender

(Image credit: Westend61 / Getty Images)

While modern hybrid varieties have been bred to better withstand high rainfall and resist root rot, all lavenders do best in well-draining soil so love life in a terracotta pot. Move your lavender from a plastic or ceramic pot to a terracotta one and you'll quickly realise there's a world of difference between surviving and thriving. Add a couple of handfuls of coarse horticultural sand like this from Amazon to the potting soil and treat your lavender plant to a gravel mulch, and you’ll heighten the benefits of that porous, breathable container. Choose the exact right lavender for your zone, too, and you can look forward to incredibly abundant, highly fragrant patio pots.

3. Hardy Succulents

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you’re a fan of hardy succulents like Sempervivum (houseleeks), Sedum (stonecrop) and Delosperma (ice plants), then growing them in terracotta pots will make these low-maintenance lovelies even easier to look after. The sun-loving plants need fast-draining soil to thrive, so really appreciate the moisture control a porous clay container brings. As they only need irrigating when soil is fully dry from May to September, and prefer to be kept even drier through winter, housing them in terracotta pots makes it easy to avoid the damp conditions that lead to an untimely death. And nine times out of 10, it's the wetness of winter rather than the cold that kills these drought-adapted darlings.

4. Rosemary

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This woody herb evolved in the rocky, dry environment of Mediterranean hillsides so it's naturally suited to the aerated, well-drained soil a terracotta pot provides. Good drainage helps rosemary survive winter, too, as its roots quickly rot in soggy soil, a real danger when growing herbs in wetter zones. Practicalities aside, the pairing of cool blue rosemary blooms with the warm hues of a terracotta pot is just divine, especially if you have a trailing variety like blue cascade rosemary, available from Nature Hills, with stems that spill oh-so-stylishly over the rim.

5. Bird of Paradise

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sterlitzia has exceptionally strong, fleshy, active roots that consume high levels of oxygen, so housing bird of paradise plants in terracotta pots where they'll benefit from the clay’s breathability is a smart move. That epic root system supports huge sail-like leaves, so the weight of a terracotta planter is also a wise precaution. Growing these tropical plants that are only reliably hardy in zones 10+ in a container also makes it easy to overwinter them indoors as houseplants, where their epic evergreen leaves make quite a statement.

While bird of paradise appreciates a thorough watering, the plant likes the soil to dry out in between, and terracotta accelerates this process. Do choose a sturdy pot though, as these roots are powerful enough to break through a flimsy planter.

6. Agapanthus

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Another plant with a heap of flower power and a hefty root system to fuel it is agapanthus, also called African lily and lily of the Nile. This beauty also has a high root respiration rate so benefits from the breathability of a terracotta pot and the oxygenated soil it brings. While you will need to keep agapanthus growing in a clay container well watered over summer, you'll reap the rewards of that fast drainage for the rest of the year as its roots hate to sit in waterlogged soil.

Make sure you plant agapanthus in a straight-sided terracotta pot or a classic design with sides that taper outwards though, as its enthusiastic root system will expand to fill every inch of the planter; if the container curves inwards at the rim, you won’t be able to remove the plant when it’s time to repot. You needn’t be in a rush to move lily of the Nile up a pot size, however, as this plant blooms far more profusely when its roots are constricted.

7. Pelargoniums

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Terracotta pots are a natural match for all pelargoniums (sometimes called tender geraniums) whether you like to grow zonal, ivy-leaved, scented-leaved or regal types. These glorious plants need fast drainage and good airflow around their roots, and poor aeration is a prime reason they fail – though forgetting to bring the tender plants in out of the cold comes a close second! But even then, growing a pelargonium in a stylish terracotta pot means you can easily bring it indoors for the winter, where it'll make a handsome houseplant.

8. Cacti

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Cacti need even more airflow around their root balls, so also do best in terracotta pots. Because they’ve evolved to live in such a dry environment, cacti are highly sensitive to a lack of oxygen in the soil. Waterlogged soil effectively suffocates roots by excluding oxygen, and quickly causes irreversible damage to their hyper-sensitive surface cells. While most plants can deal with a short-term lack of oxygen, cacti quickly struggle, so a breathable container that helps to control moisture levels is a real asset. Standing the terracotta pot on a little pea gravel or pot risers helps to keep the drainage hole unobstructed, too.

9. Santolina

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lavender cotton brings cushions of fragrant foliage and cheery yellow flowers to a patio pot, and this low-maintenance plant will be all the happier if that container is made of clay. Another Mediterranean native, Santolina chamaecyparissus evolved to grow in dry, stony soil so benefits from a terracotta pot’s breathability. Santolina actually performs better under mild moisture stress, so the fluctuating conditions inside a clay container actively help it flourish. Adding a few handfuls of perlite, available from The Home Depot, to the potting mix will improve drainage and aerate soil some more, for showstopper results.

10. Rockrose

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

With its beautiful rose-like blooms, Cistus is another Mediterranean shrub with a high demand for oxygen and low tolerance for soggy soil, so does far better in a terracotta pot. Even a compact dwarf rockrose can get a little top-heavy, so the weight of a clay pot prevents the plant being blown over, too.

Terracotta Pots that Don’t Bust the Budget

Fabulous

Set of 2 Rustic Round Terracotta Planters

Functional

14" Diameter Vigoro Standard Clay Pot

Fancy

Set of 3 Handcrafted Clay Planters

Choose the Right Terracotta Pot

• Depending on your zone and what you’re planting in them, check if your planter needs to be frost-proof. Because of its porous nature, clay holds water which can freeze and crack. Terracotta that’s frost-proof is typically fired at a higher temperature, and its winter weather resistance should be outlined in the product description.
• There’s no need to pay more for a frost-proof pot if you’re matching it with a tender plant that needs to overwinter indoors or in a sheltered spot. Simply stand the pot on a wheeled dolly such as this plant caddy from Ace Hardware that makes moving it easy.
• If you choose a planter for its porosity and breathability because you're growing plants that thrive in terracotta pots, don’t pick a design that’s glazed. The hard glaze forms an impenetrable layer over the terracotta that neither air nor moisture can pass through.
• Sitting your terracotta pot on a set of risers such as these Pot Toes from Amazon through fall and winter allows the drainage hole to drain freely and ensures the clay container doesn’t sit in pooling water.

(Image credit: Getty Images)What Not to Plant in Terracotta Pots

Terracotta containers don’t make good homes for all plants, and these in particular will suffer in a clay pot:

• Moisture-loving plants such as hydrangeas and hostas, which appreciate more consistent water levels in the soil.
• Acid-loving plants such as camellias, azaleas or rhododendrons, as the alkaline clay can change the pH of the compost over time.

Someone once told me that there is no better way to prepare for marriage than by owning a home in a subdivision. Each homeowner has rights, but the rights of one can infringe on the rights of others. Good neighbors (like good spouses) learn to understand and respect each others’ positions, communicate calmly, and compromise in a way that safeguards everyone’s dignity.

Dealing with waste water is a perfect example. If you are homeowner 1, with a higher site, you have the right to grow thirsty plants and to water them generously. If you are homeowner 2, with a lower lot, you have the right to protect your garden against flooding. And, just in case neighborliness does not proceed as planned, the law is there to impose a compromise between these conflicting rights.

I cover more questions like this in my Gardening Lawyer series, drawing on my experience as both a gardener and former attorney. Let's dive in and explore how to avoid a soggy situation.

The Law Is the Voice of Reason

(Image credit: Bluezung / Shutterstock)

It would be lovely if neighboring homeowners could always find the middle ground that works for both of them. But that is not always the case. Sometimes neighbors discuss, argue, yell, and finish up by feuding. Knowing the law can help. It’s easier to compromise if you know in advance what the law is going to require in your case.

Generally, the law sets property rights laws that sound natural and reasonable. In the case of drainage issues, many states and most localities impose laws that stick firmly to the middle ground. The “reasonable use” doctrine, often discussed in these cases, accepts the fact that it is natural for rainwater to flow from higher ground to lower ground.

That means that the neighbor with a lower lot cannot complain if, after rain falls, the water falling on higher lots drains down to their property. And this is true even if, one year, it rains daily in buckets. The neighbor with the lower lot cannot blame the upper lot owner for damage caused by all that rainwater rushing down the slope into their land.

Artificial Drainage Is a Different Cup of Tea

(Image credit: Osarieme Eweka / Getty Images)

If you are the owner of the upper lot, do not laugh too long or hard. The reasonable use only applies to natural rainfall. You cannot “enhance” this benefit artificially. That means that it does not qualify as reasonable use when an upper-lot neighbor takes steps to divert water from their property to the neighbor’s property, or pipe it over there.

The consequences of shifting your excess water onto adjoining property can be significant. If your drainage scheme results in soil erosion, standing water, or foundation damage to the neighbor, you can be legally responsible for repair costs. In addition, your actions can violate local building codes, HOA rules or zoning laws. They often prohibit discharging sump pumps, downspouts and French drains across property lines.

Understanding Drainage Issues

(Image credit: KatarzynaBialasiewicz / Getty Images)

Most drainage disputes do not result from intentional wrongdoing. There is generally no villain, twirling his mustache while his workers add drain pipes directly into the neighbor’s yard. Rather, most drain issues start out as changes one neighbor makes at soil level that disrupt normal drainage patterns.

This can happen when a neighbor installs new plants, grass, or hardscape. It can happen when a neighbor changes the grade of their backyard, or adds drain pipes to the turfgrass. These minor adjustments can lead to water problems for the neighbor, soil erosion, flooding, or damage to their foundations. If that happens, they can take the neighbor to court to remove the changes and restore the natural flow of water.

Laws differ from state to state, but – when a neighbor alters the land to change the natural flow of surface water – many states including California hold the owner who made the adjustments strictly liable for all damages, regardless of whether they intended to cause harm.

Examples of Drainage Problems

(Image credit: bgwalker / Getty Images)

• Any action that changes the natural flow of surface water.
• Installing drains, downspouts or pipes that take water from your land to someone else’s land.
• Doing anything that speeds up the flow of surface water flow.
• Any alteration of property that increases the amount of water, the speed of water, or the concentration of water draining into the neighboring property.
• Any alteration of the property that directs water to a location it did not previously reach.
• Any work that involves retaining walls or concrete or paver installations can eliminate the natural absorption of rainwater and send it into the neighboring property.

Preventing Drainage Issues

(Image credit: schulzie / Getty Images)

Are there steps you can take to prevent your rainwater from impacting the neighbor on the lot below you? Yes, there are. Consider installing these landscape features, also known as rainscaping:

• Rain garden - Install a rain garden in your yard. This involves planting a garden bed in a depressed area. Use soil rich in organic material and install native plants with deep-roots.
• Dry creek beds - If there is a shallow trench running through your yard, line it with landscape fabric and river rocks to create a dry creek bed. You can use this dry area to channel heavy streams of runoff.
• Rain barrels - You can actually buy kits premade if you like. This 50-gallon rain barrel from Amazon has a flat back so it fits snuggly against your house and a spigot allows easy access to collected water. Alternatively, hook a large, waterproof container to your gutter system. A rain barrel can capture many gallons of water that you can save for your garden irrigation. Some kits provide a hose hookup to the container.
• Permeable pavers - Regular concrete pavers prevent water from seeping into the soil - and the more pavers you put out there, the more water flows downhill toward your neighbor’s land. Instead, use gravel, turf blocks, or porous flagstones for garden pathways. Permeable pavement materials let rain soak straight into the earth.

More from the Gardening Lawyer

• Why Taking Cuttings From a Plant You Bought Could Land You in Legal Trouble
• If Your Tree Falls Into a Neighbor’s Yard, Who Pays for the Damage?
• Can You Take Garden Plants With You When You Move House?
• Is Your Neighbor's Tree Blocking the Sunlight in Your Yard? Here’s What You Can (and Can’t) Do About It
• Is It OK to Take Plant Cuttings From Garden Centers?

I have a bit of a weakness for celebrity gardens that look impossibly expensive but turn out to have one surprisingly simple idea hiding behind all that glamor, and Jennifer Aniston's yard more than fits the bill.

Whether you know her from Friends (of course you know her from Friends!) or The Morning Show, Jennifer is one of those stars who has long-held on a grip on us, inspiring everything from our hairstyles to our lunches (green goddess salad, anyone?). It stands to reason, then, that her gardening efforts would have just as much of an impact.

The actress has worked with designer Stephen Shadley to create an outdoor space that looks beautiful, both by day and night; however, it's the garden lighting that has really caught my attention.

Jennifer Aniston's Cozy Garden Lighting Trick

That's right, folks; Jennifer Aniston has gifted us one of those cozy backyard ideas that just makes so much sense for fall, and it's all hinged on her lighting.

How? Well, her trees are wrapped in warm white lights, with the strands winding around the trunks and into the lower branches, creating a soft glow that makes the whole garden feel rather magical.

Check it out:

A post shared by Stephen Shadley (@stephenshadley)

A photo posted by

Now, while I can't promise that a few strings of lights will transform anyone's backyard into Jennifer Aniston's Bel Air estate, I can promise that this particular idea is much easier to steal than it looks. You don't even need a huge garden, a Hollywood-sized budget or an entire team of designers! In fact, all it requires is a tree, some warm white lights and roughly $50.

The trick is to make the trees (or plants) themselves part of the lighting design. In this instance, LED Tree Trunk Wrap Lights like these from Wintergreen are wrapped around the trunks and carried into the lower branches, tracing the natural shape of the trees once the sun goes down. Elsewhere, smaller lights pick out areas closer to the ground.

So, if you're tempted to recreate it, take a long hard look at your own yard, pick one tree (or any other particularly lovely feature), and get ready to help it become the star of the show.

Shop Garden Lighting:

Wintergreen Lighting Led Tree Trunk Wrap Lights

VIHOSE Vihose 1 Pcs Tree Trunk Wrap Christmas Lights 10 X 2 Ft, Warm White

Jnaurb Solar Rope Lights, 66ft 200led Solar String Lights, 8 Modes, Waterproof

The good news is that you don't need to commission Stephen Shadley to get started; these LED Tree Trunk Wrap Lights from Wintergreen are currently around $46 and are designed specifically for wrapping around tree trunks.

They have 100 warm-white lights on brown wire, which means the wire should blend more naturally into the bark than something bright green or black. Just start at the base of a tree and work your way upwards, keeping the spacing relatively consistent as you wrap around the trunk. Once you've reached the lower branches, you can carry the lights out slightly to emphasise the tree's natural shape.

There's one temptation I'm going to urge you to resist here, and that's buying approximately 47 boxes of garden lights and attempting to illuminate every available surface. Say it with me, people: you don't need to cover every branch. In fact, I think leaving plenty of the tree in darkness is part of what makes Jennifer Aniston's cozy garden lighting trick look so appealing.

(Image credit: Katarzyna Bialasiewicz/Getty Images)

No tree? No problem! You can use exactly the same principle on a smaller ornamental tree, a multi-stemmed shrub or even a pot in a large container. In fact, the same warm glow can be created by winding lights around a sturdy garden structure, pergola post or other feature you want to highlight.

The trick is to make the most of the darkness and create a warming glow, so, honestly, just choose the feature you most enjoy looking at from your patio or from inside the house. Then, make like Jennifer Aniston, wrap it with warm white lights and see what happens after dark.

You might just find that you don't need anything else at all...

Starting a new garden from scratch can feel daunting but there are plenty of easy, inexpensive ways to quickly give your plot a more lived-in look. Landscape designers use these tricks and techniques all the time to make a new garden look mature, and they're straightforward enough to DIY yourself on a budget. So, if you're wondering where to start when faced with a bare patch of earth and a big stretch of fencing, these garden design ideas will get your new yard established, fast.

If you've moved house and have a newbuild plot, or you're thinking about giving your existing yard a makeover, this blank canvas gives you the opportunity to design the garden of your dreams, in the same way you might be rethinking the interior layout and decor to suit your tastes. The joy of designing a garden from scratch is that you can tailor it to be the outdoor living space you want, rather than inheriting someone else's dream yard. And with these DIY garden design techniques, there's no need to wait years for your new plot to mature, even if you're on a budget.

All these clever landscape designer tricks to make a new garden look mature will quickly give a freshly-created yard a lived-in look. Which ones will you choose to use in your garden?

1. Invest in a Tree for Instant Impact

(Image credit: Neil Hepworth/RHS)

In a new garden, a well-positioned specimen tree will become the focal point around which the rest of the planting develops, as well as adding instant interest. Choose a multi-stem tree variety such as a Japanese maple,like the Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium' in this design and the shapely branching structure will immediately create a diversion, drawing attention away from other, less developed areas of the garden.

Buy the most mature tree you can afford, and if you can stretch the budget to a few, do. Larger trees will immediately make the design feel it's been there for a while; smaller trees will simply draw attention to the fact everything is new. Choose varieties with interesting sculptural outlines, foliage, blossom or berries and you will enjoy four seasons of interest as well as instant privacy.

2. Clothe Fences With Fast-Growing Climbers

(Image credit: Sarah Cuttle/RHS)

Freshly-erected walls and fences stand out as they look so stark. While their bright tones will dull down over time, introducing a softer element to landscape your garden boundaries quickly fixes the issue. A combination of trellis and your choice of fast-growing climbing plants that don't scramble out of control is one of the speediest ways to create a lived-in look. Even covering a small mid-section of a wall or fence with a climber will break up the hard landscaping and make the garden feel like it's been there for longer.

Do treat your fence first if needed, or paint it if you fancy. If your garden feels boxed in by its boundary, painting a fence a darker color to make it less visually overwhelming is one of the simplest DIY ideas garden designers use to make a small yard feel bigger.

3. Layer Planting to Add Depth

(Image credit: Neil Hepworth/RHS)

New gardens are often dominated by plants of the same height, so introducing a layered planting effect will create the impression the space has been established for a while. This garden-design technique will also help to distract from bare areas of soil while you're waiting for plants to mature.

When deciding on your planting, aim for a range of plants that fill three vertical zones and you'll automatically avoid the flat layout typical of so many newbuild gardens. Mid-height perennials in borders and beds are your mainstay, but mix in tall structural plants to act as focal points. Your final layer is low-growing, and don't dismiss this as an afterthought because there are lots of glorious flowering groundcover plants that can add color as well as texture to your garden design.

As you can see in this beautiful garden, it's safe to ignore the old 'big plants at the back of a border, small plants at the front' rule! Layering the planting height like this immediately makes borders look more mature, and allowing foliage to sprawl over paths and other hardscaped areas achieves a similar effect by blurring the edges.

Do ensure you improve the soil before you get planting, though, especially if you have a newbuild garden and have been left with a combination of rubble, clods of poor soil and weedy patches. It's always worth investing in your soil by adding a natural product like this Organic Compost Soil Improver from Home Depot that will nourish plants and help them thrive, quickly creating a more mature garden.

4. Claim Your Vertical Space

(Image credit: RHS/Sarah Cuttle)

Another common issue in a newly planted garden is an absence of height. While you're waiting for trees and shrubs to mature, a speedy solution is to add a pergola or gazebo planted with a climbing vine. Clematis is a super choice, especially fall-flowering clematis that peak just as the rest of the garden is fading and, whether you're looking for a compact vine or fast coverage, you can find a clematis vine to suit every garden spot.

Using a structure to claim your vertical space quickly makes a garden feel more established, and it doesn't have to be a big spend. A simple design like this Outdoor Metal Pergola from Wayfair won't blow your budget yet will add that all-important height factor to switch up a flat plot. A pergola improves privacy, too, one of the most common requests landscape designers are asked for.

5. Use Hedging to Add Dense Foliage

(Image credit: Runna10/Getty Images)

Adding a hedge to a new garden can double the foliage count and also provides shelter to wildlife, helping to quickly establish an ecosystem for healthy, thriving plants. Buy in fall or in bulk and hedging plants are surprisingly cost-effective, allowing you to afford more mature plants and cut the time it takes to soften boundaries.

An established hedge immediately gives a garden enclosure and privacy while creating an attractive background that will enhance any planting in front. Think too about using hedging plants to divide a larger garden into different areas or garden 'rooms', making the space feel more considered and established.

Don't skip straight to boxwood because there are all sorts of plants that work well as hedging, contributing texture, shape and color to your garden design as well as making it look more mature.

Shape-shifting blooms

Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea

This compact hydrangea makes an attractive hedge, and drops its shapely leaves in fall to allow precious sunlight into your garden.

Cool evergreen leaves

Clusia

Clusia flava has thick, leathery teardrop-shaped leaves that resist drought, diseases and drought for a low-maintenance hedge.

Va-va-voom foliage

Tri-Color Dappled Willow Shrub

New leaves emerge a rich pink, and dense branching ensures plenty of them, and this Salix integra is a fast grower for a quick result.

6. Enclose a Seating Area With Planters

(Image credit: Joanna Kossak/RHS)

Once you've decided where to put your seating area, surrounding the space with raised planting immediately brings an immersive sense that many mature gardens enjoy. By all means hardscape an L-shape or U-shape of raised beds, or achieve a similar effect with contemporary planters.

Fill the containers with repeat planting for a cost-effective, modern look that soon fills out and looks good year-round. Opting for tall ornamental grasses or clipped evergreen shrubs is just one of many affordable planter box ideas that boost your garden style as well as your growing space, and will quickly add a sense of permanency. Think about adding recessed lights too as they will light up the plants at night for extra interest, as well as making your design feel polished.

7. Top Dress With Gravel to Cover Bare Soil

(Image credit: Neil Hepworth/RHS)

One of the biggest giveaways a garden is newly designed is the large areas of bare soil left between perennials and shrubs that require room to mature. The quickest way to address this problem is the popular landscape designer trick of adding a layer of gravel to cover the soil surface.

As well as making the area look finished, and those gaps intentional, this brings the added benefit of giving plants a boost by helping to retain moisture in the soil and suppressing weed growth. Use smaller, slightly rounded pea gravel such as this pretty warm-hued Rainforest Pink Washed Gravel from Lowe's for a natural effect.

Another solution is to banish bare soil with ground cover plants that spread beautifully but gracefully give way to taller perennials and shrubs as they mature and grow. Use a combination of both gravel and groundcover and that immature border will instantly look like it's been there for years.

8. Blur Hard Landscaping Lines

(Image credit: Neil Hepworth/RHS)

Perfectly straight edges between recently paved patios, freshly laid lawns and new paths are a clear sign of a just-completed landscaping project. To make the space look more settled, blending the different landscaping elements for a more aged aesthetic is a trick designers often use. Let ornamental grasses and low-growing perennials flop over a path, and use pea gravel to transition between different areas to banish hard lines.

The trick is to use low-maintenance plants that landscape designers favour to soften hard landscaping as they look good without much care from you. A common trick is planting in the cracks between flagstones, bricks and pavers so stems spill over the edges to soften hard outlines and make the hardscaping look aged and characterful. Using creeping thyme to scent paving and pathways is particularly successful and, once stones or pavers are partially covered with its fragrant foliage, they look like they've been there for ever.

9. Sow Self-Seeders for a Random Detail

(Image credit: Getty Images)

One of the biggest joys of a mature garden is the little pockets of colorful petals that pop up in unexpected spots as a result of self-seeding short-lived plants. It's simple to replicate this in a new garden with fling-and-forget seeds that practically grow themselves, and many can be sown in fall to flower early the following year. Don't be too careful about where you sow them but aim to recreate a natural, random positioning.

A smart choice is California poppies as they gently self-seed without taking over the garden, only grow just over a foot tall, and will flourish in poor soil and even gravel. While a cheery orange is the usual color of Eschescholzia californica, and California poppy seeds are available from Eden Brothers, there are all sorts of pretty tones to choose from such as Thai Silk Appleblossom Chiffon California poppies, with seed also available from Eden Brothers. Poppy seeds require a cold period for good germination, so sowing in fall is beneficial.

Making a new garden look more mature is simple with these landscape designer techniques. With these basics in place, you can employ all sorts of little tricks to age any parts of your yard that still look far too new. Painting yogurt or buttermilk on unglazed terracotta pots encourages the development of a natural patina, or try applying a thin coat of diluted paint to fences or walls for a more aged aesthetic.

September is a crucial time in the hummingbird calendar, as the great fall migration is officially underway. Across North America, millions of hummingbirds (from Eastern Ruby-throated to Western Rufous) are initiating or continuing their perilous journeys south toward wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. Unlike the lazy days of early summer, when these tiny birds established fixed territories in your yard, September travelers are moving constantly. Your yard has the potential to be a vital refueling oasis along a high-stakes highway.

During this epic journey, hummingbirds require plenty of fuel, clean water and secure shelter just to survive their daily flights. Because their metabolic rates are among the highest in the animal kingdom, even a brief shortage of nectar or a sudden cold snap can prove disastrous. So making a few tiny yet thoughtful adjustments to your yard this month can help support and sustain these tiny travelers as they navigate changing weather patterns, declining flowers, and unfamiliar landscapes.

While the exact timing of migration will vary, depending on your geographic region and local weather conditions, it’s a good idea to maintain all supportive feeding stations and shelter features for at least 2 weeks after your last hummingbird sighting of the season. Keeping your backyard sanctuary fully operational ensures that late-arriving stragglers and younger birds have the emergency calories required to complete their journey safely. Here’s how to easily set up the ultimate fall pitstop.

Help Hummingbirds in September

A few simple measures to improve safety in your yard will benefit all migrating birds at this time of year, but especially hummers. In northern states, Canada, and high-altitude regions, northern hummers are heading south, making your yard a critical place to refuel and rest before continuing on their fluttery way. Meanwhile, central and southern states are experiencing a surge, as wave after wave of weary travelers bottleneck head toward the Gulf Coast. Migrating birds are tired and vulnerable right now, and more are moving through your area than you might think.

Depending on where you live, the species visiting your feeders will shift dramatically. Eastern gardeners will primarily see Ruby-throated hummingbirds, including young birds embarking on their first migration journey. Western backyards will host a mix of feisty Rufous, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Black-chinned hummers, while West Coast and Southwestern gardeners may support Anna’s Hummingbirds year round, as well as migrating flocks. Taking extra steps to secure your yard can protect and feed every tiny visitor passing through your area.

(Image credit: Daniel Ripplinger / DansPhotoArt / 500px / Getty Images)

As well as the following key steps, one of the easiest ways to protect hummers from fatal window strikes is by adding some UV-reflecting decals on your window. These help birds visualize glass as a solid barrier. For strong adhesive clout at a bargain price, try Mesinurs Anti-Collision Bird Stickers from Amazon. it’s also important to ensure that passing travelers have thick cover to shelter from predators, such as dense shrubs, trees, or tucked-away brush piles. If you have domestic cats that go outdoors, keep them inside until peak migration passes.

September is a critical transition period, and your choices in the garden can make it more successful for these little birds. This month is your time to shine, so keep an eye out for stragglers, and make sure your yard is ready with the following easy hummer wins during fall migration…

1. Provide Plentiful and Clean Nectar

(Image credit: Bob Warner / 500px / Getty Images)

If you are a hummingbird lover, you probably already have a nectar feeder hanging in the yard. That is a fantastic start, but visiting birds could benefit from even more this month. In September, hummingbirds are either bulking up for migration or actively traveling hundreds of miles. This is an energy-intensive period, and they need as much food as possible. If in doubt, you can’t go wrong with a classic red Perky-Pet Pinch-Waist Hummingbird Feeder from Amazon with its multiple perches and ant moat.

Keep providing fresh nectar throughout September, and if possible, hang additional feeders. Position new feeders in different locations out of the direct line of sight of existing stations. Hummingbirds like Rufous are fiercely territorial over food sources and can chase off hungry travelers when there is only a single feeder to share. Make sure you choose dedicated nectar, such as BirdBros Hummingbird Nectar, available from Amazon, which is dye-free and dilutes really well in warm water.

Plentiful nectar helps birds with energy reserves, but make sure you clean and refill feeders every 2-3 days to prevent harmful mold and bacteria growth. There is a myth that keeping feeders up late in the season prevents hummingbirds from migrating. This simply isn't true: shortening day length triggers migration instincts, and extra nectar can only help to ensure they survive the trek.

2. Plant Late Season Flowers

(Image credit: Tongho58 / Getty Images)

In addition to feeders, keeping your yard blooming well into September provides vital natural foraging for local and migrating hummingbirds. While summer offers an endless buffet of wild blooms, natural sources will begin to decline rapidly in fall. Migrating hummers will appreciate any late-blooming, nectar-rich flowers you can add to your garden beds now to supplement your feeders.

Choose hardy perennials appropriate for your climate that flourish in late summer and early fall. Outstanding fall choices include cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), anise hyssop (agastache), bee balm (monarda), fall asters, trumpet honeysuckle, autumn sage, and goldenrod. One gorgeous late season hummer magnet is cherry red American Beauties Major Wheeler Trumpet Honeysuckle, available from Plant Addicts, which keep flowering through fall.

September is an ideal time to plant containerized perennials and hardy flowering shrubs in most regions. The soil remains warm enough to encourage rapid root establishment, while cooler air prevents transplant stress. Alternatively, add some annuals that continue blooming up until the first frosts. Try late-blooming salvias such as electric blue Sacred Roots Nursery Black and Blue Salvia, available from Walmart, as well as flowering tobacco, lantana, zinnias, or Mexican sunflower to supplement your permanent garden borders and draw traveling birdies from afar.

3. Go Easy on Fall Cleanup

(Image credit: Jared Lloyd / Getty Images)

It’s tempting to do a thorough garden cleanup as summer winds down, but try to resist that urge. Leaving key areas of the garden natural, overgrown, and fading through September creates a sanctuary for migrating hummers. Fading perennial stems, tall seed heads, and dense shrub branches provide cover where birds can rest, preen, and hide from predators. Leaving natural detritus also protects beneficial insects, creating a healthier, more biodiverse ecosystem for all backyard wildlife.

While light maintenance is fine, leave beds near feeders and late-blooming plants untouched until the migration window closes. Layered canopy structures are best, combining overhead tree branches, mid-story shrubs, and low perennial cover. Juvenile hummers can spend up to 80% of their day perching to conserve body heat and digest sugar water, so leaving natural branch perches will give them safe, energy-saving resting spots.

If you lack natural resting or perching branches near your feeding stations, add some simple artificial options. Bamboo stakes, tomato cages, or trimmed hardwood branches pushed into the ground can give tired hummers observation posts to digest their sugar-heavy meals. The gorgeous Copper Heart Hummingbird Perch from Uncommon Goods is a charming weather-resistant swing option that birds will trust and you can admire (from a safe distance).

4. Add a Moving Water Source

(Image credit: Andy Dean Photography / Shutterstock)

While extra nectar keeps hummingbirds fueled, clean water is equally vital for their survival during migration. Unlike larger songbirds that splash around in deep bird baths, tiny hummingbirds prefer gentle mists or fine water droplets for drinking, bathing, and keeping feathers clean. They gleefully flit through fine water sprays on the wing, using the moisture to cool down after long flights. Ruby-throated & Allen’s hummers are especially fond of fine misters, often performing aerial acrobatics.

The catch-light sparkle of dripping water catches the keen eyes of high-altitude migrants flying overhead, signaling a safe, refreshing oasis below. Consider installing a dripping or misting attachment over your garden beds, or hanging one near feeder stations. As well as being invaluable during hot spells, they are perfect for when traveling birds get overheated from continuous flight. You can get Tanbaby Standing Misters from Walmart on clearance for multi-directional misting at adjustable heights.

If you maintain a standard bird bath or puddle bath as well, keep the water level shallow (under one inch or 2.5cm) and add smooth river stones so smaller birds can wade safely without risk of drowning. Clean water basins every few days to prevent mosquito larvae and bacterial buildup.

5. Protect Your Garden’s Insects

(Image credit: Hal Beral / Getty Images)

Hummingbirds are sometimes mistakenly thought of as solely feeding on nectar, but insects make up a massive portion of their daily diet. Hummingbirds rely on small spiders, gnats, aphids, and fruit flies for vital protein, amino acids, and fats. A natural garden filled with native flora and delayed fall cleanup supports the insects these birds desperately need at this time of year.

Protein consumption becomes critical during fall migration, powering the rapid wing muscle required to fly across vast distances. Keep your garden as pesticide-free and natural as possible through autumn. Avoid broad-spectrum chemical sprays that wipe out non-target insects. Leave hollow plant stems standing for beneficial bugs, and allow fallen leaf litter to remain under shrub borders.

Creating insect-friendly habitats ensures your yard offers a complete buffet for visiting birdies. By protecting small invertebrates, you give traveling hummingbirds the balanced nutrition required to complete their journeys in peak condition. Don’t forget your pocket binoculars, or even a monocular like the Nocs Provisions Zoom Tube Monocular Telescope from Amazon, so you can watch all the joys of migration and don’t miss a hungry beak or jewel-flashed wing!

Shop Hummingbird Essentials

(Image credit: Amy OBryan / Getty Images)

Make absolutely sure your backyard is the place for hummers to refuel and relax this fall! These essentials make it easy and enjoyable to support traveling hummingbirds. Then you can just focus on keeping your hummer station clean, safe, and fully stocked for migration season.

Best Fall Trio

Everyday Feeder

Perky-Pet Perky-Pet Favored Pinch-Waist Glass Feeder, 16 Oz

This classic features a pinch-waist glass bottle, ant moat, and 4 comfortable perching pins to give weary travelers a cozy landing pad. The red base pops against foliage, while the wide-mouth bottle unscrews easily for refilling.

Late-Season Magnet

American Beauties Native Plants Major Wheeler Trumpet Honeysuckle

Support your fall feeding station with this vibrant, nectar-soaked vine. Major Wheeler produces heavy clusters of cherry-red trumpets that flower through fall, creating a stunning visual that migrating hummers can spot from afar.

Resting Perch

uncommongoods Copper Heart Swing for Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds spend considerable time perching to conserve energy and digest nectar. Hanging this weather-resistant copper wire heart near your feeder gives traveling hummers a stylish observation station to survey their territory in peace.

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Sure, you can buy a soil test to determine whether your soil is acidic or alkaline. If it shows a pH at 6.5 or under, you are the proud owner of acidic soil. But there’s a shortcut that can give you a quick and easy answer: take a look at the plants that thrive in your yard.

If the hydrangea bushes are always full of lush blue flowers and your blueberries are the biggest and best in the neighborhood, your soil is probably acidic. And that means that other acid-loving plants will grow well in your landscape.

But which plants can be classified as acid-loving plants? There are more than a few. But if blue mophead hydrangeas and blueberries thrive in your backyard, here are the top plants to add to your garden in September.

Acid-Lovers to Plant in Autumn

Acid-loving plants are ones that thrive in soil with a pH level below 6.5, often preferring a pH of between 4.5 and 6.0. These plants require soil that is acidic in order to absorb nutrients like iron and manganese. In alkaline soil, these nutrients cannot be absorbed and the leaves of acid-loving plants turn yellow and fail to grow.

September is an ideal time to add acid-loving plants to your garden. Early fall is perfect since cool air temperatures and warm soil help the plants’ roots establish before winter.

Here are some wonderful plants to grow in your garden alongside hydrangeas and blueberries. And if you want to make your soil more acidic in order to grow some of these beautiful species, use this soil acidifier from Espoma.

1. Azalea

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Botanical Name

Rhododendron spp.

Hardiness

Zones 5-8

Azaleas are flowering shrubs that grow well in shady locations and acidic soil. Fan-favorites in the gardens, azaleas are both beautiful and incredibly versatile. You can find them in many different shapes, sizes, and colors – some evergreen and some deciduous. The azalea blossoms are funnel-shaped, often two-lipped blooms in shades of pink, red, purple, orange, and white.

The one downside to azaleas is their relatively short blooming season, only some three weeks. But azaleas can play other roles in the garden, offering stunning beauty when in flower and as a reliable green backdrop to let other plants shine throughout the year. They thrive in shade to partial sun in well-drained, acidic soil. Water regularly until the roots are established.

Try this reblooming azalea from the Home Depot for bright pink blooms from spring through fall.

2. Rhododendron

(Image credit: imageBROKER/Erhard Nerger / Getty Images)

Botanical Name

Rhododendron spp.

Hardiness

Zones 5-8

While every azalea is a rhododendron, all rhodies are not azaleas. Rhododendrons are large, evergreen shrubs with bold, glossy leaves and huge flower clusters. Rhododendrons are among the most famous of acid-loving garden plants, and among the plants most widely used in landscaping in this country. Their magnificent spring-blooming blossoms can come in pinks, reds, mauves and shades of white.

Grow rhododendrons in a location with partial sun, dappled sun, or light shade. They need acidic soil with top drainage. Apply a thick layer of pine bark mulch around the base of the shrubs to keep the roots cool and moist. Rhodies should be trimmed just after the flowers fade.

Want gorgeous violet blooms? Choose this 'Florence Parks' rhododendron from Home Depot.

3. Camellia

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Botanical Name

Camellia spp.

Hardiness

Zones 7-9

Shrubs in the camellia genus are evergreen plants with glossy leaves. They offer big, beautiful blooms – some as wide as your palm – in a wide variety of colors, from white, to pink, to gold. These beautiful flowering plants are one of the workhorses of southern gardens.

These acid-loving plants prefer moist, well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter. They prefer a soil pH of between 5.5 and 6.5. Plant them in a site with partial shade or dappled sun, always offering protection from hot afternoon sun and winter winds.

The soil should be kept evenly moist until the plants establish, and water during dry summers – this is when the buds for the following season are forming. Trim your camellias when the flowers fade, but never prune after the buds are set in late summer or fall.

Explore dozens of lovely camellias for sale from Plants by Mail.

4. Bunchberry

(Image credit: shakzu / Getty Images)

Botanical Name

Cornus canadensis

Hardiness

Zones 2-7

Go native whenever you can, if you want to make your life as a gardener as easy as possible. Native plants require little fertilizer, are drought tolerant, and live in harmony with native insects on native soil.

If your soil is acidic, one great native option is bunchberry, a low-growing, acid-loving plant with tiny spring blooms surrounded by bone-white bracts and glossy green leaves that turn red and purple in fall. Bright red berries make a dramatic addition and attract birds.

Bunchberry thrives in shady areas and moist, well-draining soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.8. Keep the soil moist, irrigating during dry spells. Light organic mulch can help hold moisture into the soil.

You can find this unique native ground cover online from White Flower Farm.

5. Holly

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Botanical Name

Ilex spp.

Hardiness

Zones 5-7

Forget decking the halls! You are likely to fall in love with your holly bushes and warn friends and family not to clip off a single branch! Most of the many varieties of holly are shrubs, with shiny green leaves and – if the shrub is a female and there is a male holly plant in the neighborhood – bright berries. The dense foliage makes hollies a good choice for a privacy screen.

Most holly varieties grow best in a sunny area. While full sun is great, be certain your holly gets at least 3 hours of sun a day. The soil must be well-draining and acidic, and it should be kept moist the entire first growing season to allow the shrub to establish roots. Prune the holly very lightly to shape it in late winter before new growth begins. thrive best in full sun to partial shade (at least 3 to 6 hours of daily sun).

Shop both native and non-native holly bushes and trees from Trees.com (formerly Fast Growing Trees).

Gwyneth Paltrow recently posted a video of herself making a frittata on Instagram. It was a very Gwyneth thing to do – wholesome, polished, and faintly aspirational – and it looked delicious. But the eggs are not what caught our attention. Before the frittata took center stage, Gwyneth was seen harvesting vegetables from the most beautiful raised-bed kitchen garden, which is clearly producing real food – not merely posing for the ‘gram.

Her Montecito garden, designed by landscape designer Christine London, is the kind of setup that makes you want to rip up half your lawn. It's gorgeous. It’s also, according to the experts I spoke to, doing several specific things right that any home gardener can copy – whether you’re looking for inspiration from these raised bed ideas or hoping to recreate Gwyneth’s productive setup. Purchasing property in Montecito is not required.

The Detail Everyone Gets Wrong

(Image credit: Alamy)

If there's one thing to remember from this whole article, it's this: keep your raised beds narrow. It’s not just a style preference; it’s just the correct way to do it if you want beds that are both functional and beautiful like Gwyneth's.

Limit the width to about 4 feet (1.2 m) so that all parts of the bed can be accessed from the side without stepping in and compacting the soil. Otherwise, that gorgeous wide bed becomes a sad, neglected middle strip that never really thrives because nobody wants to climb in and squish the soil to reach it.

A post shared by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow)

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If you have the space, then 4x8 feet is the maximum you should go for a single raised bed. That's the size of the Yaheetech wooden raised garden bed kit on Amazon, which is a good budget-friendly option if you want a natural wood look like Gwyneth's. For a smaller area, the 4x2ft Birdsinyard galvanized raised bed is a stylish solution with an open-bottom design, which helps solve the drainage problem that slowly kills so many kitchen gardens.

The Boring Bit That Actually Matters

(Image credit: PaulMaguire / Getty Images)

Here’s the thing nobody posts about: water. Andy Layton, founder and managing director of Hello Plumbing, has worked on enough kitchen gardens to know the unglamorous truth: “The most frequent cause of raised bed gardens not doing well is not due to plant selection or garden design. It’s a matter of drainage and access to water. A bed that doesn’t have good drainage can kill plants in one growing season, and a bed that is too far from a water source will be neglected in weeks because hand watering is too much work to do every day.”

In Gwyneth’s video, irrigation appears to have been integrated into her raised beds. To make watering easier, consider the All-in-One raised bed kits from Garden in Minutes. They include an irrigation grid for even, soil-level watering, an open-bottom design to encourage drainage, and a square-foot plant-spacing grid to make planting easy and consistent.

Whatever you do, don’t overlook these vital design issues, and heed Layton's cautionary tale: “We worked on a residential kitchen garden where the homeowner had constructed four beautiful cedar raised beds, but located 50 feet (15 m) from the closest faucet. The garden was abandoned in one summer. The cost of running a drip line from an existing faucet would have been less than $200, and the garden would have required very little daily maintenance.”

This is a lesson learned the expensive way, so you don’t have to learn it yourself: before you build anything beautiful, figure out where your water is coming from.

Stylish Raised Bed Kits

Self-Watering

Garden in Minutes 17" Tall, 2x6ft All-In-One Raised Garden Bundle

This all-in-one raised bed has its irrigation built in for low maintenance, and it divides the space into a super convenient grid for square foot planting.

Budget Pick

Yaheetech Raised Garden Bed Wooden Planter Box

If you like the look of Gwyneth's wooden raised beds, then opt for this budget-friendly raised bed, which comes in two sizes to suit your space.

Stylish Design

Birdsinyard Galvanized Raised Garden Bed, 4x2x1ft, 2-Pack, Olive Green

These metal garden planter boxes come in a range of sizes, but the 2x4 ones are ideal for patios and balconies, or for adding a little herb garden to an empty corner.

Paths Matter More Than You'd Think

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Good raised-bed design is about more than the beds themselves. Leave at least 18–24 inches (45–60 cm) between beds for comfortable walking access, and consider widening the paths to around 24–35 inches (60–90 cm) if you want to move a wheelbarrow through the garden.

A dual-wheel wheelbarrow, like this one from Best Choice Products, available on Amazon, makes navigating paths between beds far easier than a single-wheel barrow.

Walking aisles between raised beds should be between 18 and 24 inches (45–90 cm) wide so that there is ample room to walk through the garden and work on the garden. These dimensions are not a matter of aesthetics; they are a matter of function.

Bed height matters, too. Raising beds to at least 12 inches (30 cm) creates a more intentional structure, while beds around 17–24 inches (43–60 cm) high are easier for people with back or knee limitations to access. If bending over makes you wince, build the beds taller. Nobody’s judging.

A simple foam kneeler pad, like this one from Gorilla Grip on Amazon, can make harvesting from lower beds much easier on your knees.

Choose Plants for a Productive Raised Bed

(Image credit: ARTFULLY PHOTOGRAPHER / Shutterstock)

Good raised-bed design is about more than appearance. Place drought-tolerant herbs such as rosemary and thyme around the edges, where the soil dries out fastest, while moisture-loving basil will be happier closer to the center. Put tall crops, including tomatoes and trellised beans, at the back so they do not shade shorter plants.

Herbs also earn their space in a kitchen garden, adding texture, color, fragrance, and food for pollinators. For an encouraging first harvest, start with productive crops such as lettuce, kale, green beans, zucchini, strawberries, and dwarf tomatoes. Just avoid overcrowding: plants need enough room, water, light, and airflow to grow strongly.

You can keep the beds productive for longer with succession planting. As one crop finishes, replace it with another vegetable or herb, creating a garden that continues to provide fresh harvests and visual interest throughout the growing season.

Your Raised Bed To-Do List

The TL;DR version? If you're taking anything away from Gwyneth's garden besides frittata envy, make it this:

1. Keep beds under 1.2 meters wide so you never have to step into the soil. Leave at least 18–24 inches between beds for proper access.

2. Sort your drainage and water source before you build anything, not after.

3. Plant your drought-tolerant herbs at the edges, thirstier plants in the middle, and tall crops at the back so nothing's shading out its shorter neighbors.

4. Resist the urge to plant one of absolutely everything; pick a handful of fast, rewarding crops to start, and let the garden (and your confidence) grow from there.

I love a houseplant that thrives on neglect, and not because I'm a particularly neglectful plant parent, but because life has a habit of getting in the way of even the best intentions. One minute I'm carefully checking the soil and rotating my plants for even light, and the next I've realised I can't remember the last time I watered anything.

I always mean well. A new houseplant comes home, I find it a beautiful spot, learn exactly what it needs and promise myself I'll stick to a sensible care routine. For a few weeks, I'm as attentive as any plant could hope for... and then work gets busy, the toddler forgets how to sleep at night, my weekend disappears, and suddenly I'm standing in the living room wondering who swapped my beautiful orchid with a very brown stick.

Thankfully, some houseplants are considerably more forgiving than others. They don't need constant fussing, perfectly consistent conditions or an owner who has their watering schedule neatly color-coded. In fact, they can tolerate the occasional missed watering and, perhaps most importantly, they don't immediately make you feel like you've failed them.

The Houseplants That Thrive On Neglect

Every houseplant collection needs one stalwart that thrives on neglect, if only to reassure owners that there is at least one thing that promises to get on with things while the rest of your life is refusing to cooperate.

So, after plenty of personal experience with plants that have survived my less-than-perfect attention, I've narrowed it down to three particularly resilient choices...

1. The Snake Plant

(Image credit: thipyada namwongsa / Getty Images)

If I had to crown the king of houseplants that thrive on neglect, it would 100% be a snake plant; there is something almost comically resilient about them.

Oh sure, their leaves look wonderfully dramatic, but they really don't demand the sort of constant attention you might expect; in fact, they are particularly good at coping with periods of dryness because those aforementioned leaves store water. They're also happy in a range of light conditions, although brighter, indirect light will generally encourage better growth.

In other words, the birth month houseplant for January babies everywhere is really rather good at the whole “I'll see you when I see you” approach to houseplant ownership. Actually, the biggest mistake you can make is probably loving them too much, as overwatering is far more likely to cause problems than forgetting to water them for a while.

Shop Snake Plants:

Snake Plant 'Laurentii'

Altman Plants Snake Plant 'Laurentii'

Snake Plant 'Moonshine'

Generic Snake Plant 'Moonshine'

Whale Fin Snake Plant

Thorsen's Greenhouse Whale Fin Snake Plant

2. ZZ plant

(Image credit: ABCowan / Shutterstock)

Almost suspiciously good at fulfilling the brief for 'houseplant that thrives on neglect', the glossy green ZZ plant has thick rhizomes that store water, helping this pretty plant to cope with periods of drought. (This is particularly useful for people like me, who occasionally look at a plant and realise I can't remember whether I watered it yesterday, last week or possibly sometime in another calendar year).

ZZ plants are also tolerant of lower light, although they will grow more slowly there, and they generally prefer you to let their potting mix dry out between waterings. All of which means, basically, that if you want something that looks elegant but doesn't require constant fussing, this is a very good candidate.

To make things even easier, you can buy a ZZ plant in a ceramic pot from Costa Farms. Just pop it somewhere to do its wonderful air-purifying thing, and reap the benefits for almost zero effort.

3. Spider Plants

(Image credit: KrimKate / Shutterstock)

Spider plants have been quietly earning their reputation as practically indestructible houseplants for decades, and I think it's time we gave them some credit.

They're cheerful, unfussy and incredibly good at producing those long trailing stems covered in baby plants. (Seriously, even if you aren't particularly interested in propagating houseplants, it's difficult not to feel a little pleased with yourself when your spider plant starts producing a whole collection of teeny-weeny offspring).

They're also wonderfully forgiving if your watering routine isn't quite as consistent as it should be, making spider plants particularly useful for filling shelves, hanging baskets or awkward corners you might find yourself forgetting about them for a while. (Guilty, as charged!).

Shop Spider Plants:

Shop Succulents 'Bonnie' Curly Spider Plant

American Plant Exchange Hanging Spider Plant

American Plant Exchange Spider Plant – 6-Inch Pot

Before anyone gets the bright idea of writing to me, I'm not suggesting you should deliberately neglect your houseplants; they still need the basics (think appropriate light, occasional watering, a decent potting mix and a little attention when something looks wrong).

That being said, I do think there's something to be said for building a collection around plants that fit your lifestyle rather than trying to become the sort of person who remembers the precise watering schedule of 27 different tropical plants. And for me, that's the real appeal of snake plants, spider plants and ZZ plants. They look good, they're forgiving, and if life gets busy for a week or two, they're unlikely to hold a grudge.

And sometimes, that? Why, that's exactly the kind of houseplant friendship I need.

Most gardens get designed around whoever built them, which holds up fine right until it doesn't. A knee goes, or somebody comes home from surgery with a lifting restriction, or a kid wants to help and can't see over the wall of the bed. Accessible gardening starts from a different place: bodies change, and the layout ought to still work when they do.

Much of what makes accessible gardens function has less to do with disability than people assume, and more to do with height and surface, plus how far anyone has to lean to reach the middle of a bed. Sort that out and the afternoon gets easier for the gardener with a bad back or the 80-year-old still growing tomatoes.

Here are some clever ways to make your garden more accessible and easier to grow in at any age or at any ability level.

Accessible Gardening Ideas

None of these ideas require a contractor. A couple are weekend projects and the rest come down to buying a better version of something you probably already have in the shed.

1. Build Tall Raised Beds

(Image credit: Alamy)

One foot to 18 inches (30-46 cm) is where most raised beds top out, which suits almost nobody. At 28 to 32 inches (71-81 cm) the soil sits around desk level and your arms do the work instead of your whole back while bending over low beds.

Reach is the other half of the equation. From my wheelchair, I can get maybe 24 inches (61 cm) in before my shoulders give up. So a bed approached from one side shouldn't run deeper than that. Four feet (1.2 m) works when both sides of the bed are open.

Home Depot carries an extra-tall metal raised bed kit from Vego in that height range. A wide cap board on a wooden raised bed gives you an edge to sit on while working in your garden.

2. Create Wide, Sturdy Paths

(Image credit: pcturner71 / Getty Images)

Loose bark looks great in photos, but makes wheelchairs roll terribly. A garden path that only works when it's dry isn't really a path. Call it a good weather suggestion. Compacted decomposed granite holds up under a wheelchair or a loaded wheelbarrow without grabbing at the wheels and so do pavers set tight against each other.

Width is as important as the material. 36 inches (91 cm) is the working minimum and 48 inches (122 cm) leaves room for somebody to walk alongside you. Dead ends should have a 5-foot (1.5 m) circle at the finish, since backing up blind is nobody's favorite maneuver.

3. Grow Up, Not Out

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Harvesting plants at chest height makes the process so much easier. Pole beans and cucumbers on a trellis pull the picking up out of the dirt and an arch over a path does the same while shading whatever grows underneath. A cattle panel trellis arch is a cheap solution and tends to outlast the plants on it.

Wall pockets on a fence handle herbs and salad greens well. What all of these solutions avoid is the part where somebody gets down on the ground and then has to work their way back up. That part can be hard for anyone, not only older gardeners or people with a diagnosis.

4. Add Wheels to Heavy Planters

(Image credit: Ashley-Belle Burns / Getty Images)

Once a pot passes about 80 pounds (36 kg) full, it stops being portable and becomes a permanent installation. A rolling plant caddy with locking casters, available on Amazon, gets that weight moving again. Easily move it out of an early frost or into shade once the July heat sets in.

Fabric grow bags and resin pots weigh a fraction of terracotta pots and hurt considerably less when one slips. A cluster near the door shortens the trip.

5. Invest in Ergonomic Tools

(Image credit: Tom Merton / Getty Images)

Grip strength usually goes before anything else, well ahead of the point where anyone wants to quit gardening in my experience. That's where ergonomic gardening tools come in.

A ratchet pruner from Fiskars cuts in stages rather than one hard squeeze, so the hand does less work at any single moment. Telescoping handles reach into the middle of a bed without the lean. D-grips and fat padded handles beat the skinny round ones for anybody, arthritic or not.

Bright colors help, too, since a red handle is easily visible in a sea of green plants and brown mulch. Green tools disappear into the bed and stay hidden until fall cleanup.

6. Water Wisely

(Image credit: AleMasche72 / Getty Images)

Water is surprisingly heavy, so hauling around a heavy watering can isn't very accessible. A full two-gallon (7.5 L) can runs close to 17 pounds (7.7 kg), and most beds take more than one trip. Watering is the chore that tends to get skipped in a heat wave and that's when the worst damage can occur.

Install drip irrigation under mulch. Use a hose timer from Home Depot (this is the one that Content Editor Laura has used for years) to simplify further. All that's left after setup is checking the emitters haven't clogged.

If you prefer to use hoses, quick-connect fittings take the wrist twisting out of threading a coupling. A guide stake at each corner keeps the line from dragging across whatever just went in the ground.

7. Provide Plenty of Rest Areas

(Image credit: Tim Sandall/RHS)

Garden benches aren't just there to look nice. Fatigue can show up sooner than anyone planned, so a place to sit down within reach may decide whether the weeding gets finished or abandoned halfway. Wide raised bed edges count as rest spots. So do a couple of upturned crates.

Add a rest area every 20 or 30 feet (6-9m) along the main route through your garden, plus one near the potting bench where the standing work happens. Shade over at least one of your rest areas. You'll thank yourself come July.

Few mulches carry a reputation quite like pine straw. If you’ve ever attended a community plant swap or browsed an online gardening forum, you’ve almost certainly encountered this warning: never put pine needles in your flower beds unless you want to turn your soil as sour as a lemon. Pine needles sour the soil, so the accepted wisdom goes, and they belong under acid-loving plants like azaleas and blueberries, and nowhere near a vegetable patch or perennial border.

The warning travels with the confidence of fact. Meanwhile, plenty of free potential pine straw mulch gets raked into bags each fall and hauled to the curb or municipal landfills. Welcome back to Garden Mythbusters – because It’s time to set the record straight on pine needles. Freshly fallen needles do carry some acidity, it’s fair to say. Pines often grow in acidic soil, so the suspicion didn’t come from nowhere. However, what this myth skips is everything that happens after a needle hits the ground.

That transformative process plays out slowly, quietly, and largely out of sight – and it’s precisely where the myth starts coming apart. If you’ve ever dodged using pine needles for fear of souring the ground near your tomatoes and perennials, this is hopefully going to reassure you. Take a closer look at pine straw, and it reveals itself not as a potential threat but as one of the most useful, budget-friendly mulches that nature has to offer. Let’s delve a bit deeper into a common misapprehension…

How the Pine Needle Myth Began

At full strength, the claim runs something like this: every fresh layer of pine straw leaches acidic compounds into the earth. Year after year, this buildup stacks, raising acid levels until the bed tips too sour for the likes of standard vegetables and perennials, which thrive best in slightly acidic to neutral ground (pH 6-7). If you haven’t tested your soil pH recently, it’s worth checking in, as this can change over time. Highly rated Raintrip Soil Meter 4-in-1 Probe, available from Amazon, is a helpful way to assess soil pH as well as light, nutrients and moisture levels.

A slightly gentler version of the pine needle myth suggests that while pine straw might not instantly kill your garden, it should be reserved for acid-loving ornamentals like blueberries and azaleas. In each case, the final takeaway is emphatic: keep your harvested pine needles away from your primary garden beds.

(Image credit: JIN HYUN KIM / Alamy)

There is a number attached to this, too. Living pine needles taken from a tree typically test between 3.2 and 3.8 on the pH scale, putting them in roughly the same acidic neighborhood as grapefruit juice. A standard vegetable bed sits 2-3 points higher on the scale. Because the pH scale is logarithmic, which means every step down represents a tenfold increase in acidity, this numerical gap looks alarming. The stark number is what powers the myth. Yes, it’s a legitimate measurement taken from a living needle. But it’s been quietly misapplied to any soil where it might then land.

Why the Pine Myth Sticks

(Image credit: Beatrice Sirinuntananon / Alamy)

The main reason this myth is so sticky is a classic case of mistaken cause and effect. Southern Longleaf (Pinus palustris) and Eastern White (Pinus strobus) pine tree varieties dominate regions with sandy, naturally acidic soils. Across the South and coastal regions, landscapers top acid-loving azalea and camellia beds with pine straw almost by default. Over time, growers start to believe that it’s the needles that created the acidic conditions underneath. In reality, the acidic soil was there first, and the pines simply evolved to thrive in it.

(Image credit: Gary Mayes / Getty Images)

Then there’s the bare earth under a mature pine tree. This looks like evidence. Grass thins out, weeds refuse to grow, and the carpet of needles lying on top takes all the blame. In reality, heavy shade is the likelier culprit. Dense pine canopies block vast amounts of sunlight, so the ground directly underneath struggles with the sunshine shortfall.

Meanwhile, a massive, shallow root network (often extending 2-3 times wider than the tree's canopy) aggressively sucks up every drop of available moisture and nutrients. Furthermore, a dense mat of interlocked needles can physically prevent seeds from reaching bare dirt. So, all this comes into play. But all we hear is that the soil must be sour – and blaming the acidity in needles becomes a tidier explanation.

Problems with the Pine Myth

(Image credit: Gomezdavid / Getty Images)

Here is the central reality, the bit where the pine needle myth falls down as it were: the acidity inside a fallen needle is fleeting and doesn’t hang around. As soon as a needle turns brown and drops, its organic compounds begin to break down. Microbes, fungi, and beneficial soil bacteria immediately digest the organic matter, neutralizing the organic acids during decomposition. Whatever minute acidic liquid does leach out hits the top layer of soil first, where natural buffering absorbs the hit.

The acid is real, but it is spent right at the surface, long before it has a chance to reach the roots of any plants growing in the ground. A 2-3-inch (5-8cm) layer of pine needles typically won't move soil pH enough to register on a test. Even fresh green pine needles dug straight into a bed tend to cause only a slight, temporary and harmless dip before microbes balance the equation.

(Image credit: Katrin Primak / Getty Images)

If you were growing an acid-loving plant and you wanted to make your soil more acidic, you’d need to go for something that means business. For example, if you are chasing a lower pH for blueberries or azaleas, you’d need elemental sulfur or a dedicated soil acidifier, like Espoma’s Organic Soil Acidifier from Walmart. Because using pine needles for this purpose simply won't cut it.

Convert an open field into a forest plantation, and over decades the soil below may lose a few tenths of a pH point. Some of that likely traces to the living trees, which pull calcium and other base minerals into their own wood and foliage as they grow. Rainfall and the rock that the soil formed from still count for a great deal. But raking a few inches of dry needles over your hostas or tomatoes will not alter your soil pH.

Beyond the Pine Straw Myth

(Image credit: Billy_Fam / Getty Images)

Once you strip away the unfounded pH worries, pine straw starts looking like a pretty good deal. For anyone with pine trees nearby, it can be a superstar mulch. It’s a free, renewable resource, dropped fresh every fall. It breaks down slowly, and it often holds up for a full season before a bed needs topping up. Unlike bark mulch nuggets, which can be dislodged in heavy rain, pine needles tend to interlock as they settle, forming a stable blanket that stays in place even on slopes. They are also unlikely to smother roots the way a fine, matted mulch sometimes can.

(Image credit: Feofra / Shutterstock)

Equally important is how pine straw behaves under pressure. Pine straw stays loose and springy, instead of packing into a crust, so rain and air move through it easily and the bed below is shielded from compaction. Come winter, that same layer helps to even out the soil temperature around the roots like a cozy duvet. It’s light enough to toss over low, tender plants on a frosty night, insulating perennial crowns against freeze-thaw cycles without suffocating root systems.

The only genuine caution applies in wildfire-prone regions. Dry pine straw is highly flammable. In these areas, you need to keep pine needles at least 5 feet (1.5m) or so away from home foundations and wooden structures.

Put the Fall Needle Drop to Work!

(Image credit: Maryana Serdynska / Getty Images)

Fall needle drop is nature’s invitation to mulch your garden for free, and putting it to good use is easy. A rake full of rust-brown needles is about as low-effort as mulch gets. Use a narrow shrub rake, like the Bully Tools Shrub Rake from The Home Depot, to pull dry brown needles out from beneath low-hanging evergreen branches and perennial borders. Spread a 2-3-inch (5-8cm) layer across flower beds and vegetable plots, and around established shrubs. Leave a 2-inch (5cm) gap around woody stems and trunks to prevent moisture buildup against the bark. Maintain that crucial 5-foot (1.5m) safety buffer from house foundations in wildfire country.

If you live in a region with freezing winters, save a few bags for late fall. Stash extra needles in breathable yard bags off the ground until the first hard freeze arrives. If you don’t have any, you can get generous Joyhalo 72-Gallon Leaf Bags from Amazon to help you store your pine mulch out of the rain. Once the top layer of soil freezes solid, spread a loose blanket of needles over tender perennial crowns and garlic beds to protect them during freeze-thaw swings. Just avoid applying winter mulch too early in the fall, as a warm, cozy pile of needles can attract nesting voles and mice.

In milder regions where the ground rarely freezes, pine needle mulch can go down whenever a bed starts looking thin. Every needle has a job waiting in the beds below, and the soil underneath will likely test the same pH next spring as it does today. But you can be sure the earth will be well looked after if you’ve put your pine needles to good use this month!

Shop Soil Care Essentials

Putting fallen pine needles to work in your yard is one of the easiest, most budget-friendly ways to protect your soil and tender plants through winter. That said, a few smart extras can help you enhance your soil care routine this fall. From tools to help gather needles to amendments to really lower soil pH for true acid-lovers, these curated products will help you tackle your fall prep with confidence.

Ground Control Trio

Narrow Debris Collector

Bully Tools Bully Tools Lightweight Shrub Rake

With its narrow profile and lightweight design, this rake glides smoothly between tight perennial stems and under low-hanging branches. Gather fallen needles cleanly without pulling up tender plant foliage or damaging shallow roots.

Strong Soil Acidifier

Espoma Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier

If you genuinely need to lower soil pH for acid-loving crops like blueberries, azaleas, or hydrangeas, this elemental sulfur formula gets the job done. It safely lowers soil pH over time, providing the precise acidity these plants require.

Soil & Bloom Booster

TPS Nutrients Seaweed Fertilizer Organic Liquid Kelp Plant Food

This gentle blend helps to strengthen soil microbial activity (to decompose organic mulches like pine straw), while delivering essential potassium and trace minerals to all your winterizing perennials and heavy feeders.

More Garden Mythbusters

• Does the Pointy End of a Bulb Really Need to Be Facing Up When You Plant It?
• Vegetable Companion Planting Myths – Plus, the Planting Pairs that Really Work
• Does Gravel in the Base of Pots Really Help with Drainage?

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

Sometimes it seems like fall-blooming flowers are few and far between, beyond the traditional mums, pansies, and asters. Actually, there are many perennials that thrive in cooler weather and perform till a hard freeze hits. In addition, several annuals continue to bloom through a light frost.

If your containers need a fall refresh, here are some colorific ideas for containers that will keep your planters looking good throughout autumn – and some until winter blows its icy breath.

Add these combinations of fall flowers for pots to your porch or patio this autumn for a stunning display that lasts all season long.

Choosing Fall Colors

When selecting fall flowers for containers, consider the colors of other decor you are using such as nearby garden furniture, door wreaths, pumpkins, gourds, and dried materials. You can match those colors to the container theme.

Autumn colors include deep burgundy, rich browns, oranges, and reds, deep violets and blues, and olive, yellow, and dark mauve. You can go with a warm palette, using similar sumptuous shades in the red and orange family or contrasting colors such as violet and yellow to design containers that coordinate with other fall decor.

Preparing Your Containers

If you are reusing summer containers, take stock of what plants still work and what needs replacing. You may have plants, such as ornamental grasses, salvias, or coleus, that still work as the tall plant or thriller in a container combination. If it still looks good, it could take the container well into fall. If a plant looks a bit rugged after three months in a container, swap it out for something new.

If you are replacing a plant or two, you can reuse the same soil but work in some fresh potting soil (Content Editor Laura's favorite is this potting mix from Miracle-Gro) and a balanced fertilizer, like this organic plant food from Walmart, to spruce it up.

If you are starting over with all new plants, replace the soil with a premium potting mix. You can add extra perlite to increase drainage as well. Fill the soil to within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the top of the container to allow room for watering. Make sure all the pots you are using have at least one drainage hole.

(Image credit: Sophie McAula / Alamy)Container Combinations for Autumn

When selecting plants for fall containers, choose plants that require the same light and moisture. For example, if you are creating a container for a shady area, such as a covered porch, look for plants that require dappled shade to full shade. If they are on the edge of the porch and get some sun, go with part shade or part sun.

Plants also need similar moisture requirements, whether moist, moderate, or dry. Combining a plant that needs moist soil with one that needs dry soil could spell disaster for one of them.

The suggestions below include thriller, filler, and spiller plants, an easy design idea that works. The tallest plant, or thriller, goes in the center or back of the container. Then fill in with medium-sized plants and finally add a few that spill over the edge.

A perennial’s top growth generally survives until a hard frost. Some annuals, such as petunias, marigolds, dusty miller, and snapdragons tolerate a light frost or two.

1. Easy Crowdpleasers

(Image credit: Future Publishing Ltd)

Light

Sun to part sun

Hardiness

Zones 4-8

Water

Moderate

For the thriller, use ornamental grasses like little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium 'Standing Ovation'), salvia (mealycup sage cultivars are long-blooming, Salvia farinacea) goldenrod (Solidago spp.), coneflower (Echinacea spp.), upright sedum (Hylotelephium spectabile, ‘Autumn Joy’ or ‘Autumn Fire’), or New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae).

For fillers, choose perennials such as the evergreen coral bells (Heuchera spp.), catmint (Nepeta spp. ‘Walkers Low’ longest blooming), blanket flower (Gaillardia spp.), pansies (Viola x wittrockiana), mums (Chrysanthemum x morifolium), and ornamental cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea) which are cold hardy to early winter. Pansies and mums are treated as annuals but they survive light freezes.

For spillers, try creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum), creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) or million bells (Calibrachoa spp.). If you use catmint as a filler, it will spill over the edges, so you don’t need a spiller. Pansies also work as a spiller.

2. Hot & Sunny Southern Containers

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Light

Full sun

Hardiness

Zones 9-11

Water

Frequent

In warmer USDA growing zones, you can dip into the annuals and tender tropicals. For thrillers, choose erect plants such as ‘Fireworks’ purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'), colorful coleus (Coleus scutellarioides), or annual salvia (Salvia coccinea or S. splendens). Canna lilies work well for large containers, such as an entryway.

For fillers, choose plants such as compact asters (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii 'Wood's Blue'), pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale, snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), petunias (Petunia x hybrida), lantana (Lantana camara), and ‘Orange Marmalade’ crossandra (Crossandra infundibuliformis).

For spiller plants, try million bells, trailing verbena (Verbena x hybrida), petunia (Petunia x hybrida), sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), or bacopa (Sutera cordata).

3. Colorful Flowers & Foliage for Shade

(Image credit: Tilen Josar / Getty Images)

Light

Shade

Hardiness

Zones 4-8

Water

Moderate

For the thriller, there are still vibrant-colored coleus in the garden centers that will grow until frost. Other thrillers include the evergreen autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), goldenrod, and Short’s aster (Symphyptrichum shortii).

For fillers use the colorful, evergreen coral bells, hosta varieties, yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea), hardy geranium (Geranium spp.), pansies, Hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra), sedges (Carex spp.). Hakone grass and pansies will spill over as well.

4. Brighten Up Shady Southern Gardens

(Image credit: Grace Cary / Getty Images)

Light

Shade

Hardiness

Zones 9-11

Water

Frequent

For thrillers, look for colorful ti plants (Cordyline fruticosa), multi-colored caladium (Caladium x hortulanum), vibrant-colored coleus, and ‘Dragon Wing’ begonias (Begonia x hybrida). For fillers use pansies, wishbone flower (Torenia spp.), wax begonia (Begonia semperflorens), or impatiens (Impatiens spp.). For spillers, look for pansies, wishbone flower, or bacopa.

5. Stunning Standout Plants

(Image credit: Hernyav / Shutterstock)

Light

Sun to part sun

Hardiness

Zones 3-9

Water

Moderate

Fall-blooming plants that are tall and wide look good by themselves in a container. You can tuck in small gourds or pumpkins if there is space. Here are a few standout plants that look great on their own in a container:

• Mums - USDA zones 4-9, assorted fall colors, 2 to 4 feet tall (0.6 to 1.2 m)
• Sneezeweed - USDA zones 3-9, yellow, orange, red, and bicolor flowers, 3 to 5 feet tall (0.9 to 1.5 m)
• New England Aster - USDA zones 3-8, red, purple, or pink flowers, 3 to 6 feet tall (0.9 to 1.8 m)
• New York Aster - USDA zones 4-8, white, pink, blue, or violet flowers, 4 feet tall (1.2 m)

6. Gorgeous Evergreens

(Image credit: Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images)

Light

Sun

Hardiness

Zones 3-9

Water

Moderate

For a container that is evergreen year-round, try this combination of a small, needled shrub with a spiller. Mulch it well to insulate the roots. Move the container to a protected area for the coldest part of winter. Continue to water during the winter unless it receives regular rainfall.

Choose a small, slow growing, needled evergreen such as dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Tiny Tower’) or dwarf Japanese yew (Podocarpus macrophyllus ‘Pringles’. Plant in the center of the container.

A needled creeping juniper planted near the edge of the pot, such as juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Pancake’) cascades over the container for an evergreen “spiller” that is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9.

Fill in around the base with mini pumpkins or gourds. In December, replace the pumpkins for shiny ornaments, pine cones, lights, and red berries.

Container Gardening Essentials

Miracle-Gro Organic Outdoor Potting Mix

Beautiful potted plants begin with good potting soil. This soil mix from Miracle-Gro is specifically formulated for containers.

Dr. Earth Organic & Natural All Purpose Plant Food

Give containers a boost with an all-purpose fertilizer like this organic option that feeds all season.

Mission Gallery Set of 6 Plant Watering Globes

Don't worry about watering everyday. Let these watering globes do the work for you while you relax with a pumpkin spice latte.

As late summer turns to fall, fuchsias usually give gardeners one final, spectacular flush of colorful flowers. September is a critical transition time. Care now depends on a balance between promoting those final blooms and preparing plants for cooler weather.

September fuchsia care also depends on whether you’re growing hardy fuchsias as perennials or tender fuchsias that are most often grown as annuals in containers. Here, we’ll go over important aspects of care – water, fertilizer, pruning, cuttings, and winter preparation – for both types of plants.

1. Adjust Your Watering Schedule

(Image credit: David Burton / Getty Images)

Fuchsias of all types thrive when planted in rich soil that stays consistently moist but not soggy. As temperatures cool in September and rain becomes more frequent, you’ll likely need to water fuchsias less. However, they still need moist soil to keep producing early fall flowers.

The best way to determine when to water is to stick your finger in the soil. If the top inch (2.5 cm) or so is dry, it’s time to water. If you want to be certain, then use a soil moisture meter, like this simple battery-free Xlux design on Amazon.

Keep in mind that container fuchsias need more frequent watering than those in beds. Also, pots should have very good drainage, especially as fall rains increase. If you’re preparing a tender, potted fuchsia to go indoors for winter dormancy, slowly and gradually reduce watering.

2. Change Your Feeding Strategy

(Image credit: Sakss / Shutterstock)

September is also a time to adjust how you feed your fuchsias. You might need to change up the fertilizer you’ve been using during the growing season, which probably has a lot of nitrogen. Nitrogen promotes new, green growth, which you want to stop this time of year. Switch to a bloom-boosting product, like Espoma's Super Blossom Booster, to get a last, healthy flush for the season.

For flowers going indoors for the winter, taper off feeding. You don’t want any new growth now as the plant prepares for winter dormancy. The same is true for hardy perennials you want to survive the winter outdoors.

3. Deadhead and Prune Lightly

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Fuchsias are pretty good at dropping spent flowers, but at this time of year, as you’re pushing the plant to optimize its last flush of blooms, it’s a good idea to deadhead. Spent flowers develop seeds pretty quickly, so removing them helps the plant put energy into additional flowers rather than seeds.

Annuals don’t need pruning once they’re done flowering, as you’ll just be disposing of them. For hardy perennial fuchsias, September is a good time to tidy up lightly. Trim back damaged or yellow foliage and crossed stems in larger shrubs. Avoid hard pruning, as this can stimulate new growth that gets damaged in winter weather.

4. Check for Pests and Diseases

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Common threats to fuchsias in early autumn include gray mold and fuchsia rust, both fungal diseases that thrive in cooler, wetter weather conditions. You might also see some lingering pests, like spider mites, aphids, and whiteflies. Give your hardy perennials and tender plants coming in for winter a good check to make sure you manage these issues now to prevent damage later.

Remove any foliage that looks infected or damaged. If you see pests, you can try to remove them with water. For more troublesome infestations, use neem oil or an insecticidal soap, like this organic Bonide spray from Amazon. It’s especially important to remove all pests from plants coming indoors, as these can transfer to your houseplants and cause ongoing problems.

5. Prepare Potted Fuchsias for a Winter Indoors

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you plan to save your tender fuchsias for next year, September is the time to start planning for their outdoor-to-indoor transition. Reduce watering and feeding gradually to get them ready for dormancy. Do a thorough check for pests before bringing any plants inside.

Transition fuchsias gently by first moving them to more sheltered areas outdoors and then finally indoors to a spot that is cool but has bright, indirect light. Overwintering requirements for fuchsias vary a little by cultivar, so know what you have and look up the specifics. For example, some types prefer darkness in winter.

6. Protect Hardy Perennial Fuchsias

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

As temperatures drop outside, your hardy fuchsias can benefit from a little winter protection. While they might be hardy in your growing zone, these tropical plants might still struggle, especially if you get an early freeze or unusual cold snaps.

Avoid heavy pruning at this time. Only remove the 3 Ds – dead, damaged, or diseased foliage. Leave the rest in place to help protect the crown. Add a layer of mulch around the plant, like this Miracle-Gro Organic All Natural Mulch from Walmart, to help keep the soil warmer and protect the roots. Don't pile it up close to the stems, or it can lead to rot.

Fuchsia September Care Essentials

Espoma Organic Bloom! Super Blossom Booster Plant Food

Miracle-Gro Organic All Natural Mulch

Bonide Insecticidal Soap Ready-To-Use Spray

September care for a fuchsia plant depends on your climate and your plant type. In general, this transition period requires careful shifts in water and fertilizer along with a little deadheading, pruning, and pest checks. Whether you’re hoping to keep your fuchsia going indoors or prepping an outdoor plant for winter, a little care now pays off big next year.

Inside the orangery at Amal and George Clooney's Oxfordshire estate, there is a whole different world from outside. A jungle’s worth of terracotta pots overflowing with citrus, roses, and Mediterranean greenery makes you want to abandon your own living room completely. If you think you need several Oscars and a blooming law career to get this, think again. With a few well-chosen pots and a plan, you can easily achieve this look.

Photographed for Vogue by Annie Leibovitz, the space offers greenhouse ideas and inspiration for all gardeners and houseplant parents – whether you have your own orangery-style greenhouse or a light-filled cozy corner.

Plan the Room Before You Plan the Plants

Xhensila Lala, Marketing Manager at William Morris Wallpaper Co., spent years studying how physical spaces affect how people feel before moving into garden design, and she says the biggest mistake people make is starting with plants instead of layout. "The first thing I say to anyone is to first use it as a floor plan and then develop your plant plan. A good rule of thumb is to have approximately 60% of the floor space covered with walking or open space and build from there."

That's the difference between a garden room and what Lala calls plant storage: "Greenhouses can also fall into this trap when the plants that are displayed are grouped by either their species or size instead of how a client or visitor will use the space when they are working or walking through it."

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Layer by Height, Not by Type

(Image credit: Dima Berlin / Getty Images)

Height variation is what makes a small space feel full rather than cramped. Lala explains: "Floor-level pots, mid-level pots, and pots on the wall should each be approximately at three different heights. Not only do these pots all take up the same amount of square footage, but they also create the illusion of a fuller space."

Loren Taylor, Owner of Outdoor Fountain Pros, uses a classic container technique to achieve something similar: "I often use the 'thriller, filler, spiller' approach when planting containers. A tall plant, surrounded by other plants, and finished off with the third type, will create perfect harmony."

Choose Pots for Function, Not Just Looks

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Container material isn't just an aesthetic choice; Lala says it directly determines your maintenance workload: "Terracotta pots promote airflow into the root system, which helps reduce root rot due to excessive heat. Glazed ceramic pots retain moisture for a longer time period than terracotta, making them much better containers for the basil and parsley you will harvest at a minimum of once every few days. Getting this pairing correct from the start will dramatically lower your weekly maintenance upkeep."

A set like these D'vine Dev terracotta pots on Amazon, which come in three sizes with built-in drainage and saucers, is an easy way to start layering your container heights while keeping that breathable terracotta material for plants prone to root rot.

Pair them with glazed ceramic pots, such as this Vancasso set in three sizes, also available on Amazon, for moisture-loving herbs such as basil and parsley that you don't want to dry out between waterings.

Restraint Beats Abundance

(Image credit: Yaroslav Litun / Getty Images)

It sounds counterintuitive for a "lush" look, but Taylor insists the secret is holding back: "Do not put too many plants in one container. Choose only the flowers that are important to you, repeat some of your favorite plants, use containers of the same style, and select plants within the same color range. Such repetition will bring harmony and balance to your garden."

He flags overcrowding as one of the most common pitfalls: "The three most typical mistakes of greenhouse or container gardening are a bad watering system, bad drainage, and overcrowding of the plants. An overcrowded garden looks fantastic at first glance; however, after some time, plants will suffer."

Don't Forget Light – or Function

(Image credit: ridvan_celik / Getty Images)

Lala says light is where people most often go wrong: "South and east-facing glass panes will provide approximately 6-8 hours of direct light for just about every type of plant, so tomatoes and dwarf citrus will be able to produce fruit for you from that full range of light. Drop your direct light below 6 hours, and your plant types will very quickly dwindle to just ferns and begonias."

For plant choices, Taylor recommends mixing structure with edibles: "Choose plants that are easy to maintain and provide year-round interest, such as rosemary, ornamental grasses, sedum, boxwood, and dracaena." And on the ornamental-versus-edible debate: "The answer will always be – use both of them! Rosemary, lavender, chives, strawberries, and even compact peppers produce fruits and look amazing at the same time."

Make It a Room, Not a Shelf

(Image credit: Future Publishing Ltd)

Finally, Taylor suggests treating even a tiny container garden like a place to actually be: "Create paths, put a small bench there, and create different spots where it will be comfortable to relax. Hanging plants and soft lighting will definitely make the greenhouse more comfortable."

Self-watering hanging planters, like these from UOUZ on Amazon, take the guesswork out of one of the biggest container garden mistakes Taylor warns about – inconsistent watering.

As balconies shrink and city gardens get smaller, that instinct is only growing more popular: "It is amazing how sometimes the smallest spaces may make us happy, especially with the right garden design ideas."

You may not have an orangery like Amal and George Clooney, but with the right pots, a little restraint, and 60% open floor space, you can absolutely achieve the vibe.

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