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Published Sep 26, 2025 • 3 minute read
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The colours of a fall garden can be as vibrant and beautiful as spring or summer, with a little planning.Article content
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Think of your autumn gardening as kind of a redecorating project – only with plants rather than furnishings
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Most gardeners – city or otherwise – carry within them an internal vision of the perfectly planned garden, where everything blooms profusely and in perfectly timed succession, day after day, from the first snowdrops peeking through the snow to the last brilliantly coloured, elegantly dying foliage in late October.
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In these idealized, exquisite Elysian fields, there are no bare spots, no plants struggling to hang on for one more spindly day, and no giant monsters bullying the neighbours into submission.
In real life, the only gardeners I know who have come even close to that ideal are able (and inclined) to spend long hours working on their gardens, or retain teams of professionals with expensive contracts to keep everything in perfect shape.
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Take comfort in knowing that even years-long-established gardens need regular upkeep and updating. And September’s the prime time to do it.
Think of September gardening as kind of a redecorating project, only with plants rather than furnishings. Too-big perennials can be divided, and the resulting divisions replanted farther apart (if there’s room), elsewhere in the garden or given to friends.
Plants that aren’t thriving can be moved where the conditions are better for them: sunnier, shadier, wetter, dryer or simply less crowded. And empty spots or holes, formerly occupied by bulbs, plant casualties or just bad planning, can be filled in with something g else.
First a word of advice, though I admit it isn’t much help right now: you should be taking pictures of your garden from a variety of angles every week or even couple of weeks, from the first sign of snowdrops in the spring to the time you finally put the garden to bed for winter.
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Even if you’re one of those gardeners who keep a journal with copious notes, photos are the easiest way to provide a precise visual record of what’s growing where and when, what’s working and what isn’t, and what needs moving, cutting back, filling in or propping up. And it will save you both time and heartache.
Photos are especially helpful if you’ve got a bucket of new bulbs or newly divided (or purchased) perennials to put in, and need to know what will work with existing plantings – and where seats are already taken.
Believe me, I know whereof I speak. I planted some beautiful (and expensive) irises last year in what I thought was the perfect place: plenty of filtered sunlight and good drainage, right next to a large rock, where they were sure to make a stunning statement by June.
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It turned out I’d unwittingly plonked them down right in the middle of a spot that was already very much taken – by a large clump of daffodils, who at the time were sleeping peacefully six inches or so below. Come early spring, they were definitely not happy to have to thread their way up and around thick iris rhizomes – and the irises, for their part, barely survived. I’ll be moving them this weekend, assuming I can find another spot for them.
In most of southern Ontario, there’s still plenty of time to add new perennials to fill in holes; many garden centres are still selling them, and they’re often on sale. (If you get a below-zero night and you’re worried, you can always cover them with black plastic bags or bedsheets.) Or add instant colour with potted mums, ornamental cabbages or other colourful fall annuals.
Meanwhile, be sure to take the time to savour the last few sunny days in the garden when they come – whether puttering around weeding and tidying, or just relaxing, surrounded by beautifully growing things. These are the days you will remember fondly as the first flakes start falling, just a few weeks from today.
Please feel free to write in with questions, to comment or to share your own city gardening adventures
with Martha. Write to her at marthasgarden07@gmail.com.
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