Frost warnings in October can seem to arrive with barely a day's notice. One evening, the forecast dips toward freezing while the peppers are still loaded and the fall lettuce is finally filling out. Good frost protection on a night like that doesn't have to come from a garden center.

Before buying frost cloth, take a look in the recycling bin. Last week's delivery boxes, milk jugs, and newspapers can protect plants from frost for a night or two, and the old bedsheet in the linen closet will cover a whole bed of peppers.

There's a limit to what cardboard and cotton can do. They'll carry plants through a light frost, the kind that whitens the lawn at dawn and is gone by mid-morning, but not a freeze that sits in for days. First frosts are often followed by weeks of mild weather, though, and getting tender crops past that one night can stretch the harvest.

Why DIY Frost Protection Works

So why does a thin bedsheet make any difference? On a clear, calm night, the soil gives off the heat it soaked up during the day, and with no clouds overhead, that warmth drifts up and away. Covers catch some of it on the way out. Drape yours loosely so the edges reach the ground, and the stems have some air space – Home Depot sells steel grow tunnel hoops with a row cover for lifting fabric over a whole garden bed.

Once the air warms above freezing in the morning, the covers need to come off, or they'll trap heat and moisture around the plant. Plastic is the riskiest material here. Wherever it presses against leaves, it carries the cold straight through, so it belongs on a frame or over a fabric layer, never directly on foliage. An analog outdoor thermometer, like this one from Walmart, hung near the garden, makes the morning check easier, though air at ground level can run a few degrees colder on still nights.

7 Household Items to Save

Stash these as they come through the house, and keep them dry until a frost advisory goes out.

1. Cardboard Boxes

Flip a box over the plant at dusk. If the cardboard presses on the tips of a young shrub or pepper plant, go up a size and fold the flaps inward so the edges rest on the soil. Container herbs can go under one too. Set a brick on top if there's any wind in the forecast, since an empty box weighs next to nothing. Cardboard also blocks every bit of light and turns soft in heavy dew. It needs to come off first thing in the morning.

2. Old Bed Sheets and Pillowcases

A queen-size flat sheet will stretch over a good length of border. Save pillowcases for the odd small plant. By morning, a cotton sheet is often heavy with dew, and stakes or tomato cages pushed into the bed first keep that weight off tender stems. Rocks along the hem will hold it, or you can snap a few row cover clamps from Home Depot onto the stakes. A tarp over the top helps on rainy nights, as long as none of that plastic touches leaves.

3. Plastic Milk Jugs

Cut the bottom off a gallon (3.8L) milk jug, and it becomes a mini cloche for a seedling or a young head of lettuce. That's the same idea behind the reusable plastic cloche from Walmart, though a rinsed jug costs nothing. Press the open edge an inch or so (2.5cm) into the soil to keep it from blowing over, and leave the cap on for cold nights. Twist the cap off on sunny days to let heat escape – a sealed jug in full sun warms up fast.

4. Bubble Wrap

On a frosty night, the roots in a patio pot sit only a pot wall away from the cold air, while roots in the ground have soil all around them. Bubble wrap taped around the outside of the pot, below the rim, gives them a layer of trapped air to slow heat loss. Since the wrap never touches the plant, it can stay on through a stretch of cold weather, and pots pushed together against a sheltered wall hold their warmth a little better.

If you can't save up enough bubble wrap for your plants, then it's worth picking up a roll of Amazon Basics bubble wrap.

5. Newspaper

If there's newspaper around the house, spread a few sections several layers thick over low, tender plants and young vegetables, or roll one sheet into a cone for a single seedling. Weigh the corners with rocks or a scoop of soil. Once the dew soaks in, paper loses much of its insulating value. Take it off in the morning and let it dry. On wetter nights, a polypropylene frost blanket, like this one from Home Depot, holds up better.

6. Autumn Leaves

Rake the leaves into a pile and leave them there for now. Once the soil has cooled in late fall, a few inches heaped around a tender perennial will insulate its crown and roots, though they won't help the foliage. Spread too early, and a leaf layer keeps the ground warm and can give voles a spot to settle in. Shred the leaves with a mower first or a leaf mulcher, like this Worx one from Amazon – the pieces stay loose and drain well – and leave a small gap around each stem so the crown doesn't sit wet all winter.

7. Toilet Paper or Paper Towel Tubes

Slide a whole toilet paper tube, or a third of a paper towel tube, over a seedling or young transplant and push it about an inch (2.5cm) into the soil. That little collar stops cutworms such as the black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) from chewing through the stem at the soil line, and it takes some of the bite out of a cold wind, too. Tubes won't do much against frost by themselves, though, so pair them with a milk jug or newspaper on cold nights.

Boxes in the garage and old sheets in the closet can carry a garden through those first chilly nights. Pull the covers each morning, fold them up, and they'll be ready the next time the forecast drops. With a little luck, a few more peppers will ripen before the season wraps up.

Somewhere in the pantry there's probably a gallon of white vinegar that already cleans the coffee pot and the shower door. Vinegar costs next to nothing and smells like salad dressing instead of bleach; many people use vinegar to clean a deck for exactly those reasons, without a second thought about where the rinse water goes.

Out in the yard, white vinegar already has a few honest jobs. Some gardeners use vinegar in the garden to scrub crusty clay pots and burn back weeds in sidewalk cracks. That same weed-killing action is part of the problem on a deck, though. Acetic acid burns plant tissue on contact, and a bucket of rinse water doesn't stop at the edge of the boards.

It also matters what the deck is made of. A cedar deck that has never seen a drop of stain, for example? Well, that doesn't play by the same rules as Trex, a major composite brand that actually approves vinegar for one particular job. Check the maker's care guide before any cleaner goes on.

Can I Use Vinegar to Clean a Deck?

On some composite boards, the answer is a qualified yes. If your boards are one of Trex's current lines, white vinegar is on the approved list for hard water deposits: the chalky white spots a sprinkler leaves when it keeps hitting the same boards.

Rinse well afterward; everyday dirt gets warm soapy water and a soft-bristle brush instead, scrubbed down into the embossed grain. Be aware that Trex says anything containing acid or bleach can lighten the color of its boards, so try a small spot near the steps first.

Shop Deck Cleaning Essentials:

Other brands say less. TimberTech's care guide doesn't mention vinegar at all, and it points owners toward its own diluted deck cleaner or, for railings, a pH-neutral detergent. It also warns against citrus cleaners, solvents and several brand-name deck cleaners on its current capped boards. When a manufacturer hasn't approved a product, using it anyway means guessing how the surface will react.

Wood decks raise a different question, and the finish on top matters more than the boards underneath. Acids aren't foreign to deck care – oxalic acid brighteners are a standard step for pulling gray discoloration out of bare wood before a fresh coat of stain.

That's prep work for unfinished boards, though; once paint or stain goes on, the can it came in has the final word. Some finish makers approve only their own cleaners, and washing a stained deck with straight vinegar again and again means working outside those directions with no way of knowing how that particular finish will hold up.

Then there's everything growing below the deck rail. Household vinegar is about 5% acetic acid, the same acid sold in stronger form as a weed killer, and it damages leaf tissue wherever it lands.

Picture that rinse water running off the edge of the deck onto a bed of hostas or a row of fall lettuce – leaves that it soaks can turn brown and crispy, and seedlings take the worst of it. The acid doesn't hang around in the soil, and lawn grass along the edge usually recovers better than broadleaf plants do. A natural label? It sadly doesn't change any of that.

Safer Alternatives to Clean a Deck

The broom comes out first, since scrubbing wet leaves only smears them across the boards. Home Depot's 7-pattern Ames hose nozzle set has a soft shower setting for soaking the deck and a narrow jet for packed gaps. Warm water and a squirt of dish soap handle ordinary grime on wood and composite alike.

Brushes are where the two big composite brands part ways. Trex wants soft bristles, and Home Depot also carries a soft-bristle Unger scrub brush that threads onto a standard broom handle. TimberTech calls for medium-to-stiff nylon on its composite instead. Do one section at a time and rinse it before the suds dry.

Mildew and gray weathering on a wood deck usually need something stronger than soap. Walmart carries DEFY's powdered wood cleaner, an oxygen-based formula for exterior wood that mixes up in a bucket.

Now, at least one stain maker warns that chlorine bleach can damage both the finish and the bare wood fibers, and it's hard on any plants it splashes. Capped composite needs more caution here (TimberTech's guide says its own diluted cleaner is the safe bet). Think about where the bucket water goes, too, especially if the deck slopes toward a fish pond or a storm drain. A label that says biodegradable means the product breaks down eventually, not that it's harmless to fish and other pond life along the way.

Pressure washers are tempting on a big deck, but a narrow stream held too close can tear up the surface of wood boards and leave the fibers fuzzy. Composite brands set firm limits. On Trex Transcend, Enhance and Select boards, the limit is 3,100 psi with a fan tip held at least 8 inches (20.3cm) from the surface, though the company doesn't recommend pressure washers at all on its early-generation lines. TimberTech caps pressure at 1,500 psi, for rinsing only, with the spray running along the grain.

Decks that get washed twice a year are far less likely to need anything harsh. Trex ties its spring and fall schedule to pollen and leaf litter, since that buildup is what mold grows on. Leaves wedged between boards can hold water against the surface long after a rain, and a putty knife slid down the row clears them out quickly. Shady corners and boards under overhanging branches usually go green first.

Keep the vinegar, just not as the everyday deck cleaner. On Trex boards with chalky sprinkler spots, it's the fix the company itself approves, and the potting bench can use it too. Day-to-day grime comes off with warm soapy water and a brush that won't scuff the boards, ideally on a gray afternoon when the sun isn't drying the suds faster than you can scrub.

Have you ever cleaned your house so thoroughly that you tossed out important papers or other things you need? Well, the same can be true in the garden. A tidy garden isn't necessarily a healthier garden, and some common fall cleanup habits can actually compromise next year's flowers.

Yes, fall cleanup is as important as spring cleanup, but there is more room for error. At this point, plants have buds or seeds that will turn into flowers in springtime. The foliage is still storing energy to keep the plants alive through winter. Prune wrong – or make any of a dozen wrong garden moves – and you’ve set up problems for yourself and your plants.

So which autumn cleanup tasks are actually bad for your garden? I'm here to help you avoid the fall missteps that will keep you from getting a spectacular display come spring. Here are the key fall garden mistakes to watch out for – and what you should do instead.

1. Pruning Spring-Flowering Shrubs

Most spring-blooming shrubs bud on old wood. These include some of your favorite perennials, such as azaleas, lilacs, forsythia, and magnolias. If you go wild pruning in fall and chop these shrubs too, you'll cut off next spring's flower buds.

This doesn’t kill the plant, of course. The shrub will still grow healthy green leaves, but you will get very few or no blossoms when spring arrives. You’ll have to wait another 12 months to see most of those flowers.

Instead, prune spring-flowering shrubs that bloom on old wood immediately after the flowers fade. This allows them plenty of time to develop buds that will fill your garden in spring. For clean cuts on woody stems, use a sharp pair of bypass pruners, such as the Felco 8 pruning shears, which can cut branches up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.

2. Cutting Back Bulb Foliage Before It Dies Naturally

Summer-flowering bulbs, corms, and rhizomes use their green foliage to make food and store energy for their next flowering cycle. If you cut back the leaves of summer-flowering plants such as lilies, gladiolus, cannas, and crocosmia too early in fall, you risk depriving them of the energy they need. As a result, they may produce fewer flowers next year, or even fail to bloom altogether.

Fortunately, this mistake isn't usually fatal, but it can weaken plants and affect their flowering performance. Instead, leave the foliage in place for as long as it's green and healthy, then cut it back once it naturally yellows and dies. However, frost-tender plants such as gladiolus and cannas may need to be lifted after frost damages their foliage, rather than waiting for it to die back naturally.

Tender plants such as dahlias are a little different – wait until the first frost blackens their foliage before cutting back the stems and lifting the tubers for winter storage, where necessary. Don't leave the tubers in freezing or waterlogged soil for too long, though, as they can rot.

Once lifted, store bulbs, corms, and tubers in a cool, frost-free location. Ventilated storage crates, such as these stackable, collapsible crates from CleverMade, are ideal for keeping different varieties organized while allowing air to circulate. Gladiolus corms can be stored dry after curing, while dahlias and cannas benefit from being packed in a suitable material, such as vermiculite (available on Amazon), to prevent them from drying out.

3. Removing Plants and Leaves That Wildlife Depend On

A thorough fall cleanup might leave your garden looking neat and tidy, but it can also strip away valuable food and shelter for wildlife. Many perennials produce seed heads that feed birds through the colder months, while their hollow stems and dead foliage provide overwintering habitat for beneficial insects. Cutting everything back in fall can leave these creatures with fewer places to shelter when they need them most.

Instead, leave plants such as coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, asters, and ornamental grasses standing through winter. Their seed heads provide food for finches and other backyard birds. If your garden is short on birdseed-bearing plants, you can supplement this natural food supply with a nyjer seed feeder, like this easy-clean feeder on Amazon, which is particularly attractive to goldfinches.

Standing stems can also offer nesting habitat for native bees in the following growing season. Wait until spring to tackle the cleanup, and even then, consider leaving some hollow or pithy stems standing at a height of 8–24 inches (20–60 cm). Cutting the stems creates openings that certain native bees can use for nesting, often in the following year. It's also worth leaving some fallen leaves in garden beds, as these provide overwintering shelter for butterflies, moths, and other beneficial insects. However, you should still remove diseased foliage to prevent problems from spreading next year.

4. Digging or Cultivating Beds Too Aggressively

Soil structure is important. If, in a flurry of fall cleaning, you dig or cultivate your garden beds too aggressively, you are actually destroying that natural soil structure. More specifically, that type of aggressive digging disrupts the habitats of beneficial earthworms and microbes. It also damages the delicate fungal networks that nurture the plant roots.

But that’s not all. When you do a lot of heavy tilling, you also run the risk of bringing up weed seeds into the upper soil, where they have a wonderful time filling your empty garden beds. Over time, repeated tilling can also break down the soil's natural structure, making it more prone to compaction, especially if you work the soil when it's wet.

Instead, choose a gentler alternative. You might layer on compost or straw right on top of the soil, allowing worms to do the work for you as they pull down food. Alternatively, install deep-rooted cover crops (like Tin Shed Seed Company's No Till Cover Crop Mix) or just loosen soil with a garden fork. Push it straight down, then just wiggle it a little.

5. Smothering Plant Crowns with Mulch

The very word “smothering” should give you pause. If you pile on so much mulch that it smothers the plant crowns, it blocks sunlight, traps excess moisture, and keeps oxygen out of the roots. These conditions can lead to stem rot, fungal diseases, and plant death.

Instead, apply several inches of mulch (no more than 2 inches) to regulate soil temperature. Keep the mulch about 3 inches (7.5 cm) away from plant crowns. For that matter, keep it away from trunks too. A small hand rake, like this Ames one from Home Depot, makes it easy to redistribute mulch that's piled up too close to stems without disturbing the plants.

6. Leaving Diseased Foliage Around Vulnerable Plants

You may have heard that healthy leaf litter can decompose over time, providing nutrients for the soil. It can also shelter wildlife.

But leaving diseased foliage provides a reservoir for problems – like bacteria, pests, and fungal spores. If that happens near vulnerable plants, rain or wind can splash these pathogens onto healthy new growth. That means that the garden can be reinfected with powdery mildew and black spot.

Instead, clear fallen foliage from vulnerable plants (like roses) in fall, but dispose of it properly. Never put it in the compost; instead, bag it and put it in the garbage – these Kraft Lawn and Leaf Bags will decompose with garden waste. Then, lay down clean mulch.

7. Forgetting to Protect Tender Flowering Plants

With so many fall garden jobs competing for your attention, it's easy to overlook tender flowering plants that need protection before winter arrives. Dahlias, fuchsias, and tuberous begonias are all vulnerable to freezing temperatures, and forgetting about them until the first cold snap can put next year's flowers at risk.

If frost has already struck, don't panic. A little damage doesn't necessarily mean the whole plant is lost. However, the next step depends on what you're growing. Dahlias can be left until the first frost blackens their foliage, then cut back and lifted for winter storage in colder climates.

With other tender perennials, avoid rushing to prune away frost-damaged growth, as leaving it in place temporarily can offer some protection to the stems and crown. Instead, move containers somewhere sheltered or use frost cloth to protect plants from further cold. If you're using plastic covers, keep them from touching the foliage and remove them once temperatures rise to prevent overheating.

Winter Plant Protection Essentials

The best rule for fall cleanup is to keep it selective. Stripping garden beds bare is thorough – but very short sighted. So hold onto the reins before letting the autumn garden tidying run away with you.

As a final reminder, be sure to leave some seed heads and stems standing. They can make the landscape more interesting in winter, while providing food for birds and shelter for beneficial insects. It makes your garden more eco-friendly and welcoming.

In late fall, bird feeders start emptying a lot faster. Black-capped chickadees make trip after trip to cache seeds in tree bark, while northern cardinals arrive at the crack of dawn and linger until dusk. As fall nights lengthen and temperatures plunge, small songbirds burn through a lot of stored body fat just to get through a long, cold night and maintain core body temperatures of 105°F (40°C) until sunrise.

Summer's bugs are mostly gone, and whatever is left on the coneflowers and dogwoods will be getting rapidly picked over as the weeks go by. So your local birds need all the help they can get. But you don't have to buy anything special or massively expensive to start feeding birds this time of year. Key kitchen scraps set out alongside the seed can give them a little extra boost in the next few weeks. Even a bruised apple or a few plain peanuts can help to keep them going.

Transforming a few everyday, wholesome kitchen leftovers into supplemental treats provides immediate, calorie-dense relief right when birds need it most. However, it’s important to be discerning and use the right scraps. Birds possess delicate digestive systems. Salty or moldy leftovers can make a bird sick, and a couple of common kitchen foods are toxic to them. So make sure you are topping up your feeding supplies with the right handy kitchen scraps – to help out hungry beaks on a budget.

Best Kitchen Scraps for Birds

If you’re offering your birdie pals these “cheep and cheerful” kitchen scraps (pun intended), just be mindful of cleanliness and portion control. Fresh scraps lack the protective husks of wild seeds, so they spoil rapidly when exposed to fall damp. Leftovers that sit out overnight can sour, harbor harmful bacteria, or attract nocturnal scavengers such as rats. Offer only modest quantities in the morning which birds will devour by early afternoon, and sweep away any uneaten remnants before dusk.

Keeping things clean is critical, as communal feeding areas can easily become hotspots for infections. Feeding trays and platform feeders need a scrub every week or so, and sooner after rain or heavy traffic. Soak feeder elements in 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, then rinse and let them dry before refilling them. If you’re using a tube feeder, it’s worth investing in a long brush like the Songbird Essentials Extra Long Bottle Brush, available from Amazon, for a versatile bargain to speed up cleaning.

And don’t forget to keep your fresh water supplies regularly topped up in tandem with these kitchen scraps. Birds require plenty of clean drinking water to metabolize high-calorie foods, as well as bathing water to clean their feathers. As night frosts become frequent, it’s a good idea to install a birdbath de-icer or a heated bird bath, such as the Allied Precision Heated Bird Bath with Mounted Bracket, also from Amazon, to protect your water.

Have fun watching your birds pick over these scraps. They aren’t intended to replace your regular bird feeds. But they can give some delightful added nourishment during these trickier transitional weeks. So put some of these out, a little at a time, and enjoy the birdlife putting the following leftovers to good use in these chilly fall mornings.

1. Apple and Pear Scraps

Those soft, bruised apples and pears lingering at the bottom of the fruit bowl make yummy supplemental treats for backyard birds. These sweet pomes deliver quick, easily digestible carbs and sugars, not to mention vital moisture. Fruit-eating species such as American robins, northern mockingbirds, eastern bluebirds, gray catbirds, and nomadic cedar waxwings will eagerly feast on fresh diced fruit.

Preparation is key: always cut apples and pears into small, bite-sized cubes (roughly a quarter-inch) to make them manageable for smaller bills. Make sure you remove all the seeds (or pips) out of the cores. Apple seeds contain a compound that can release cyanide. And any moldy pieces need to go in the compost. Fruit-eaters rarely visit seed tubes, so set the pieces on a sturdy, open platform feeder like the Kingsyard Platform Feeder from Amazon, which can house a healthy bird feast in comfort and safety.

2. Plain Rolled Oats

When clearing out the pantry, there are usually some dry rolled oats or steel-cut oats sitting at the bottom of a canister. This can make a wholesome carbo boost for birdies. Uncooked oats supply fiber, minerals, and steady energy for ground-foraging birds. Mourning doves, dark-eyed juncos, song sparrows, and native towhees will all happily hoover up any scattered across a low ground tray or gravel border.

Just make sure they are raw, plain, and dry. Never set out leftover cooked oatmeal, as cooked porridge turns into a gummy paste. Furthermore, steer clear of instant flavored oat packets, which are loaded with refined sugars, salt, and artificial flavorings. Scatter only a handful at a time on dry days, as wet oats quickly sour and congeal. And make sure to supplement your oats with a hearty wild bird mix like the popular Pennington Wild Bird Food from The Home Depot.

3. Unsalted Nuts

Plain, unsalted peanuts might be the best thing in the pantry for birds preparing for winter. Raw or dry-roasted, unsalted nuts are packed with heart-healthy fats and dense proteins that small birds need to bulk up reserves ahead of winter. Peanuts, walnuts, pecans, and almonds also attract an enthusiastic crowd, including tufted titmice, black-capped chickadees, woodpeckers, and blue jays. Jays in particular will happily carry off whole shelled peanuts to stash in tree hollows and mulch beds.

Never offer nuts that contain added salt, spicy seasonings, sugar glazes, or chocolate. Birds have minimal tolerance for sodium and cannot process salty cocktail party leftovers. Crush or chop whole nuts into coarse pieces, so smaller songbirds like chickadees and nuthatches can eat them safely. And keep a lookout for any that smell musty or stale and remove quickly to prevent infection. The very affordable Round Peanut Bird Feeder from Amazon is a novel way of dishing up your nuts.

4. Plain Cooked Rice

Rice has a reputation for swelling up and bursting birdie tummies. But this myth has been debunked by ornithologists. Plenty of wild birds (like doves and bobwhites) eat rice. However, from a nutritional standpoint, plain cooked rice is the superior choice for backyard songbirds. Steamed brown or white rice leftovers offer quick carbs that are easy for house sparrows, doves, rock pigeons, and common grackles to digest.

The rice must be cooked with zero butter, cooking oils, salt, soy sauce, garlic, or onions. Also, damp rice is susceptible to bacterial contamination, so only put out a few tablespoons at a time on cool mornings. Sweep away uneaten grains each day to keep your feeding station rodent-free. Rice is a tasty snack, but supplement with high protein treats. You can buy Kaytee Dried Mealworms from Walmart.

5. Leftover Berries

Slightly squishy blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries that might be lingering in the fridge crisper drawer are a scrummy treat for birds. In nature, wild berries are rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and simple sugars that provide instant fuel. Northern mockingbirds, eastern bluebirds, and American robins will find fresh berries irresistible as natural hedgerow fruit diminishes. And a flock of cedar waxwings may empty a tray by lunch.

Serve berries fresh and unseasoned, slicing larger strawberries into quarters. Only place small portions on a clean feeding platform early in the day, as high-moisture berries degrade rapidly. If you’re after a standing bird feeder that can hold fruits and keep them better protected from rain, the charming Ontala Metal Bird Feeder and Bath with Umbrella, available from Amazon, is great value and a real talking point. A word of warning if you are a dog owner: never substitute fresh berries with dried raisins or currants. They cause kidney failure in canines, even in tiny quantities.

6. Plain Cooked Potatoes

When preparing dinner, set aside a small portion of plain baked, boiled, or steamed potatoes before adding butter, milk, or seasoning. Boiled potato is fine in small amounts if nothing's been added to it. It provides easy starch on freezing mornings. Starlings, common grackles, jays, and robins will happily pick apart soft potato cubes when natural insect foraging grounds become frozen and inaccessible.

Prep your bird-friendly spuds by chopping them into tiny, crumbly, pea-sized bits so they are easy for birds to ingest. However, never feed birds raw potatoes or any green-skinned bits. These contain solanine, which causes gastrointestinal distress and neurological damage in birds. And avoid french fries, salty potato chips, or buttery mashed potatoes. To supplement your potato with a “meaty” treat, hang out some suet. Placed in cages, like the More Birds Double Suet Feeder with Weather Guard from Amazon, this gives a nourishing fall boost to prime birds for winter chills.

7. Leftover Unsalted Seeds

This is prime pumpkin-carving season, leaving behind mounds of gooey seeds that are often destined for the trash. But fresh pumpkin seeds, butternut squash seeds, and raw sunflower seeds are nutrient powerhouses for backyard wildlife. They are loaded with raw fats, plant proteins, and magnesium, all of which cardinals, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and blue jays need now.

Place the seeds in a colander, rinse away any stringy pulp and spread in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet to air-dry for 24-48 hours. Leave them raw and unsalted. To help smaller beaks, run your dry seeds through a food processor for a few pulses to crack the husks. If you need to, you can grab a bag of National Audubon Society Black Oil Sunflower Seed from Lowe’s to bulk up these free treats as they are sure to go fast.

Scraps You Should Never Feed Birds

Some leftovers belong in the trash, however cold it gets. The theobromine in chocolate is toxic to birds. Avocado is another hard no, as it can cause heart damage and death. Salty snacks and cured meats need to stay inside, plus anything cooked with onion or garlic. Bread is a bit of a gray area, as it isn't harmful, but it fills a bird up without much fat or protein.

Bacon grease trips people up. It seems like a handy base for treats, but it's salty and carries preservatives. It also stays soft, and soft fat smeared on feathers can damage their waterproofing. For a safe birdie snack along similar lines, opt for suet cakes that are designed for the job. The double-basket Woodlink Suet Basket from Walmart holds two cakes, handy for when woodpeckers and nuthatches line up in the cold.

Shop Bird Feeders

Making more of kitchen scraps feels great in terms of recycling, and it can also help you save a little on multiple bird food products. It also means you have a bit more cash freed up to treat yourself and your local birdlife to a pretty feeder. Plenty of options offer smart functionality and real-time footage of your feeding friends. These curated picks are some of the best for aesthetics, value for money and bird-friendly features, letting you feast your eyes on your feathered pals while they chow down.

Treat Yourself

Supplementing your fall bird feeding with these kitchen scraps is a great way to reduce household waste while giving local wildlife a crucial calorie boost. Just remember they are designed to serve as supplements rather than replacements to your existing bird feeds. Make sure you offer a diverse natural diet this fall, and combine these scraps with fresh water, to keep your backyard birdies thriving and happy all season long.

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!

As we head further into fall, it’s time to take steps to stop a bird bath freezing over and depriving birds of this valuable resource. Birds need daily access to water and when natural sources freeze over, a bird bath can become a vital lifeline and bring feathered friends flocking to your yard. During a cold snap, dehydration kills birds far faster than starvation, so keeping an ice-free bird bath this winter really is a lifesaver.

Water is surprisingly necessary to so many elements of avian survival in winter, and most small garden birds must drink at least once a day simply to stay alive. As insects become scarce as temperatures fall, a diet consisting primarily of seeds and nuts means birds need to drink more to digest their food, and in sub-zero conditions, eating snow isn’t an option for small birds because of their limited body heat.

A reliable water source also enables birds to bathe and preen, zipping individual feather barbs back together daily to maintain a waterproof insulating top layer. Vital to trap body heat on cold nights, this is also essential for efficient flight – and bare winter branches can leave birds vulnerable to predators. Keep your bird bath unfrozen and you’ll also help birds preserve energy they would otherwise waste finding an alternative water source. So, whether yours is a simple DIY bird bath you made yourself or the smartest birdie bowl money can buy, here's how to stop the water freezing over.

1. Move the Bird Bath to a Sunnier Spot

Seems obvious, right? But while the best place for a bird bath in summer is in partial shade to prevent algae growth, a sunnier spot in winter will help to keep a bird bath ice-free. Remember that the sunniest winter spot in your garden may be different to where the sunshine hits in summer, because the sun is lower in the sky. Think about prevailing wind direction, too, as a breeze will increase heat loss from any liquid, just as you blow on your cup of coffee to cool it down, and speed the freezing process in cold conditions.

Positioning your bird bath around 6 feet from a south-facing wall is an optimum solution. Not only will the water be warmed by sunshine for most of the day, the wall will shelter the bath from cold northerly winds and also act as a solar radiator, reflecting the sun’s heat or absorbing then releasing it once the air temperature cools. Either way, your bird bath will sit in a microclimate and the water will be slower to freeze and quicker to thaw.

2. Add a Dark Stone

Solar power is also the force behind this idea as dark stones will absorb the sun’s heat during the day, then release it as the air cools, to slow or stop bird baths freezing over. To be effective, the rock needs to be at least 4 inches across, but do match it to the size of the bird bath as it shouldn’t displace more than a third of the water. The stone should protrude above the water line as an exposed surface will heat far more quickly than a submerged one. The darker and denser the rock, the more heat it will hold, and a flattish surface will absorb more warmth.

3. Float a Rubber Duck on the Surface

Any object that floats on the surface of the water will constantly disrupt ice crystal formation, so it takes longer for the bird bath to freeze. Tailor your choice of what to float to how exposed your garden is, as the object needs to be light enough to move on the slightest of breezes but heavy enough to stay put in stronger winds.

In a sheltered corner, a ping pong ball is best; in a windy position, try a tennis ball. But in most gardens adding a rubber duck to your bird bath hits the sweet spot, and it doesn’t have to be yellow as this Mallard Rubber Duck from Amazon shows.

4. Use a Bird Bath De-Icer

To reliably prevent ice in bird baths, use a de-icer, but be smart when shopping as many products sold as bird bath de-icers were designed for chicken coops. Look for a product with a thermostat that only works when temperatures drop and automatically shuts off once the weather warms up, so it uses minimal energy. You only need to prevent the water from freezing, not keep it warm, so a product that’s rated 60-120 watts is ideal; leave those 1000W designs for the chickens!

Another important consideration is the length of the lead, as birds often won’t use a bath positioned too close to a wall. Think about the size of your bath, too. This 9” Thermostatic Birdbath Heater from Amazon with a 5.9’ cord is great for a bigger bird bath, while this smaller 100W Bird Bath Heater, also from Amazon, with a 5’ cord would be better for an average-sized bath.

If garden aesthetics are important to you, then faux-rock designs such as this 60W Bird Bath DeIcer from Walmart bring a more natural look. You can also buy heated birdbaths with options to fit onto deck posts and balcony rails as well as ground stakes.

As temperatures drop and natural water sources freeze over, your ice-free bird bath will become a magnet for neighborhood birds. All that splashing avian action will mean you’ll need to keep the bath topped up as the bigger the volume of water, the more stable its temperature. Clear out any fallen leaves, too, as tannins will leach out and make the water unpalatable and rotting plant matter will invite unwelcome bacteria into your birdy spa.

It’s vital to scrub your bird bath once a week, particularly if neighbors don’t bother to keep their bird baths ice-free and yours becomes very busy, as that higher traffic means disease spreads more easily between birds. Use a bird-safe cleaner such as Bird Saver, available from Walmart, or a dilute solution of 10% vinegar and a scrubbing brush, and rinse well before refilling with water.

All these simple ways will keep a water supply for your garden birds, and bring feathered friends flocking to your yard through winter. So, if you're switching up your bird-feeding routine for colder weather, whether that's putting up an extra feeder, adding seasonal kitchen treats or planting shrubs laden with winter berries that birds adore, it's essential to take steps to ensure there's water alongside that welcome food.

Feeding garden birds in winter is such an easy way to support wildlife, and growing berry-bearing shrubs is a great way to supplement birdseed and fatballs. So many avian species depend on berries to survive winter, so planting a berried shrub to feed birds is a great way to attract feathered visitors to your yard. Waxwings and American robins gather into berry-seeking flocks once temperatures drop and, once insects become scarce, many rare garden visitors such as bluebirds, warblers and woodpeckers can be tempted in with a feast of plump berries.

Not all shrubs with berries are created equal when it comes to winter food, however. Some berries are incredibly high in fat, carbohydrates or anti-oxidants, offering birds highly nutritious, energy-rich fuel to stay warm, and stay alive. Others are the equivalent of avian junk food. It’s good to offer a variety of berries, too: some super-tasty treats to be gobbled up in fall, and some that are too tart to eat before the freeze-thaw of deep winter sweetens them up to provide a late-season larder.

All these shrubs grow energy-dense berries for winter birds, so they’ll bring feathered garden friends flocking. All are well-behaved ornamental plants you’ll welcome in your garden, as they don’t take much looking after but easily earn their yard space with plenty of color. And all are best planted right now in fall so they have time to grow their roots deep into the soil before winter arrives. So which will you choose to feed birds in winter?

1. Berry Poppins Winterberry Holly

Ilex verticillata ‘FarrowBPop’ tops our list of berried shrubs for birds, producing a profusion of red berries rich in nutrients. It’s a dwarf cultivar of a native deciduous holly so it drops its leaves in fall to create a highly visible feast of berries that will act as a magnet for over 40 species of birds including waxwings, robins, bluebirds and northern cardinals. As it’s a compact and grows berries all along its stems, foraging birds like thrushes and sparrows will benefit, too.

Berry Poppins winterberry holly is a great asset to any garden as its berry-packed branches are an eyecatching sight for us humans, too. Because the berries start off firm and tart, it's an enduring display as the fruit only gets eaten up in January or February once it's sweetened up into a late-season lifeline for birds.

Growing to just 3-4 feet high and wide in zones 3-9, this is a neat, disease-resistant shrub that’s easy to grow. There’s one catch, however! Berry Poppins is a female plant, and needs a male plant nearby to produce berries. Mr Poppins winterberry holly, also available from Plant Addicts and a similar size, is the ideal choice of male plant to partner Berry Poppins. While Mr Poppins doesn’t produce berries, it’s a pleasant zero-maintenance foliage shrub and can be planted up to 50 feet away; one male plant will service up to five females, too.

2. Brandywine Viburnum

Next on the list of shrubs for winter birds is Viburnum nudum ‘Bulk’, sold as Brandywine. There are so many berry-bearing viburnums to choose from but this cultivar wins hands-down for its abundant high-fat berries and incredible garden beauty.

Green berries start forming in late summer then, in fall, shift into stunning pink and blue shades, often with different-hued fruit in the same cluster. As the days grow darker, so do the berries, turning a glossy purple-black as the surrounding foliage takes on fiery red hues. Brandywine viburnum is another late-winter pantry for birds as the berries only sweeten once the deepest winter weather sets in.

Hardy in zones 5-9, this low-maintenance shrub reaches 5-6 feet high and wide in five or so years, and you will need to let it grow to its natural height as it flowers and fruits on 2-year-old wood. But then you can expect to see waxwings, robins, bluebirds, thrushes and even woodpeckers feasting on its berries.

3. Berry Box Pyracomeles

If you don’t have the garden space for a Brandywine viburnum, then Berry Box Pyracomeles is a smart choice. Staying compact at just 2-3 feet high and wide, this evergreen shrub looks good year-round and while its berries are small, they start out a bright orange in late summer before transitioning to a vibrant red in winter, and the sheer number creates an impressive display. Because of its small size, Berry Box thrives in a container, making it a lovely choice for colorful fall planters that last into winter. Growing this shrub in a pot also means that if you’re a little outside its growing zones of 7-9, you can keep it in a sheltered spot.

Pyracomeles is a cross between Pyracantha and Osteomeles and has inherited the high-nutrient berry and heavy-fruiting genetics of the former and the compact nature of the latter. With fruit persisting on the branches well into winter, Berry Box berries are a valuable food source for robins, waxwings and thrushes, and small birds will find shelter in the shrub's dense evergreen foliage.

4. Chokeberry Bush

Aronia shrubs create a valuable winter resource for birds with dense growth offering shelter as well as long-lasting berries that offer a life-saving pantry when most other food has been gobbled up. Chokeberries have a high level of tannin which gives them a bitter taste but also acts as a preservative, so they last all through fall and early winter. Freezing weather breaks up those tannins, however, so these berries bring an emergency food supply high in antioxidants through the coldest days of late winter.

Chokeberry’s fire-engine-red fall foliage makes these low-maintenance shrubs fabulous plants for the garden, too, and this native shrub is a great substitute for invasive burning bush. And whatever the size of your yard, there’s an Aronia to suit.

If you have the room then Aronia ‘Viking’ should be your go-to as it was originally bred as an orchard crop so has big black berries and lots of them, that will attract American robins, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings and even blue jays; it grows to 4-6 feet high and wide in zones 3-8. Turn chokeberries into jam, jelly and syrup to enjoy the health benefits of these anti-oxidant-rich berries yourself, too. Berry Scape Chokeberry, available from Plant Addicts, is more ornamental with pretty bright red berries, growing to 4-5 feet high and wide in zones 4-9. If you’re short on space, then LowScape Mound Chokeberry, available from trees.com, only reaches 1-2 feet high and wide but still produces plenty of purple-black berries that ground-dwelling birds will appreciate.

5. Proud Berry Pink Coralberry

Another useful emergency supply of late-winter berries is Proud Berry Pink coralberry. Symphoricarpos orbiculatus is a close native relative of the snowberry and, like chokeberry, has berries high in tannins that only become palatable after many freeze-thaw cycles. That’s a bonus for gardeners as well as birds because the large pink berries, that gradually become more vibrant as temperatures drop, are so decorative. Coralberry's arching branches and rounded blue-green leaves are pretty, too.

Ornamental coralberry, also known as Indian currants, grows to 3-4 feet high and wide but because it fruits on new wood, it’s easily kept smaller without sacrificing the berry supply. Hardy in zones 3-7, plant this shrub now for berries next year.

6. Pearl Glam Beautyberry

Of course, you need some berries for birds to scoff through fall and early winter, and Callicarpa is the garden-worthy beauty to pick. But don’t just plump for the native American beautyberry. Pearl Glam offers all the same nutritional, high-moisture berries that cardinals, robins and bluebirds love, but has a much tighter, upright habit, reaching 4-5 feet high and 3-4 feet wide in zones 5-8. As well as a profusion of violet-purple berries, Pearl Glam also boasts deep purple foliage (the native beautyberry has regular green leaves).

While Plant Addicts stocks Pearl Glam in a garden-ready #3 container, if you’re on a budget and have a little patience then Lowe’s offers the same Proven Winners shrub in a great-value gallon pot.

Any or all of these shrubs will give your feathered friends a feast and help them survive through winter. They'll attract birds into your yard, too, so be sure to plant them in view of a window. All well as adding winter color to your backyard, these beauties are easily smart and low-maintenance enough to work as front-yard shrubs that add curb appeal, too. They'd also make welcome Christmas gifts for bird-loving friends. And don't forget, it's also perfectly acceptable to gift your garden birds the best-ever present of a berry-bearing shrub!

Turning fruit and vegetable seeds and peelings into new plants on your kitchen windowsill is such a satisfying process, for us adults as well as kids. Grow plants from lemon seeds and you could raise a citrus houseplant with glossy, aromatic leaves, or root a pineapple top for a striking pot of spiky foliage. Or how about growing a feast of fabulous foliage from an avocado stone? Seedlings grown from apple and pear seeds can be shaped into stylish bonsai trees, too.

If you like the idea of free food as well as free plants, then cabbage bases will grow a tasty supply of cut-and-come-again leaves for salads and stir-fries, while carrot tops produce herby foliage that’s so flavorful blended up into a pesto.

Propagating is a great way to get plants for free and, as well as creating garden plants with cuttings in October, a spot of indoor plant-baby-making is just the thing for rainy fall days. Got a little free space on a sunny kitchen windowsill? Then let's make a start on your soon-to-be-favorite gardening project…

1. Lemon, Lime, Orange and Grapefruit

Creating houseplants from citrus seeds is a relatively quick process and with the right care, a seed will grow into a foot-tall plant by its first birthday. While you'll have to wait a decade or so for fruit, citrus trees make beautiful foliage-first houseplants with glossy leaves that release a fresh, aromatic fragrance when rubbed. Lemon and lime plants will have pointy oval leaves, while orange and grapefruit foliage is rounder. All can be grown the same way so, if you've always dreamed of growing a lemon tree, why not try a whole citrus selection?

First wash the seed so it’s free of any citrus pulp. Carefully scratch off the outer shell with your fingernail to reveal the brown seed inside – though this step isn’t essential, it will speed germination. Sow the seed ⅓-inch deep in a small container of moist potting soil and use a clear cover to lock heat and moisture in.

You could use an old yoghurt pot with a drainage hole poked into the base and a clear plastic bag fixed over the rim with an elastic band, or make life easy with domed propagation pots like these 4" Nursery Pots from Amazon. Using a tailored potting mix like Gardenera Citrus Potting Soil, also available from Amazon, will support good germination and strong root growth. Stand the pot on your sunniest south-facing windowsill and remove the cover once you spot growth.

2. Avocado

Growing an avocado stone into a tropical tree-let is straightforward, and fast growth makes this a great project if you're gardening with children, but it's fun for adults too. While you can absolutely let your avocado grow tall, it’s easy to keep smaller by pruning, and the 8-12-inch leaves mean this is a standout houseplant.

First, clean the stone. It’s best to sprout avocado seeds in water rather than soil, with just the bottom, broader third sitting in the water. You can do this with a jam jar by pushing three or four toothpicks into the sides of the stone so it sits on the jar rim, or use a purpose-made avocado vase and skip the toothpicks.

Stand the jar in a bright spot with plenty of indirect sunlight – an east- or west-facing windowsill is ideal – in a warm room as avocados are tropical plants. Change the water every 2-5 days and wash the jar as needed, and keep levels topped up so the seed base remains wet and the top stays dry. Rainwater is best but tap water is fine, but do make sure it’s at room temperature so as not to shock the roots.

Once the stone has cracked open (this can happen very quickly, but be patient as it can sometimes take up to two months), there are a couple of inches of roots and you can see leaves forming on the top stem, move the plant into a pot of potting soil. Avocado plants need good drainage so use an all-purpose houseplant mix like Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix, available from Lowe's.

Your growing avocado will naturally form a single stem with a canopy of big leaves at the top – which gives a great architectural look. If you want a bushier, leafier houseplant however, simply prune off the top set of leaves once the stem reaches 6 inches high to force the plant to grow multiple branches.

3. Apples and Pears

An apple or pear tree grown from a seed can produce an attractive garden tree – but don’t expect to be eating its fruit! The genetics of apple and pear trees are complex and seeds almost always revert to a wild ancestor with small, acidic fruit. However, apple and pear trees make great candidates for bonsai trees as they have lots of small fibrous roots and flexible branches that are easy to wire. If you fancy a little long-term gardening project, growing a bonsai fruit tree for your garden is so rewarding, and the spring blossom is so pretty.

Drop the seeds into a jar or water and slosh them around to clean. Ignore any seeds that float to the surface – these won’t germinate – but save the plumpest ones that sink to the bottom. Wrap these in a just-damp piece of kitchen paper inside a sealed zip-lock bag and pop them in the fridge to mimic winter, which is essential for germination. Check the kitchen paper is just-damp every week and, by around the sixth week, you’ll likely spot a white root protruding from the seed.

Then fill small pots or old yoghurt pots with a seed-starting mix like Back to the Roots Organic 3-in-1 Seed Starting Mix, available from Amazon. Use your little finger to poke a ½-inch hole, pop in the sprouted seed with the root downwards and gently push the soil over to cover. Pop this on a warm, sunny windowsill, keep the compost just-damp and in a couple of weeks you’ll see a green shoot.

In a few months, you’ll need to snip off the taproot and move your tree into a bonsai starter pot like this from Walmart and begin pruning branches and wiring into shape with training wire like this, also from Walmart. You can keep your mini apple or pear tree indoors over its first spring or summer but by autumn, move it outdoors.

4. Pineapple

It’s a hoot to grow a plant from a pineapple top, and as they're part of the bromeliad family, pineapples make good-looking houseplants with striking leaves. It’s unlikely to fruit, but so exciting if it does!

Rather than slicing off the pineapple top, hold the fruit in one hand and the leaves in the other and twist firmly in opposite directions. The top stem should pop out cleanly. Strip off the lower 5-8 layers of leaves until you have around an inch of naked stem. Let this dry – just leave it on a kitchen counter top – for 3-5 days until the base scabs over.

Treat the stem like you would an avocado stone, using toothpicks and a jar, an avocado vase or even a large wine glass to submerge the bare stem in water but keep the leaves dry.

Place this set-up on a warm, sunny south-facing windowsill, change the water every 2-3 days and, within a month, you should see roots. When roots are 2-3 inches long, move into a pot of potting soil tailored for cacti like Back to the Roots Organic Succulents & Cacti Mix, available from Amazon to grow your pineapple houseplant on.

5. Cabbage

Save the base of a cabbage and it’s easy to regrow fresh cut-and-come-again leaves to toss into salads and stir-fries. Slice the bottom 2-3 inches from a fresh cabbage and peel away outer leaves to expose the bare inner stem. Set this, cut side up, in a shallow bowl of water – or, if you want to make your cabbage crop into a fancy feature on a sunny kitchen windowsill, pop into margarita glasses like these from Amazon!

Keep the bottom edge of the cabbage base submerged and the top rim dry. It’s vital to change the water every day to prevent rotting, but you'll be well rewarded with new shoots that grow from the core within days. Crop only the outer leaves to prolong the harvest.

6. Carrots

You can use the same method to grow leafy greens from carrot tops, which taste rather like parsley and are delicious as a herby garnish or blended into a pesto. Simply cut the top inch from the carrots, trimming any green stems off, then pop cut-side down into a shallow saucer of water. It’s vital that the water doesn’t cover the top of the carrot stub where the leaves emerge, and that you change the water every day.

Your kitchen windowsill will soon be full of all sorts of lovely leafy greens, and I hope you enjoy your plethora of new plants!

Cardboard mulch is being championed as a sustainable, low-cost method to suppress weeds and lock moisture into soil, but did you know it can boost your harvest, too? A USDA-funded trial found cardboard mulching was not only highly effective at reducing weeds, but increased some vegetable crops by as much as 97%. Yep, you read that right.

A variety of crops were grown over different seasons in the two-year cardboard mulch trial, a collaboration between the University of Wyoming and the USDA’s Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) program. The growing conditions weren’t easy, either: the trial site of Sweet Hollow Farm in Victor, Idaho, sits in Zone 4 with a super-short growing season. Yet alongside impressive yield increases, results showed weed coverage in cardboard-mulched beds at just 15%, compared to 45% in beds that were tended using traditional tilling methods.

Impressed, I decided to test out the findings for myself and back in the summer I used old cardboard boxes to mulch my vegetable bed and sat back to see what happened. Now it’s October, and I can report that my veg bed is not only 95% free of weeds but I’ve enjoyed my best-ever harvest, I'm happy to vouch for using cardboard as a mulch if you're growing vegetables. I also discovered a few vital details that make a huge difference. So, if you want to try cardboard mulching yourself – and you absolutely should, because now we know a cardboard mulch does work – here’s what you need to know for great results.

1. Use Corrugated Cardboard

While you want to block sunlight to suppress weeds, it’s vital to allow both water and air through for healthy soil and happy roots, and corrugated cardboard makes the layer less dense. In the USDA-funded trial, two layers of corrugated cardboard were used to create a dense barrier to exhaust aggressive perennial weeds such as field bindweed. I only used one layer of corrugated cardboard and it still suppressed weeds well, and the soil beneath it still smells sweet.

I was concerned that water wouldn't penetrate the corrugated cardboard but sliding a long-probe moisture meter like this from Amazon into the soil reassured me that it did. In my very unscientific tests between this mulched bed and the unmulched bed beside it, I was pleased to see the cardboard layer kept the soil moisture level far more consistent, too.

2. Check Cardboard is Uncoated

An uncoated finish also helps soil and root health as the cardboard layer is more permeable and breathable. Another reason to avoid coated cardboard is that glossy or water-repellent finish is typically made up of synthetic polymers – use it as a mulch and you’ll inadvertently be adding microplastics to your soil.

It’s not always easy to spot coated cardboard as some have matt finishes, and you need to watch out for cardboard that’s had water-resistant additives mixed directly into the pulp during production, too. To test, put a drop of any cooking oil onto the cardboard: if it soaks right in, go ahead and use the cardboard; if it sits on the surface, that’s a sure sign the cardboard contains compounds you don’t want in your soil.

3. Only Use Brown Cardboard Printed With Black Ink

While plain cardboard is best, it’s fine to use cardboard that’s been printed with black ink as that’s likely water- or soy-based and will break down safely in soil. You’ll be happy to know that the black ink used on the 20 million standard Amazon packages sent out every day is plant-based. However, highly pigmented colored inks can contain synthetic compounds that you don’t want leaching into your soil.

Similarly, skip white cardboard as this goes through chemical bleaching processes, whereas standard brown cardboard is typically made from recycled paper fibres or raw wood pulp.

4. Remove All Labels and Tape

If you’re recycling boxes that arrived by mail, it’s vital to remove all tape and shipping labels before using. These products are designed to withstand weather and rough handling so don’t think they’re just paper. Standard thermal shipping labels contain synthetic chemicals that soil microbes struggle to break down, and research shows can be taken up by root crops. Some types of paper tape are reinforced with fiberglass, so remove every last bit.

Make it easier to peel off labels and tape, and their adhesive backing, by hosing the cardboard down first and leaving it to sit for five minutes.

You could also take a tip from the USDA-funded trial which re-used cardboard from a local craft brewery down the road, and ask local companies if they have some to recycle. Like the large cardboard slip-sheets used by the brewer to separate layers of beer cans during transit before being recycled in the trial, this packaging is likely to be free of labels or tape.

5. Overlap the Edges Well if You’re Dealing With Persistent Weeds

Running perennials like bindweed can travel horizontally in search of light, so overlap the edges of cardboard sheets by at least 6 inches to ensure they don’t find their way through the barrier.

6. Cover Cardboard With a Layer of Compost

In the USDA-funded trial, a 4-6-inch layer of compost was laid over the top of the cardboard sheets before planting began. A planting hole was then punched through the cardboard, into which a seedling was transplanted. So, while taproots and the lower root system grew into the ground to access moisture, the upper feeder roots grew into the compost layer that was rich in nutrients.

As well as the lack of competition from weeds and the extra moisture locked into the soil by the cardboard layer, trial yields were undoubtedly boosted by the added compost. Standout results included winter squash, where kabocha squash saw a 28% higher yield and spaghetti squash saw a 40% higher yield than the same crops in tilled control beds. Onions and shallots also fared exceptionally well with red onions seeing a 62% higher yield and shallots showing an increased yield of 97%.

Such a thick layer of compost wasn’t practical for my backyard veggie bed or my budget, so I experimented with leaving half of the bed with only the cardboard mulch, and half with a 2-inch layer of compost covering the cardboard layer. While weeds were effectively suppressed in both sides, and all plants cropped exceptionally well, the half with compost-covered cardboard was more productive when it came to crop yield.

I’m all for creating a low-maintenance garden with maximum reward for minimal effort, so I’ll definitely be using this method again. Though it took a little while to lay the cardboard mulch, I easily got that time back several times over because of the reduction in weeding and watering. It's also an easy way to increase the abundance of harvested crops in a small veggie bed like mine.

Cardboard boxes are a great resource for gardeners and can be used for all sorts of tasks from adding cardboard to balance plant material when composting to laying out sheets of cardboard to kill grass in preparation for a new border. Overall, a cardboard mulch made growing backyard veggies much easier, and as I usually mulch with compost once a year anyway, there was no cost but plenty of reward, and I recommend you give it a go.

Canned beans, tomatoes, and soup move through plenty of kitchens at a steady clip, and the empties usually get a quick rinse before they go out with the recycling. At that point, old tin cans still have plenty of life left. They’re stiff, hold soil and water without leaking, and cost nothing after being discarded.

Cans make for one of the easiest garden recycling projects, and the basic projects need nothing fancier than a hammer, a nail, and a can opener. One can might hold a pepper seedling in March, then lose its bottom at transplant time and slip right back over that same plant as a cutworm collar. That’s a lot of mileage out of something headed for the curb.

I start my stash in fall. Soup and chili season brings in a steady supply, and a box of clean cans in the shed will be ready when seed starting rolls around in late winter. Some can go to work right away, too – as lanterns on chilly evenings or as a winter home for hollow stems cut back during fall cleanup.

Prep Every Can Before It Goes Outside

Clean cans first. Hot, soapy water and a bottle brush get the food out, and a soak loosens the label and glue. The edges are the real hazard. If you’ve got a smooth-edge can opener, like this Oxo Good Grips one on Amazon, use it, since it cuts through the side seam and leaves a dull lip. Regular openers leave a sharp ring. Pinch any jagged bits flat with pliers or take a file to them, and wear gloves for this part.

Won’t they rust? They will, eventually. On most cans, the “tin” is only a thin coating over steel, and rain and wet soil wear through it over time. That takes a while, and a can with a few orange spots still holds soil and water just fine for seasonal jobs. I paint the outside of any can that’ll sit out for a long stretch, and punch drainage holes so water doesn’t sit in the bottom. A can too far gone can usually still go in with the metal recycling.

Without further ado, in this latest installment of our Dirt Cheap Gardening series, here are my eight favorite ways to upcycle tin cans.

1. Start Seeds Without Buying Pots

Thin plastic cell packs can split or tip over, but a tin can is heavier and less likely to get knocked around. You can use cans to start seeds or root cuttings. Turn one upside down on a scrap board and tap a nail through the bottom in several spots to make drainage holes – a basic 16-ounce claw hammer, like this Irwin one from Amazon, is plenty for the job.

Fill your tin can pots with a light, sterile seed-starting mix, such as Espoma Organic Seed Starter from Walmart, instead of garden soil. Metal doesn’t breathe like terracotta, so feel the mix before you water. When it’s time to transplant, cut the bottom out with the can opener and push the root ball up and out.

2. Use Tin Cans as Pest Deterrents

A tin can can help protect seedlings from a few garden pests, although it won’t keep them all away. Burying a can around a young plant may make it harder for slugs to reach, but they may still climb over it, so don’t rely on it as a dependable barrier.

Where a can collar is more useful is against cutworms. These caterpillars hide in the soil by day and chew through young stems at ground level after dark. Cut a can open at both ends, slip it over the seedling, and press it 1–2 inches (2.5–5 cm) into the soil, leaving a couple of inches above ground. Put it in place when you plant, while the seedling is most vulnerable.

You can also hang cans near vulnerable plants as a makeshift bird scare. Moving, clattering cans may startle birds, but the effect can wear off as they get used to them, so treat it as a short-term deterrent. Perhaps try alternating tin cans with a predator decoy, like the Dalen Lifelike Great Horned Owl Decoy Bird Repellent on Amazon.

3. Keep Things Organized

My potting benches end up buried under twine, plant labels, and hand tools. A few cans fix that for free. Drop a ball of garden twine (like this PerkHomy green jute twine from Amazon) into one can, and it won’t roll off the bench anymore. Put labels and pencils in the next can, and pruners and a trowel in the one after that. Mark each one with a weatherproof Garden Marker pen (on Amazon) so you don’t have to guess later. Nail them to the shed wall through the back.

4. Use it as a Compost or Fertilizer Scoop

Bare hands make a mess of granular fertilizer, bone meal, and compost, and a clean can scoops them out without bending or cracking the way a plastic cup might. Make it do double duty. Pour a measured cup of water in, scratch a line at the waterline with a nail, and you’ve got a rough measuring cup for any rates listed in cups. Keep a second can just for compost.

Fertilizer residue can speed up rust, so knock the scoop clean after each use, store it dry, and never bring it back into the kitchen.

5. Create a Mini Herb Planter

Thyme, chives, and oregano stay compact enough to grow in a can on a sunny windowsill or balcony rail. Get the drainage holes in first, then paint the outside. Home Depot stocks Rust-Oleum Stops Rust spray paint in gloss white, and white is the better pick for a patio since dark cans heat up fast in full sun.

Skip painting the inside, and let the paint cure before you plant. This time of year, aim for a south- or west-facing window. In summer, a can on a hot patio can dry out quickly.

6. Make DIY Lanterns for Fall Evenings

Punched-tin lanterns throw speckled light across a patio table, and they’re a nice touch now that it gets dark earlier. Freeze a can full of water first. The ice keeps the walls from denting while you tap a nail through them in dots, swirls or stars. Once it thaws, dry it and paint it if you like, then drop in a battery-operated LED tea light, which you can get from Walmart in a pack of 12. An LED carries far less fire risk than a candle if wind tips a lantern into dry leaves. Thread wire through two holes near the rim to hang it.

7. Build a Bug Hotel for Solitary Bees

Many native bees are solitary and nest alone in narrow tunnels rather than hives. A tall can filled with hollow stems gives them just that. Fall cleanup supplies the material. Bamboo, reeds, and the hollow or pithy stems of sunflowers, sumac, or raspberries all work in mixed widths. Cut them a little shorter than the can so the rim shelters the openings, keep a closed node at the back when possible, and pack them in tight. Keep the bundle dry over winter.

Around the last spring frost, mount the can on its side about 5 feet (1.5 m) up, facing southeast. Replace the stems every one to three years to keep mites and fungal disease from building up.

8. Make Plant Labels

The other ideas on this list use the cans, but this one makes use of the lids by turning them into plant labels. Flatten each lid carefully, then write the plant name on it with a permanent marker. You can attach it to a wooden stick or tie it to a plant support with garden twine. The metal stands up to rain better than paper labels, and you’re giving a useful second life to something that might otherwise go in the recycling. Be careful handling the edges, which can be sharp.

Clean cans don’t take up much room on a shed shelf, and they keep a lot of little purchases off the shopping list. Start a stack this fall, and by seed-starting season there’ll be one ready for nearly every job!

Jennifer Aniston, also known as Rachel from my favorite show, Friends, has one of the most famous homes/gardens on the internet right now. Rachel Green never had a garden, and Aniston is clearly making up for it. Really, this Bel Air property is having a moment; from the Japanese-inspired planting to the roses, people are trying to copy it in even the tiniest of spaces. But it’s her koi pond (pictured below) that is really doing some heavy lifting, especially when it comes to the Japanese aesthetic.

It’s the kind of feature that looks like it required some serious money and expertise, but it actually starts with one pretty straightforward question. As Kendahl Kreps, Director of Marketing at Oase North America, puts it: “Do you want fish?” Everything else follows from there.

Start With the Right Questions

Before even thinking about logistical questions like what size, depth, and budget you’re working with, it’s helpful to get clear about what exactly you want from a water feature. Kreps says to ask yourself, “What do I want from this? Sound? Aesthetics? Nature habitat? All of these things can help you decide what kind of water feature you should go with.”

Joe Zawistowski, founder of Black Koi Water Features and a certified Aquascape contractor with 25 years and over 300 ponds behind him, agrees: “A pond that fits your lifestyle is one you will enjoy for decades.”

If the answer is fish, you’ll want to head toward a proper koi pond. If it’s sound and movement without the maintenance commitment, a pondless waterfall delivers almost the same experience. “A pondless waterfall gives you the sight, sound, and planting of a full water feature without an open body of water,” says Zawistowski. “Most of the water sits invisibly in a buried reservoir under a floor of rocks, and the pump recirculates it continuously. No fish, almost no maintenance, and the footprint can be as small as ten by ten feet.”

The Non-Negotiables

Two things you absolutely can’t compromise on when it comes to a koi pond are depth and filtration. Koi need a minimum of 18 inches (45 cm), but Zawistowski pushes for three feet (90cm): “Three feet eliminates successful heron hunting because herons wade to strike and can’t reach fish at that depth.”

Aiza, a sustainability writer at GreenerPulse, adds that depth also matters for temperature stability: “Shallow ponds heat up and cool down too fast, and the fish get stressed."

When it comes to filtration, every expert is on the same page. “Prioritize filtration,” says Jacob Romkee, landscape expert at Thumbtack. “A poor filtration system can undermine the whole project.” Aiza is equally direct: “The filter is the worst place to save money.”

Almost every first-time pond owner will encounter an algae problem. Kreps recommends a combined UV and mechanical filter system, like this TotalPond system on Amazon. She says, “UV bulbs and filter foams polish the water to make the fish look as if they are floating.”

If you don't have fish in your pond, a floating solar-powered fountain, like this Mademax design, is a simple, affordable way to add movement to the water. It can also help improve circulation and aeration, keeping the pond fresher and reducing stagnation.

Small Garden? No Problem

While you may think you need to have a full koi pond to get the same look as Jennifer Aniston, it’s actually not the only option. If you have a small space in an urban garden or patio, a container pond or raised feature can give you most of the same benefits. Romkee has seen genuinely creative approaches: “I’ve seen people turn bathtubs, hot tubs, tiered fountains, and even disguised kiddie pools into water features.”

Aiza and Zawistowski are quick to point out one big caveat, both claiming that a smaller water volume is much less forgiving. They tell me that temperature swings happen much faster and water quality can shift very quickly, so a container pond actually requires more attention and maintenance, not less, as you might assume.

Planting Around It

Plants around the pond are essential to making it look embedded in the garden rather than simply dropped into it. Zawistowski uses marginal plants like iris and pickerelweed to soften the edges, water lilies to shade the surface and suppress algae, and, for the surrounding landscape, weeping and upright Japanese maples, catmint, ornamental Carex grass, and coneflowers.

Romkee adds ferns, Japanese iris, and creeping ground cover as strong options, with one firm disclaimer: “I’m much more cautious about bamboo because it’s so hard to get rid of once planted.”

Getting the Japanese Look

Jennifer Aniston’s koi pond works so well because of the restraint she and her designer, Stephen Shadley, used. Kreps says, “An asymmetrical pond shape, a few carefully selected stones, controlled planting, and one strong focal element such as a bridge or sculptural rock.”

Aiza puts it even more simply: “Resist the urge to add three fountains.” Still water, well-placed stone, and a limited plant palette make a complete formula. The engineering, as Zawistowski says, should disappear entirely, “so the feature looks like natural erosion rather than something that arrived on a truck.”

Shop Pond Kits

Is there anything more magical than spotting a bright red cardinal among the branches of your backyard?

Honestly, I'm not so sure that there is; there's a reason we all love these beautifully vibrant birds so much, and it's not just because they've become synonymous with the holidays (a study back in 2022 determined that 34% of the birds featured on Christmas cards are cardinals, if you don't believe me!). They are laden with symbolism, and many believe that if they're the first bird you spot on January 1st, you're owed 12 months of love, hope, optimism, and good luck for the year ahead.

Now, these beautiful songbirds are year-round residents across much of the eastern and central United States, and with the right planting choices, you can make your garden a more inviting place for them to visit. So, how best to go about it?

The Best Plants To Attract Cardinals

The secret to charming these birds into your yard? Think beyond bird feeders and give cardinals more of what they naturally need: food, shelter, and places to nest.

Now, cardinals eat a varied diet of seeds, fruit, and insects, and they particularly favor gardens with plenty of dense vegetation where they can hide from predators and forage safely. All of which means that, if you're hoping to welcome more of these ruby-red visitors to your yard this season, these three trees are a great place to start.

Shop Plants To Attract Cardinals:

1. Hawthorn

If you want to make your garden more appealing to cardinals, hawthorn is a great tree to consider. Depending on the species, these trees produce small fruits often called haws, which can provide food for birds into the cooler months. Their dense, sometimes thorny branches also offer useful shelter for wildlife.

Hawthorns can be particularly valuable in a wildlife-friendly garden because they provide more than one benefit. Their flowers attract insects, their fruits feed birds, and their branching structure offers places to perch and hide.

When choosing a hawthorn, look for a species suited to your local growing conditions and available space. Native varieties are especially worth considering because they can support a wider range of local wildlife, although the La Vida Más® Indian Hawthorn from Nature Hills is an undeniably spectacular option if you are in the mood for endless clusters of pink flowers (and how could you not be?).

2. Crabapple

Crabapple trees are another excellent option for a cardinal-friendly garden. Their spring blossoms bring seasonal color, while the small fruits that follow can become an important food source for birds in fall and winter.

The fruits of some crabapple varieties persist on the tree after the leaves have dropped, creating a welcome food source when other options become scarcer. The branches also offer perching spots and can contribute to the layered structure that makes a backyard more attractive to birds.

For the best wildlife value, choose something like the Louisa Weeping Crabapple Tree from Nature Hills. It has the added benefit of being stunning, too!

3. Dogwood

Dogwood is a particularly good choice if you're looking for a plant that combines ornamental appeal with wildlife benefits. Many dogwoods produce berries that cardinals and other fruit-eating birds enjoy, and Cornell's Lab of Ornithology specifically lists dogwood among the fruits eaten by cardinals, too!

Depending on the species, dogwoods can grow as small trees or shrubs, making them useful for gardens of different sizes. Their seasonal flowers, foliage, and fruits can provide interest throughout the year, while their branching growth helps create cover for all visiting birds (very likely including your own birth month bird in the mix).

For a particularly wildlife-friendly planting, look into native dogwood species that are well suited to your region. Personally, I love the White Flowering Dogwood from Nature Hills.

Other Ways To Keep Cardinals Happy:

Planting these trees can help, but the best cardinal-friendly gardens offer more than fruit alone. Cardinals are especially fond of dense shrubs and tangled vegetation, which provide shelter from predators and suitable nesting locations, and they also need a reliable source of water.

Finally, try to choose plants native to your region and avoid pesticides wherever possible. A diverse garden with food available across different seasons is more likely to support birds and other wildlife over the long term, after all! Still, with hawthorn, crabapple, and dogwood in the mix, you can create a backyard that looks beautiful through the seasons while offering cardinals more reasons to stop by.

If that's not an excuse to get growing, I don't know what is!

Call me sentimental, but I feel sad seeing those vegetable beds that overflowed with produce all summer lie empty in October. Gone are the bright red tomatoes, the sprawling zucchini, and the leafy greens growing in lush rows. All that remains is a little debris and bare garden soil. Likewise, beds once filled with colorful annual flowers may now look rather sorry for themselves.

Seeing those sad, abandoned rows was what originally prompted me to try growing cover crops in the fall. But once I got into the habit, I discovered so many other benefits that I now recommend them to friends, family, neighbors – and you. In fact, cover crops offer many of the same benefits as mulch, suppressing weeds, improving soil structure, and protecting against erosion. They can also act as green manure, adding valuable organic matter and nutrients to the soil when you cut them down and incorporate them before spring planting.

Growing fall cover crops isn’t difficult, but it helps to get the information you need up front, including how to prepare the soil, which cover crops to plant, and when to plant them. That’s why I’ve pulled it all together for you in this article.

Why Bare Soil Is a Problem Over Winter

Even if you don’t feel sentimental about the deserted autumn beds, there are many reasons not to leave garden soil bare over winter. The practice can damage soil health, structure, and fertility.

Let’s think about erosion first. When plants grow in soil, their roots anchor it in place, preventing the precious top layer from blowing away. Winter’s worst can easily blow or wash away bare soil. That reduces the amount of topsoil that spring crops have to grow in.

Beyond washing away topsoil, winter rain can leach water-soluble nutrients from the soil. These vital nutrients are essential to growing a healthy spring crop. In addition, it can leave the soil crusted over, damage soil structure by removing air spaces, and generally leave it severely compacted.

Soil like this is not a good place to plant spring vegetables or flowers, but the weeds don’t object. In fact, aggressive winter weeds invade the bare ground, followed by nettles and bindweeds, as well as other early spring weeds.

Benefits of Cover Crops

Cover crops address almost all bare-soil-over-winter issues, and they do it in spades. When you plant fall cover crops, their roots dive deep and hold the soil firmly in place. Weed roots are tougher than winter wind and heavy rain. That means that they prevent erosion. That’s important, but it’s not the whole story.

Installing fall cover crops also keeps winter weeds away, or at least dramatically reduces their number. They also stop the soil from crusting, improve the soil structure, and add additional organic matter back into the soil to get it ready for spring planting.

Be sure to wait 2–3 weeks after terminating the cover crops in spring before planting.

5 Top Fall Cover Crops

So, which cover crops should you grow? The best choice depends on your climate, soil, and what you plan to plant in spring. Some are particularly good at suppressing weeds, while others improve soil fertility or help break up compacted ground.

The good news is they are not expensive – you can pick up a 5-variety collection from Survival Garden Seeds on Amazon for about $10. For larger areas, consider a 10lb cover crop mixture from Outsidepride.

Here are some of the best options for protecting and improving your garden beds over winter.

1. Winter Rye

If you are just wading into the world of fall cover crops, winter rye (aka cereal rye) is one of the best places to start. This extremely cold-hardy, cool-season grass should be planted about four weeks before the first hard freeze. It is easy to grow and very reliable. You can pick up a 10lb bag of winter rye seeds from CZ Grains at Walmart.

Winter rye has deep, fibrous roots that stop erosion in its tracks. In fact, those roots can also loosen and break up heavy clay and choke out weeds. But it offers a second layer of weed protection: the plants release chemicals that block some weeds, like pigweed. In addition, those roots trap and hold residual nitrogen and minerals over winter, preventing leaching.

Chop out winter rye in early spring before it gets too woody.

2. Hairy Vetch

Hairy vetch is another great fall cover crop. It is a hardy winter annual legume and an especially effective cover crop because it fixes large amounts of nitrogen in the soil, up to 200 pounds per acre. That means that, come spring, you don’t need to add fertilizer.

The roots of this legume prevent erosion over the winter. It is a dense vining crop, with spring growth up to 12 feet (4 m) tall. It completely shades out any early-spring weeds.

Plant this cover crop early enough for the roots to be well established before the first hard freeze. You’ll want to take out your hairy vetch cover crop in spring while the plant is in the early bud or early flower stage.

Buy hairy vetch seeds from Sow Right Seeds on Amazon.

3. Crimson Clover

This cover crop is attractive and effective. Crimson clover is just plain pretty for a legume, with bright crimson, cone-shaped flowers that attract bees and beneficial insects in spring. It’s a good choice for those living in regions with milder winters.

Sweet Yards sells crimson clover in various pack sizes on Amazon.

Crimson clover is a cool-season annual legume that grows rapidly. It fixes nitrogen in the soil, adding up to 200 pounds per acre, which is perfect for fertilizing your spring garden. What about weeds? Crimson clover forms a dense ground cover mat that totally blocks weeds.

Plant clover seeds up to eight weeks before the first frost. It grows best in well-draining soil. This is a cover crop that is easy to terminate in spring since it dies back or breaks down easily, unlike aggressive root crops. Mow it down before it goes fully to seed. Wait a few weeks before planting your next spring crop.

4. Austrian Winter Peas

Austrian winter peas – or winter field peas – are cool-season annual legumes that are popular fall cover crops. Like other legumes, these peas fix nitrogen in the soil, producing up to 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre, to the benefit of your spring crops.

Outsidepride sells Austrian winter peas via Amazon in various pack sizes.

These plants are lush vines that carpet the soil. Just by growing, they choke out winter weeds. If you use rye or oats as companion plants for fall cover crops, they will provide upright physical support for winter pea stems.

Plant Austrian winter peas a month or two before the first hard frost in your area. It’s best to give these peas five or more weeks of growth to establish strong root systems and low, compact growth before freezing temperatures arrive. Come spring, these are easy plants to terminate. Their hollow stems can be chopped down in spring once they hit full bloom.

5. Winter Oats

These are fast-growing cool-season annual grasses that make an exceptional cover crop. You can pick up a pack of winter oats seeds from Sow Right Seeds on Amazon. The plants’ dense, fibrous roots anchor the topsoil in place all winter long and also break up compacted earth.

Winter oats germinate quickly, helping them smother winter weeds. The plants also absorb soil nitrogen and release it back to microorganisms as they break down.

Winter oats often die back from winter frost. But this doesn’t stop their cover-crop value. The dead grass forms a natural, easy-to-manage mulch blanket.

Shop Cover Crop Seeds

Fallen leaves start piling up in earnest in October, and a lot of homeowners rake every last one out to the curb as soon as they can. Honestly, it makes sense. A bare lawn looks tidy, and a soggy brown carpet of leaves isn’t much fun to look at all winter.

There’s a middle ground, though. Good fall leaf management means getting the thick stuff off the grass and finding those leaves a better home. Beds, borders, compost bins and vegetable plots can all use them, and whatever stays in the yard is mulch and compost you may not have to buy in the spring.

Some leaves need a little extra thought. Oak is slow to break down, and black walnut leaves contain juglone, a compound that can harm tomatoes and other sensitive plants, so it pays to know which trees are dropping what in your yard. Neither one has to go to the curb.

Why Fallen Leaves Can Damage Your Lawn

Why not just leave the leaves where they fall? Scattered leaves won’t hurt the grass – it’s the thick layer that causes trouble. After a couple of rains, leaves pack down into a wet mat that cuts off light and air, and left in place all winter, it can smother and weaken the turf underneath. That damp cover also favors snow mold. In snowier regions, you’ll usually spot it in spring as circular patches of matted, discolored grass, from either pink snow mold (Microdochium nivale) or gray snow mold (Typhula incarnata). Voles and mice like the cover, too, and a lawn buried under leaves can show more of their damage once things thaw.

So, you do need to keep on top of fall leaves – but there's no need to bag them. The rest of the yard can put them to good use with these clever ideas.

1. Improve the Lawn

Firstly, you don't need to remove every leaf from your lawn. If there's only a light covering, mow over it with a mulching mower instead. The finely shredded leaf pieces fall between the grass blades, where they quickly break down, feeding the soil and returning nutrients to your lawn without smothering it. If you’re shopping for one, the Ryobi ONE+ 18V 13 in. Cordless Battery Walk Behind Push Lawn Mower, available at Home Depot, includes a mulch plug, making it easy to switch between bagging and mulching.

However, once leaves become too deep for the mower to chop up properly, rake them off. Thick layers of whole leaves can block light, trap moisture, and damage the grass over winter. Rather than sending them to the curb, use them elsewhere in the garden.

2. Shred Them into Free Mulch

Whole leaves can make lousy mulch. They often mat into a slick layer that sheds water. Shredded leaves are another matter – they stay loose, let rain through and break down faster. Set the mower on its highest setting and run it over a low row of fairly dry leaves once or twice. That gets them small enough for most beds, though big piles go faster through a leaf shredder, like the WORX 13 Amp Electric Leaf Mulcher, available on Amazon.

Spread the pieces 2–4 inches (5–10 cm) deep around trees, shrubs and perennials and water them in. By spring, you’ll have fewer weeds and soil that stayed moister and steadier in temperature.

3. Make Leaf Mold

Leaf mold is what you get when a pile of leaves is left to rot down slowly, and the result is dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling. Don’t expect much in the way of nutrients. It’s more of a soil conditioner, improving structure, helping soil hold water, and keeping it mostly weed-free.

Chicken wire bent into a ring makes an easy enclosure, though a vented plastic bin like the Redmon compost bin from Walmart works too, or even just a big plastic bag left loosely closed.

Wet the leaves as you go. Shredded leaves can be ready in about six months, while whole leaves take closer to a year, and a pile nobody touches may take two. Dig it into beds or stir it into potting soil when it’s done.

4. Add Them to the Compost Pile

Leaves are a classic “brown” ingredient, full of carbon but short on nitrogen, so a pile of nothing but leaves needs some “greens” to get going. Grass clippings and kitchen scraps both work – with clippings, about two parts leaves to one part grass is a reasonable mix – and keep the pile about as damp as a wrung-out sponge.

A compost thermometer, like the Reotemp from Amazon, shows you when the pile has heated up and when it’s cooling off and ready to turn. Dry leaves keep well, so stash a few RISETEX reusable leaf bags full of them for next summer’s grass clippings.

Oak and magnolia leaves are slow, so shred them first or give them extra time, and keep walnut leaves for a hot, well-managed pile, where juglone breaks down.

5. Use Them to Insulate Tender Plants

Picture a January afternoon warm enough to thaw the soil surface, followed by a hard freeze that night. Repeat that often enough and shallow roots and crowns can get pushed right up out of the ground. Leaves piled on top won’t keep the ground from freezing, and they aren’t meant to. What you want is soil that stays frozen once it freezes, instead of flipping back and forth every time the sun comes out.

Hold off until temperatures have dropped well below freezing, then mound shredded leaves over the crowns of tender perennials. Tea roses need a little more fuss: a ring of chicken wire or burlap around the plant, filled with leaves packed just lightly enough for air to still move through. Soggy, matted leaves sitting on a crown can smother it.

6. Feed Your Vegetable Beds

Once the last tomatoes and squash come out, an empty vegetable bed has room for a deep layer of leaves. Spread 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) of shredded leaves over the soil and dig or till them in. They’ll keep breaking down through winter, and by spring the bed has more organic matter and microbes, better tilth, and better drainage to show for it.

It can take a lot of trips to haul that many leaves, and Home Depot's True Temper poly wheelbarrow has a roomy 6-cubic-foot (170 L) tub. On smaller beds, you can turn them in by hand with a fork – I like the Truper spading fork, available on Amazon. And don’t worry about oak leaves souring the soil. They’re acidic when fresh, but they break down to roughly neutral.

7. Create a Wildlife Habitat

Want more fireflies and butterflies next summer? Then leave some leaves. Not every corner of the yard has to look raked and finished. Pile some leaves under a shrub or along a back fence and leave them there through winter, and you’ve made shelter for beneficial insects.

Mated bumble bee queens hibernate an inch or two (2.5–5 cm) down in the soil, and a layer of leaves on top gives them extra protection. Firefly larvae use leaf litter for cover as well. So do woolly bears, the fuzzy black-and-rust caterpillars that become Isabella tiger moths. Look closely at an old leaf pile in early spring, and you might spot a swallowtail chrysalis or luna moth cocoon that’s hard to tell from the leaves around it.

When to Remove Leaves (and When to Leave Them Alone)

Lawns are the exception to all this leaf-saving. Any thick layer needs to come off before winter, and if you miss a spot and find a flattened, soggy mat in early spring, rake it up right away so it doesn’t hold back green-up. The True Temper 24-inch leaf rake from Home Depot has wide, clog-free tines that suit the job.

Keep an eye on the gutter out front as well. Leaves washed into a storm drain usually wind up in the nearest creek or lake, and rotting leaves there release phosphorus that feeds algae blooms.

In the beds, though, you can relax. Whatever falls under shrubs, around trees, and between perennials will slowly rot down and give nutrients back to the soil, just like leaves do in the woods. It’s kinder to the insects tucked in there, too, if you put off cleaning out beds until spring has properly warmed up.

I always remember what my grandpa always said. “That rake ain’t going nowhere, and neither are the leaves – there’ll be another round of them next October, and the October after that.” Each of those piles is free mulch and compost for the taking, so it seems a shame to send them to the curb.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, have a fall entrance that’s just perfect inspiration for the season. Brittany, a former soccer player and co-owner of the Kansas City Current, shared a series of charming family snaps of their Halloween display on Instagram (see below). It suits the season without going over the top, looking like an extension of the landscape rather than decorations thrown together at the last minute.

Chrysanthemums, pumpkins, and integrated lighting make the entryway feel warm and inviting – exactly what you want if you’re welcoming trick-or-treaters or simply hoping to boost curb appeal in the fall.

The secret is to build on the garden you already have. Add the right plants, complementary colors, and strategically placed lighting for an autumn display that lasts until the frosts set in. Here are my five simple steps to help you recreate the look.

1. Choose Mums That Last

Mums – or chrysanthemums – are really the star of Brittany and Patrick Mahomes’ entryway, and they’re a classic choice for autumn containers. However, believe it or not, you can actually choose the wrong ones. You’ll want to choose hardy ones that last much longer and are suited to your climate rather than florist varieties intended for short-term indoor displays.

Choose plants with plenty of unopened buds for a longer succession of flowers than ones that are already in full bloom. Choose two or three complementary shades, like bronze, burgundy, cream, and golden yellow, and repeat these throughout your entryway.

Timing matters, too. Wait until nighttime temperatures begin to cool before adding chrysanthemums, and let pumpkins and gourds form the foundation of the display first.

Get the Look

2. Use Plants That Transition Into Autumn

Rather than spending a lot of money on replacing all the planting you did in summer, look for porch plants that add interest throughout the whole year. Ornamental grasses, heucheras, and sedums add some texture and color, even as summer flowers are fading, while shrubs and small trees with fall foliage can give the entrance a more established look.

Keep some of your existing summer plants if they still look healthy. A summer perennial can bloom early and then leave behind attractive foliage or seed heads that carry the garden into autumn.

Additionally, a trailing plant spilling over a container or a few late-flowering perennials can help bridge that between-season gap.

3. Use Pumpkins as Part of the Landscape

Pumpkins and gourds can look just as at home in a garden border as they do on a porch. The trick is to treat (did you like that pun?) them as part of the planting design rather than scattering them randomly around the entrance.

Interior designer Preeti Shah, founder of Spotlight Style, recommends grouping pumpkins in odd numbers at different heights, anchored by one or two large containers. Place larger pumpkins toward the back or at the base of a display, then use smaller varieties to lead the eye toward the front door. “The difference between planned and decorated is restraint,” Shah says. “Pick two or three colors from your house, repeat them, and use natural materials.”

Look for colors already found in your brickwork, front door, or foliage to really help the display feel like part of your landscape.

4. Make Landscape Lighting Part of the Design

Lighting can bring out the texture of ornamental grasses, highlight colorful chrysanthemums, and create a welcoming glow after dark. Rather than illuminating every part of the entrance equally, focus on a few key plants or architectural features.

Jarald Patterson of Christmas Light Supplier recommends aiming low uplights or small spotlights into the planting, rather than making the path edge the main attraction. He also suggests choosing warm-white lighting around 2,700K to complement autumn shades.

“Pools of light with dark gaps between them look intentional; even, bright coverage looks like a parking lot,” Patterson says. Where practical, hide fixtures behind containers or within planting beds, and ensure cables are safely installed and rated for outdoor use.

5. Build the Display in Stages

The most convincing autumn entrances develop gradually; it’s all in the phases. Begin with existing plants and containers in late summer, introduce pumpkins as autumn approaches, and add chrysanthemums when temperatures cool. Ornamental grasses, seed heads, and evergreen foliage can help maintain the structure as flowers start to die.

As Shah advises, “Add a few pieces each week, and the entrance keeps changing all season without a big redo.” That’s a relief for those of us who don’t have time for a big, sweeping redo of the entryway for every holiday and season.

By working with the garden instead of starting from scratch, you can create an autumn entrance that feels cohesive, seasonal, and inviting long after Halloween has passed.

Every method of plant propagation has its bit of magic. It’s amazing to see a little green shoot emerging from a tiny seed or to watch roots appearing on the lower end of cuttings. But division has a huge advantage that seeds and cuttings lack: you start with one perennial, then, presto chango, you have two, or three, or four.

Dividing plants is a simple, highly effective method used to propagate perennials. It doesn’t require any technical or botanical knowledge. All you need to do is lift a mature perennial from the ground, then divide its root system into two or more distinct sections to be replanted.

But timing is important when it comes to division. Never try this in the heat of the summer, nor in the heart of the winter. Along with early spring, October is one of the very best times to propagate your perennials by division, as the soil is still workable. You want to dig the plant up, divide it into several rooted sections, and get the roots of the sections established before the first frost.

How to Divide Plants Successfully in October

It’s a good idea to get an overview of the division process before trying it on a perennial. The first rule to remember is that you can’t divide annual plants – only perennial plants have the established root structure that allows for this type of propagation.

Use a sharp spade or garden fork to dig a circle around the perennial before prying out the rootball. Then you might use two garden forks to divide the roots, although I personally find it easier to do by hand. Finally, do the actual division with something sharp, like a garden knife, a pruning saw, or a spade. Alternatively, a Root Slayer Perennial Garden Shovel, available on Amazon, is a multipurpose tool that lets you cut neatly around the plant, ease it out, and slice it into divisions.

Can you pause once the plant is out and divided? Nope, no rest for you at this stage. Immediately replant each division, and do so at exactly the same depth at which it was previously growing. Use your fingers to press down the soil and eliminate air pockets, then water thoroughly. If you're potting up divisions before planting them elsewhere, use a high-quality potting mix, such as Miracle-Gro Potting Mix from Walmart, to help the roots establish quickly before winter.

The newly created divisions will need adequate water until they establish. Water the soil around the plant several days before dividing, then deep water the sections immediately after they are in the ground. Keep the soil consistently moist for several weeks to allow the roots to re-establish.

Now, let's dive into the best plants to divide in October.

1. Hostas

Hostas are shade garden favorites, but they can grow larger than you might expect. One great way to control plant size is division. Not only can you cut back the size of the clumps, but you get new ones as well.

If you decide to divide hostas in the fall, do it in October. Using a sharp spade or shovel, dig out the entire plant and place it carefully on the ground. Separate tuber clumps.

2. Sedum

Sedums, also known as stonecrops, are clump-forming succulents that are easy to divide. You can divide sedum plants in autumn, right after they finish blooming. Use a garden spade or fork to dig out the plant with its entire root mass, then clip back the tallest stems to several inches. This makes them easier to handle. Chop the clump into smaller sections, each one with healthy green stems on top and a root cluster on the bottom. Plant each division in a sunny location at the same depth it was growing previously. Firm the soil and water thoroughly.

3. Peonies

If your peonies are overgrown, divide them in the fall. They are somewhat picky about division, so be sure to walk through all the steps.

First, cut back your peony stems, then dig out the plant, including the thick roots. Set the plant on the ground, then hose down the root ball. This is important because you need to see the peony's “eyes”, which look like pink buds at the crown, and make sure each division has at least three eyes and strong roots. Replant the divisions immediately, placing the eyes no more than 2 inches (5 cm) below the surface of the soil.

4. Bearded Iris

Bearded irises are among the easiest perennials to divide. All you need to do is dig up the clump, prune down the foliage to about 6 inches (15 cm) long, then chop up the clump into smaller divisions. Afterward, let the plant dry for a full day, then replant the divisions. The top of the rhizomes should end up just at the level of the soil surface.

5. Astilbes

Divide established astilbe plants every few years. Just dig them up, trim back the foliage, and divide them with a sharp shovel or spade. If the plant is too big to dig up, just cut out sections from the standing plant. Replant astilbe segments in a new site, watering generously.

6. Bee Balm

Divide bee balm in fall after flowering ceases but before the first frost. Use a spade to dig around the clump, leaving plenty of room to make sure you don’t dig through the root system. Dig up the clump, lift it up, and shake out extra soil. Toss the center of the clump – it will be woody, hollow, or dead, and it won’t flower well again. Divide the plant with hand pruners, making sure each section has three shoots or growing buds. Replant bee balm plants at the exact same depth as they were planted before, tamping down the soil. Water well.

7. Bleeding Heart

Divide bleeding heart plants in October, after the plant’s foliage has naturally died back. Dig out the root clump, then use a sharp knife to divide it into sections, each one with at least one growth bud. Replant immediately and water well.

8. Phlox

Divide phlox at least four weeks before the first hard frost. October is generally a perfect time to do the deed. First, cut back the foliage. Then, use a sharp spade to dig up the entire phlox plant and chop the root clump into sections. Each section should have at least three shoots and some sturdy roots. Replant immediately and water generously.

How to Care for New Divisions Before Winter

The watering you give your divisions after replanting is very important. Be sure to water each one well, then water regularly to keep the soil moist.

Mulch the area around each division to help protect the new plants from winter chills. Apply a 2–3 inch (5–8 cm) layer of organic mulch, such as straw or pine bark, like these Timberline pine bark nuggets from Walmart, to insulate the soil and protect the roots from temperature fluctuations. Keep the mulch clear of the plant's crown to prevent rot.

Plant Dividing Essentials

Even in fall, your garden is full of potential and taking cuttings in October that will quickly root to become new plants is such a cost-effective way to bulk up next year's borders. It really couldn’t be easier, so even if you’re a beginner gardener or you’ve never tried this propagation method before, taking cuttings in fall should definitely be on your list of gardening jobs to do in October.

There’s a big advantage to rooting plant cuttings in fall because the current season’s growth is mature. Protected by a tougher exterior, the stems are far more resilient to drying out than softwood cuttings taken in summer. Lavender, rosemary, fuchsia, holly and boxwood all respond really well to fall propagation, so you can clone some of your garden favorites to get new plants for free.

Ready to have a go? Here’s exactly what to do.

How to Take Cuttings in October

All these plants can be propagated in October using semi-ripe cuttings, also called semi-hardwood cuttings. Don't be confused by this gardening jargon – it simply means that you’ll be using stems that are woody at the base but green and flexible at the top.

1. Snip a Stem

Choose a strong plant and then a healthy stem with leaves but no flowers. Look for recent growth that has firmed up but isn’t totally woody yet – a suitable stem will snap and make a clean break when bent.

Use bypass pruning shears such as these Fiskars SoftGrip Bypass Hand Pruners from Lowe’s and make sure the blades are razor sharp. Sharpening pruner blades takes moments with a cheap tool like this Sharpal Garden Tool Sharpener from Amazon and will make a huge difference to how well your cuttings root. Super-sharp blades will slice cleanly through the stem rather than crushing and bruising it, which is one of the main reasons cuttings fail. For the same reason, don’t use anvil pruners as their crushing action will bruise delicate stem tissue.

Make a cut just below a leaf node, where a leaf joins the stem. Each cutting should be about 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) long, and at this time of the year use the top of stems where growth hormones are concentrated. Remove the lower leaves, preserving a few at the top.

2. Pop it Into Potting Mix

Fill a small pot with a sterile rooting medium that drains well – a soil-less mix such as this Propagation Planting Mix from Amazon is ideal. Poke a pencil into the mix to make a hole and pop 1-1½ inches of your cutting, cut end first, in. Dipping the cut end in a rooting hormone such as Garden Safe Take Root, available from Walmart, speeds success with some plants but this step isn’t always necessary. What is vital, however, is that at least one bare leaf node is submerged in the mix, but no leaves are beneath the surface.

3. Water

Gently use your fingers to firm the soil around the cutting then water to settle the mix. Now pop a clear plastic bag – a resealable sandwich bag like these from Amazon work well as the zipper closure gives some rigidity – over the pot to make a mini-greenhouse. Use a rubber band around the pot to secure it in place if needs be. Stand this in a spot with bright, indirect light that’s away from cold drafts.

Because the cutting has leaves to support but no roots to supply moisture, you need to keep the rooting medium moist and provide some humidity. The plastic bag will trap moisture inside but mist the leaves every few days if needs be, or reduce moisture by wiping any very heavy condensation.

4. Watch for Fresh Growth

In a few weeks, you should spot fresh leaves beginning to unfold, which means your cutting has rooted. If there’s no sign of new growth after a month, try giving the stem a very gentle upwards tug – if there’s any resistance, there are roots. A successful cutting will also look firm and plump, while an unsuccessful one will be starting to shrivel by now.

As soon as you know the cutting has rooted, it can come out of its little nursery greenhouse. You'll need to acclimatise the baby plant slowly, so snip off the corners of the bag to let some fresh air in, then snip a little more off the following day and remove the bag entirely on the third day. You’ll now need to keep your young plant watered, and tend it over winter ready to plant out next spring.

5 Plants to Propagate This Way in October

Rosemary

Rosemary propagates readily from semi-hardwood cuttings. Choose healthy stems that are still flexible, not totally woody, and without any flowers. Make sure the rooting medium you use for the cutting drains very well as rosemary will not tolerate excess moisture. If your climate is mild, you may be able to keep it outdoors in a sheltered area with bright light. If not, keep inside by a window all winter.

Lavender

Lavender is similar to rosemary in that it will readily propagate now. Taking lavender cuttings is such an easy way to propagate lavender, and family and friends will love a gift of this popular plant in spring. Avoid the woody stems and choose a flexible stem to cut. Use a rooting mix that drains very well and make sure it never gets too soggy. Overwinter lavender cuttings inside in colder climates.

Fuchsia

Most fuchsias are hardy in zones 6 through 11, but leaving them outdoors in winter can be a little risky so taking cuttings and keeping them indoors for the winter gives you a back-up plan. Take a cutting from a healthy, non-flowering stem, and root it in a quality rooting mix.

Boxwood

Some evergreen plants can be propagated from cuttings right now and this an easy way to save money on spring landscaping. Look for semi-hardwood stems to cut that are mature but not totally hardened or woody.

Root your boxwood cuttings in a medium that drains well, and be patient. These cuttings will take a little time to develop adequate roots. For this reason, it’s a good idea to overwinter your new plants indoors rather than trying to get them in the ground outside before winter. It’s also a good idea to take more cuttings than you think you need, in case some fail to root.

Holly

Like boxwoods, holly can be rooted from semi-hardwood cuttings. Look for healthy stems, and take more cuttings than you want because, as with boxwoods, these cuttings take longer to root and may not all be successful. Keep your cuttings and potted new plants indoors in a spot with indirect light and good levels of humidity.

Propagating your favorite plants now is so rewarding, and a very cost-efficient way to boost next year’s garden. October cuttings require a little more time and patience than spring and summer cuttings, but they’re so easy as long as you have a little patience. If you are in doubt about cold-weather tolerance, keep cuttings indoors all winter and put your new plants outside only when the weather has warmed in spring.

They say if you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive (which can be hard to remember in the moment), and that feels even more true when the eight-legged critter in question is your birth month spider.

Birth flowers, birthstones, and zodiac signs have long provided us little excuses to find something that feels oddly specific to you. And we’re already familiar with, too, the idea of a birth month bird, birth month animal, and birth month bug , but why should they have all the fun?

If you're willing to look past the fact that spiders are considerably less cuddly than most birth month symbols, I think they make a surprisingly good match. There are thousands of spider species around the world, after all; some are tiny and easy to overlook, while others are spectacular creatures with intricate webs, extraordinary colors and some seriously impressive hunting skills. So you'd best believe there's one that matches you out there...

All 12 Birth Month Spiders

Keen to find out your birth month spider, then? Of course you are! I've matched each month with a spider based on personality traits commonly associated with people born at that time of year. Think of it as a little bit of nature, a little bit of personality quiz and a good excuse to appreciate the spiders living around us.

So, grab yourself a BugView 5X Magnifying Glass from Carson, and let's see which spider you've been given...

January – Jumping Spider

January is often associated with ambition, determination and a willingness to start something new. That makes the jumping spider – every bit as curious, clever and full of energy – a pretty good fit for you.

Jumping spiders are active hunters rather than relying on large webs to catch their meals. They have excellent vision for their size and can make surprisingly precise jumps when pursuing prey. If you're a January baby, you're apparently the type who likes to investigate, explore and figure things out for yourself.... and you probably don't like sitting around waiting for something to happen, either!

February – Crab Spider

Independent thinkers with a calm and thoughtful side, I'm giving February babies the crab spider. Widely considered to be masters of patience, these arachnids – rather than rushing around looking for prey – tend to sit quietly on flowers or foliage and wait for an insect to come within reach.

They can also be remarkably adaptable, with some species able to change their appearance to blend into their surroundings. In other words, you know when to make yourself noticed – and when it's smarter to sit back and wait.

Shop Spider Viewers:

March – Wolf Spider

March is a month of change, so it seems fitting that its spider is one that doesn't wait around for an opportunity. Wolf spiders are active hunters as, instead of relying on a web to capture prey, they move across the ground in search of it.

They're also surprisingly devoted mothers. Female wolf spiders carry their egg sacs with them, and once the spiderlings hatch, the tiny babies can climb onto their mother's back. So if you're a March baby, you're apparently independent and tough – but with a softer side that comes out for the people you care about.

April – Nursery Web Spider

Caring and dependable, April is often associated with optimism, renewal and a generous spirit, so the nursery web spider feels like a natural match.

No surprises, then, that this spider gets its name from the nursery web the female creates for her young. She carries her egg sac with her before eventually placing it somewhere safe and guarding the spiderlings once they hatch.

There's something rather endearing about that, right? Especially as it means you're the dependable one in your friendship group – the person people know they can turn to when they need someone.

May – Green Lynx Spider

May babies are often associated with energy, sociability and curiosity, which makes the green lynx spider a really fun match!

This striking birth month spider is an active predator that often waits among plants for prey. Its coloring helps it blend into vegetation, allowing it to get surprisingly close to insects before making its move.

You're confident, alert and quick-thinking, and probably not someone who misses much; just like your eight-legged pal, you notice what's going on around you, think quickly and aren't afraid to act when the moment is right. Win!

June – Garden Orb-Weaver

June is the month for the spider with one of nature's most impressive architectural skills, and orb-weaving spiders create those classic, wheel-shaped webs that seem almost impossibly precise. Their webs are functional, delicate and beautiful all at once.

Creative, then? Organized? A (whisper it!) perfectionist? All of this makes the garden orb-weaver a perfect match for June babies, who are often described as creative, detail-oriented and adaptable. You like things done properly – and preferably beautifully, too.

July – Fishing Spider

July babies are often associated with confidence, spontaneity and a love of adventure: enter, then, the fishing spider. These impressive spiders are associated with ponds, streams and other bodies of water, and some species can move across the surface of the water while hunting.

They're not afraid to venture somewhere most spiders wouldn't, basically. If this is your birth month spider, then, you're probably the person who hears “you probably shouldn't do that” and immediately becomes more interested in doing it.

August – Golden Silk Orb-Weaver

August is not a month for blending into the background, so the golden silk orb-weaver is a suitably spectacular birth month spider. These spiders are known for their large webs, distinctive golden silk and striking appearance. Female golden silk orb-weavers can also be dramatically larger than males.

They're attention-grabbers, then – in the best possible way. If you're an August baby, you're more than confident enough to take centerstage when you want to, and comfortable being noticed when you do.

Choose Plants That Attract More Flying Insect:

September – Wasp Spider

Confident, dramatic and fiercely individual, September babies often get described as organized, intelligent and self-assured. They also get one of the most spectacular-looking critters on this list of birth month spiders, as it has bold black-and-yellow markings that make it almost impossible to mistake for anything else.

As if that weren't enough, its large web often includes a distinctive zigzag of silk. Subtle? Absolutely not, but if you're a September baby, you're apparently someone who knows who they are and isn't particularly interested in disappearing into the crowd.

And honestly, why would you?

October – Four-Spotted Orb-Weaver

October has to get something a little mysterious as its birth month spider, so who better to take that spot than the four-spotted orb-weaver is a striking spider, with four pale spots on its abdomen and a remarkable amount of variation in its coloring. In Britain, it's particularly associated with late summer and fall, making it an especially appropriate choice for October.

People born in October are often described as intuitive, perceptive and a little difficult to read, so this feels right; while you may not always be the loudest person in the room, but you're paying attention – and you probably notice considerably more than people realize.

November – False Widow

November babies are resilient, intense and misunderstood, so obviously they get one of the spiders with the biggest reputations.

False widows have developed something of a sinister image, but like most spiders, they're simply predators trying to catch small prey and survive. That makes them a surprisingly good match for November, a month often associated with intensity, independence and resilience.

People may make assumptions about you before they really know you. Their loss, quite frankly.

December – Money Spider

You're optimistic, resourceful and lucky, so your birth month spider, and it comes with some irresistible symbolism in the money spider.

These tiny spiders are common in British gardens, and folklore has long associated them with good luck and prosperity. They're small and easy to overlook, but they're remarkably widespread and successful, and that seems fitting for December babies.

Basically, you don't necessarily need to be the biggest presence in the room to make an impression... and a little luck certainly doesn't hurt.

I'll admit that I didn't expect to love the idea of birth month spiders, but the more I looked at them, the more I liked the idea. Spiders are so often treated as creepy garden intruders, when they're actually fascinating little predators that play an important role in the ecosystem.

The next time you spot one in your garden, perhaps take a second look before reaching for the broom (or, my favourite, the glass and paper combo); that little arachnid might be doing some useful work among your plants. And, depending on your birth month, it might even have a little something in common with you, too.

Autumn leaves have inspired poets and writers for centuries. Emily Brontë wrote, "Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." In Virginia Woolf's novels, autumn leaves "fall like golden flakes." But the fiery beauty of falling foliage is somewhat diminished when your neighbor's leaves waft into your yard.

Gardeners may also view fall foliage as fiery and glorious. But when we rake up our oak leaves today then wake up to find the lawn full of the neighbor’s maple leaves, it’s harder to appreciate their beauty. Whether you accept the “leaves the leaves” philosophy or bag them up and dispose of them, nobody likes to have to deal with someone else’s dead foliage.

Are you wondering what your rights are when it comes to the neighbor’s leaves? You’re not alone. While the complete answer depends on the rules in your state, city, or neighborhood, I'm here to give you an overview, including tips about how to proceed. As a former attorney, I often deal with issues like this in my Gardening Lawyer series.

The Short Answer: Who Usually Has to Clear Naturally Fallen Leaves?

States make laws and cities enact regulations that can impact a property owner’s rights. This includes laws involving neighbors’ rights and responsibilities. Although state and local laws differ, the general rule is that each property owner is responsible for the leaves on their lawn, regardless of whose trees the leaves came from.

The reason for this general rule is fairly easy to understand. It’s all very well if you have oaks and your neighbor has maples. But the more usual case is that you each have both, and the policemen have better things to do than trying to figure out whose trees a lawful of leaves came from.

And look on the bright side, if you shred them (using a shredder like the WORX 13 Amp Electric Leaf Mulcher on Amazon), you will have lots of free leaf mulch for your garden.

When Could the Neighbor Be Responsible?

Every rule has its exceptions. This includes the general rule that you have to deal with the fallen leaves on your landscape, regardless of whether they came from the neighbor’s yard. The rule applies if the wind blows the leaves over. The exception is when the neighbor blows those leaves over the property line or rakes them up and dumps them into your property.

What to do if that’s the case? You should report it to your local code enforcement, home owners association (HOA), or local authorities.

What If the Leaves Are Blocking Gutters or Drains?

Leaves drifting from the other side of the property line onto your lawn are annoying. But in your gutters, they are even more of a problem. Leaves blocking the gutters mean the water cannot run out.

But, like clearing leaves from a lawn, clearing the leaves from a gutter is the responsibility of the owner of the gutter. You cannot sue your neighbor to remove them in most circumstances. If the leaves-in-the-gutter issue causes other problems, like mold in the home, it becomes a nuisance. In that case, with proper evidence, you may be able to take the neighbor to court.

Can You Cut Back the Neighbor’s Overhanging Branches?

The number one issue that causes a neighbor’s leaves to land in your gutter is overhanging tree branches. The best course of action is to speak with your neighbor first to outline the issue. Ask if they could trim the overhanging tree branches themselves.

But what if they say no, or say yes but never get around to it? The good news is that you have the right to clip back those branches to the property line – from your own side of the fence. Don’t damage the tree and don’t go onto the neighbor’s land to make the cuts.

What If Your Neighbor Blows Their Leaves Back Over the Fence?

As described above, the general law is that your neighbor need not clear leaves from their trees that the wind blows onto your property. Leaves blowing in the breeze across the property line are an act of nature.

But what if it isn’t an act of nature? What does the law say if your neighbor blows the leaves back over the fence to your property? If the neighbor takes action to get those leaves on your property – using a leaf blower or raking up the leaves into a sack and dumping them over the fence – it is no longer considered an act of nature. It’s the same as dumping garbage on your land, and you can definitely get local authorities involved.

What Evidence Should You Gather?

To prove that the neighbor deliberately shifts their leaves to your property, photographic evidence is essential. Photos are good; videos are better. Set up a motion-sensor camera in the backyard to get the evidence – HITELLARCAM is a well-rated budget choice.

In addition, start keeping a calendar. Put into the calendar when you talk to the neighbor, when your gutters or lawns fill up, when you empty the gutters or rake your lawn, when you cut back the branches.

If you are also claiming additional damage (like mold in the house), you’ll need expert testimony on the source. Call in a plumber to check for mold and write up an opinion linking the mold to the leaves in the gutters.

How to Handle the Dispute Without Making It Worse

Going to court is neither fun nor cheap, and it almost always leaves bad feelings between neighbors. That’s why it pays to try to negotiate a solution with your neighbor.

The first thing to do in every situation is to let the neighbor know about the issue. Try to have a casual conversation about the issue – no threats, no attorneys, no rage. Walk out into the garden or invite them to climb up a ladder to peer into your gutters. Let them know that it’s becoming a problem for you, and you would like their help with it.

If discussions get stuck, suggest a mediator to work with you. If you have an HOA, they may be able to provide the mediator. If not, ask at City Hall.

The best landscape-designer tricks to make the most of a shady, north-facing garden will transform a dull, dark plot into an inviting outdoor space where you'll want to linger. Designing a garden with this aspect is all about bringing more light to the space as well as selecting the right shade-tolerant plants that will flourish in these conditions. A shady garden brings wonderful opportunities that simply aren't possible in a sunny south-facing garden, so rather than thinking of a north-facing plot as a problem, make it work to your advantage.

One of the main challenges will be the lack of direct sunlight, which can make your outdoor space feel dull and gloomy, as well as restricting the types of plants you can grow. Tall buildings or trees blocking available sunlight compounds the issue, especially as we head into the winter months when the sun is lower in the sky. But all these landscape designer tricks will overcome such issues to create a covetable garden that you won't want to swap for a sunnier plot.

Which will you use to brighten up your shady north-facing yard?

1. Use Pale-Colored Pavers to Bounce Natural Light Around

Opting for lighter-colored materials for paths, patios and other hardscaped areas will reflect light as well as brighten the space, making a shady or north-facing garden a much more pleasant place to be. Choose porcelain or limestone pavers, and pebbles or river stones in pale tones of soft gray, sand, buff or other light neutrals, to make the most of whatever sunlight your garden gets. This also visually expands the space, which is one of the most common methods landscape designers use to make a small garden feel bigger.

It needn't be an expensive job to swap out existing darker paving for a lighter option such as these limestone-look porcelain pavers from The Home Depot, as long as you don't change the dimensions of the paved area and choose tiles of the same size. Lifting old pavers carefully means you'll keep the substrate intact, and can sell the old pavers on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

2. Layer up a Base of Large-Leaved Plants in Zingy Tones

Shady garden design starts with a strong base of foliage-first plants, to which flowering varieties are added. Layered planting is a big trend with landscape designers right now and it can be used to create a relaxed, immersive feel that helps soften the edges of shady, north-facing gardens too. There are plenty of varieties of leafy plants that thrive in low sunlight levels, so you be very intentional in the shades of green you choose.

Ferns are one of the most valuable plant groups for north-facing gardens and work particularly well to add vibrancy when combined with Fatsia japonica and hosta. All these plants are available in varieties with zingy green leaves and lighter-colored foliage that catches the light and helps to brighten dark borders and corners. You can also use plants with variegated foliage to add colour and interest in shaded areas.

3. Add Luminous White Blooms to Your Border Design

Shade is often viewed as a disadvantage because it limits the choice of plants you can grow. But there are plenty of flowering plants that flourish in the shade, and by choosing varieties with luminous white blooms, the pale petals will lift any gloomy or shady space, dancing around the foil of zingy foliage you've created.

Flowering shrubs such as hydrangeas are one of the most consistently reliable shade-loving plants, offering masses of blooms right through summer and fall. There are plenty of pale-bloomed flowering varieties to choose from including garden favorite Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle', available from trees.com, that brings luxurious white pompom blooms to partial shade. In a more compact space, Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lime', also available from trees.com, is a new dwarf form that also appreciates partial shade.

4. Play a Visual Trick with Partial-Shade Plants

Landscape designers know the power of choosing several key plants and repeating them in groups of three, five or seven throughout the design to add continuity and flow. This is an easy planting solution for shady, north-facing gardens too, as you simply choose plants that will work in these conditions and multiply them to build up your collection.

But here's the clever bit. Choose three unfussy plants that flourish in partial shade to plant throughout as these will typically cope with both a little more sun and a touch more shade. Then in areas of deeper shade, add a couple of varieties that prefer full shade, and in sunnier spots, swap these out for two sun-loving plants. That way, the planting is cohesive, linking the shady and sunny areas rather than having a stark contrast between them.

Be intentional when choosing your three key plants so each takes on a different role in the design. In this garden, which ranges from partial shade to full sun, there are repeat plantings of clipped evergreen hebe shrubs for structure, tall perennial foxglove beardtongue for airy flowers, and low-growing Mexican fleabane for groundcover. All these plants prefer full sun but cope very well with partial shade.

5. Create Focal Points with Showstopper Accent Plants

North-facing gardens can be wonderfully immersive spaces, lush with green foliage and pale-petalled flowers. But landscape designers will always ensure there is also accent planting to create focal points that elevate the entire scheme.

It's an inescapable fact that plants that produce the most vibrant colors are typically those that prefer full sun. That's because a great deal of energy is needed to produce intense pigments, which plants generate through photosynthesis using sunlight. However, by carefully mapping how sun and shade moves through your garden over time, you can identify spots that get the most sunshine, and use these to add accent plants that landscape designers love but are easy to grow yourself.

To create a simple shadow map to identify where these prime spots are, do a very simple sketch of your plot from an upstairs window. Then every two hours throughout the day, mark on the patches of shade. By the end of the day, you'll quickly see where the deepest patches of shade are, and which areas are only cast into darkness for a couple of hours, where a showstopper plant such as this fabulous Japanese dogwood, which likes full sun to partial shade, will thrive.

A useful tool to help you identify these prime accent-plant positions is a digital soil tester that also measures sunlight intensity such as this 4-in-1 moisture meter from Amazon.

6. Play with Reflections to Lift Dark Corners

One way to bring the illusion of light to a shady garden is a water feature that reflects the sky. This will help to stretch your space and bounce any available light around the garden to create bright spots in shady areas. Adding a few drops of black pond dye such as Aquascape, available from Wayfair, turns the water into a dark mirror that clearly reflects trees, sky, and surroundings. Add a micropond to a border and the water will reflect the overhanging leaf and flower shapes all around it, too.

Other reflective surfaces like garden mirrors can achieve the same effect and make a shady, north-facing garden appear lighter and brighter by reflecting sunlight across the space. Carefully positioned on a shaded wall, fence or shed, a garden mirror will add a bright note. They can also help make the garden feel much larger, in the same way mirrors are used in interior design.

Use mirrored balls like this Outdoor Gazing Ball from Wayfair to capture the reflections of plants, the sky and sunlight, too.

7. Position Strategic Solar Uplighting Beneath Architectural Plants

A well-designed garden lighting scheme is always a key element landscape designers add to the mix in a north-facing garden. Garden lights can be used to great effect in dark shade during the day to highlight planting, garden sculpture or architectural features.

In addition to brightening the space, lighting your garden will draw more attention to landscape design elements by enhancing shapely trees like Japanese maples and sculptural plants such as agave or yucca. If you're using solar lights like these stake spotlights from The Home Depot, you'll obviously need to position them in a spot that gets sun for part of the day to charge, but then they'll add a glow once light levels fall. Choosing warm-toned lights will add a far softer ambience than cooler bright white lights.

8. Paint Boundaries a Pale Neutral Tone

If you're on a budget and want to brighten a north-facing garden without a major overhaul, one of the most cost-effective solutions is to paint boundary fences or walls in a lighter tone. This will immediately transform the space, bringing a much brighter feel to a garden that's mostly shaded.

Try light neutrals and soft, muted pastels in shades like pale gray, buff, cream, and willow or sage green – one of the strongest fence-color trends in 2026. If you want to pick up on the green trend then Glidden Fundamentals Light Sage Satin Exterior Paint, available from Walmart is a lovely option. Alternatively for a neutral cream try Glidden Fundamentals Oatmeal Satin Exterior Paint, also available from Walmart. Opt for a satin finish rather than matt as this will bounce the light around rather than absorbing it.

To avoid a big stretch of painted boundary, soften the look with fence landscaping ideas.

9. Choose Container Planting Combinations that Love Shade

One of the easiest ways to switch up the look in a north-facing garden is by planting up pots with shade-loving plants that love life in a container. Whether it's a small urban courtyard garden overlooked by apartment buildings or a patio close to the house that doesn't get much sun, there are plenty of attractive options to create an appealing combination in a planter.

Reliable container garden favorites including hydrangea, hosta, ferns and ornamental Carex, adding precious blooms and interesting foliage to bring life and light into dark corners of your yard. Containers in shady spots need less watering and deadheading, and flowers tend to last longer than those in scorching sunshine, so there really are advantages to having a north-facing plot!

Many home growers still save tomato seeds (and seeds from other fall harvests) by smearing them across a damp paper towel. Yes, it feels quick and convenient in the moment. But that convenience vanishes in spring, when many prized seeds are frustratingly cemented to the towel. Some pull away with a papery crust torn onto their seed coats, while others refuse to budge no matter how carefully you scrape.

The result: fewer viable seeds to plant, and fewer mouth-watering crops to look forward to enjoying next summer. The thing is, that frustrating waste can easily be avoided. There is a simple, brilliant workaround that is equally affordable, remarkably easy, and far kinder to delicate seed coats. And the secret is likely sitting right next to your kitchen coffee machine.

Store-brand basket coffee filters are a game-changer for seed harvesting, especially in fall when tomatoes, peppers, squash, and juicy cucumbers are all finishing up in the same few weeks. Plain white coffee filters are cheap and readily available. More importantly, gelatinous seeds cannot bond to them the way they do to plush paper towels. Here’s how a simple pack of filters can set you up for a budget-friendly seed-starting season.

The Sticky Problem

As anyone who grows tomatoes knows, the seeds are wrapped in a slippery gel called a mucilaginous sheath. This holds inhibitors that stop seeds from sprouting inside a warm, ripe tomato, and plain water won’t wash it away. Cucumbers have their own slippery coatings, while squash seeds are tangled in stringy pulp. Soft berries like blackberries and strawberries are messier still, with tiny seeds buried in sugary flesh.

So once you slice into your harvests, the clock is already ticking. If you’re looking for a knife, super-sharp Victorinox Swiss Classic 3.25-Inch Paring Knife, available from Amazon, comes with a range of colored handles (including fall-festive orange).

Once any of the slippery casings, pulp or berry stuff starts drying, it behaves like rubber cement, grabbing onto whatever it touches. This is why it feels instinctive to reach for a paper towel. Most paper towels are made by blowing hot air through wet pulp sheets at the mill, creating a fluffy, bulky texture full of microscopic air gaps and loose fibers.

When seed-starting this way, a wet seed sits on a paper towel, its damp coating wicks deep down into those paper gaps and sets hard. As moisture evaporates, the seed coat and paper fibers interlock permanently. Prying them apart risks damaging the outer seed coat or leaves paper fragments attached, which can trap excess moisture during planting and invite fungi.

Why Coffee Filters Work Better

Think about it: coffee filters are designed to survive a basket of heavy, wet grounds and a stream of near-boiling water without falling apart. Filter paper is dense and tightly woven using a wet-strength additive. Water passes through it rather than soaking in, allowing the sheet to dry rapidly in room air. Standard unbleached or white basket filters flatten out into a wide, shallow area that holds a generous spread of seeds.

If you need some fast at a bargain price, Great Value White Basket Coffee Filters (200 Count), available from Walmart, are just a couple of dollars. They can hold dozens of drying seeds without letting any stick or embed.

That tight, smooth paper surface is precisely what makes coffee filters the ultimate seed-drying tool. The gel coating of a seed has nowhere to sink into, so the wet seed gel dries on top of the paper rather than inside it. Once dry, most seeds pop free with a gentle flex of the filter or a light tap from your finger. A few stubborn seeds might hang on if they had pulp attached, but even those brush off without tearing.

Plain unbleached basket filters are best, as heavy cone filters are stiffer and less flexible, while textured or quilted paper towels should be avoided entirely. Paper plates, glass pie plates and old window screens might work too if those are on hand. Filters are just cheap, and they stack flat in storage between seasons.

Preparing the Seeds

The filter only handles the drying phase, so you need to clean your seeds first to ensure long-term viability. Wet seeds like tomatoes and cucumbers benefit from a short fermentation process to dissolve the gel and eliminate seed-borne pathogens. Squeeze seeds, juice, and gel into a small jar with a splash of water. Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm spot, around 72-80°F (22-27°C) for 2-3 days, stirring daily. A white film on top is normal. When ready, pour off the top liquid and floating dud seeds. Then rinse the plump, viable seeds at the bottom until the water runs clean.

Peppers, pole beans, and winter squash are simpler. Ripe pepper seeds can be scraped directly off the core onto a filter. Winter squash and melon seeds just need the stringy pulp picked off before a quick rinse. For tiny berry seeds or passionfruit, mashing gently through a fine mesh strainer separates the juice from the seeds.

If you need a good strainer, choose something with fine gaps. The OXO Good Grips 3-Inch Mini Strainer, available from Amazon, is a comfortable hand sieve for small batches of squash, cucumber, or berry seeds. Allow freshly rinsed seeds to drain briefly in your strainer (or a narrow colander) before transferring them to your filter, in order to ensure the excess pool water doesn't soak the paper.

Drying Your Seeds

Write your labels on the dry filter before adding damp seeds. Use a permanent marker or pencil along the outer rim to write the seed name, variety and harvest date. Dried tomato seeds look identical once dehydrated, making early labeling essential. Place the labeled filter on a wire cooling rack or ceramic dinner plate, so air can circulate underneath the paper. For a multi-tiered option, the Geesta Rose Gold 4-Tier Drying Rack from Amazon helps speed up drying times.

Spread seeds out using tweezers, a toothpick or fingertip so that none are touching, since crowded seeds dry slowly and can fuse together. Set your drying rack in a warm, dry room out of direct sunlight with good airflow. You can use the top of your fridge, which runs a little warm. However, avoid fast-heating shortcuts like food dehydrators, ovens, microwaves, or hair dryers. Any temperatures above 95°F (35°C) can kill the delicate living embryos inside your seeds.

Shake or stir your seeds on the filter once every day to ensure even air exposure on all sides. Most tomato and pepper seeds dry fully in 7-10 days, while squash and melon seeds take 10-14 days. To test for dryness, bend a seed: if it flexes softly, it needs more time; if it snaps crisp or feels rock-hard, your batch is ready for storage.

Saving Your Seeds

Once your seeds pass the snap-test, you can transfer them into storage containers. Paper seed envelopes, glassine packets, or tiny airtight glass jars or vials work well for seed storage. Just bear in mind that you need to add new labels. Store seed packets in a cool, dark, dry location: a closet shelf, a dry basement, or an airtight container in the refrigerator works best.

Avoid areas prone to humidity spikes or heat fluctuations, such as humid laundry rooms or sunny windowsills, as moisture and ambient heat are the main causes for degrading seed viability. If you’re looking for a seed tin to store multiple sets of seeds, we love the vintage-looking Haaray Seed Storage Organizer Box from Walmart. This charming tin comes with locks and a strap to keep your seeds safe, dry, organized and safe from pests.

Properly dried tomato, pepper, and squash seeds remain viable for 3-5 years, while brassicas and cucumber seeds can last up to 6 years. Always label your storage packets with the harvest year, so you know which batches to sow first come spring. When late winter or early spring arrives, your homegrown indoor seeds will slide out of their envelopes, ready to germinate into a rewarding new season of crops.

Saving your own seeds from fall harvests is one of the most satisfying, cost-effective ways to bulk up your future crops, without having to spend unnecessarily on seed packets. Just make sure you prepare your seeds with this method, and you’ll be safeguarding lots more seeds for next year’s plants. By swapping out sticky paper towels for simple coffee filters, you eliminate seed loss, protect delicate seed coats, and ensure a clean, easy release come spring. So, grab that box of filters, clear a quiet counter corner, and start saving your favorite heirloom varieties this weekend.

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!

For many of us, the backyard can get abandoned in the weeks after summer – partly down to deteriorating weather, and partly not wanting to be reminded that some of our favorite lovely flowers are starting to fade and disappear. Key crops have been lifted and enjoyed, and there’s a general sense of things winding down, so the hose gets coiled, and the ground is left to sort itself out until March.

But your soil can still be working for you if you take action now. The earth in your yard will not be this warm again until May, and the window closes quietly – so why not make the most of it while you can? Improving soil in fall takes less effort than the same job come spring. Anything you put into the ground now lands while biology can still act on it, rather than sitting on frozen ground waiting for a thaw. These key tasks are all due before the first hard frost, and a couple carry real deadlines.

Getting your soil ready for next season doesn't mean you need to embark on a back-breaking overhaul. Think of it as your backyard’s peaceful recovery hour, with small and easy actions now that can pay off tenfold come spring. By taking just one afternoon session to tuck your beds in properly now, you are laying the groundwork for nutrient boosts, vibrant early blooms, and bountiful harvests when the sunshine returns…

Prepping the Soil For the Big Chill

Whether your garden spent the summer baking under intense drought, handling relentless downpours, or simply feeding hungry crops, late-season soil is often left exhausted, compacted, and depleted. Left bare over winter, heavy rains might leach away remaining minerals, while severe freeze-thaw cycles can strip away topsoil structure. Acting now, while the ground is still warm, helps beneficial soil microbes and earthworms to process new goodness before spring planting begins.

Keep your local hardiness zone in mind as you plan your fall workflow. In northern regions (USDA zones 3-6), it’s critical to move swiftly before the hard freezes lock up the ground. However, southern growers (zones 7-10) have a longer runway with which to make these soil boosts, and the warmer soils will allow cover crops to establish well into late fall.

To prime your tired beds ahead of these soil repairs, give the ground a drench with a diluted seaweed formula like Neptune’s Harvest Hydrolyzed Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer, available from Amazon. Seaweed is an excellent tonic for weary autumn soil, strengthening microbial life ahead of dormancy. And if your soil needs a quick physical boost, top-dress with a sprinkling of Espoma Natural Mushroom Blend Fertilizer, available from Walmart, which works wonders for exhausted autumn beds.

Essentially, any garden bed that is headed into winter needs a little timely TLC and then it wants leaving alone. Everything here is really one instruction repeated 7 ways: keep something living or something rotting on the surface from now until spring. The beds you have to work on next year will be dark and loose, with worms right up under the surface, if you dress and prepare the ground now with the following steps…

1. Sow a Cover Crop

Cover crops run on a hard clock, making this one of the most urgent fall tasks. Legumes need 6-8 weeks of active growth ahead of a killing frost, while hardy grains will manage with 4-6 weeks. Crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) works closely with soil bacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen directly into the ground. In colder zones, it winter-kills into a manageable mat that easily pulls apart by hand come April. Cereal rye (Secale cereale) is another option if time gets away from you a bit. It germinates in cool soil and continues growing at temperatures that shut down other plants. You can buy Crimson Clover Seeds from Eden Brothers for just a few dollars.

Rake the bed smooth and level, scatter seed at twice the standard drilled rate to guarantee dense growth. Then rake again to bury the seeds a quarter to a half-inch (0.6-1.3 cm) deep. A handheld spreader like the Chapin 8706G Spreader from The Home Depot gives more even coverage than scattering by hand, eliminating patchy gaps where weeds might move in. Water thoroughly, and keep the ground damp if the week stays dry. Germination is the only part of the process that needs babysitting. Once established, the living roots safeguard your soil all winter long.

2. Send a Soil Sample to the Lab

Fall is officially the quiet season at soil labs. Turnaround time for September samples is fast, whereas April submissions can sit in long backlogs. Take a little time now to get a soil test. Pull some core samples from 6 inches (15 cm) down in several spots around your bed. Mix them in a clean bucket to get a representative average, and send it off. You will receive a detailed report about soil pH, phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter levels. Why guess at what your soil is short of and waste money buying the wrong feed next year, when you can get reliable answers now?

Timing matters most if your lab test indicates a need for adding lime. Limestone is slow-acting and requires around 4-6 months to break down and adjust soil pH. So applying it in fall gives the amendment the entire dormant season to react with the soil. Untilled garden application rates stay around 5 pounds per 100 square feet (2.3 kg per 9 sqm). If you do need to add some lime, Down to Earth Organic Agricultural Lime, available on Amazon, delivers natural calcium that buffers soil gently. Remember that lime can interfere with phosphorus availability, so give it about a month on its own before adding other fall amendments.

3. Top-Dress With Finished Compost

When applying compost in fall, just remember that it goes on top, not down in. Spreading half an inch (1.3 cm) over an established bed is a perfect maintenance dose, while a 2-3-inch (5–8cm) layer suits any ground that’s in rough shape after a demanding summer crop. Nightcrawlers and earthworms then do the heavy lifting through fall, dragging rich organic material down before the cold sends them deep.

Do not expect a massive surge of nitrogen during the first year. Finished compost releases very little nitrogen the season after application, operating primarily as a soil structure amendment. What it does deliver is a boost in water-holding capacity and a thriving population boom for beneficial subterranean microbes and fungi. This really pays off in mid-July, when beds retain moisture days longer during heatwaves than untreated ground. To supercharge humic development under your compost layer, dust beds with some Sta-Green Earthworm Castings, available from Lowe’s. This introduces beneficial microbes and enzymes to work quietly all winter long.

4. Add Slow-Release Amendments

Nitrogen washes easily out of bare soil over winter, but phosphorus and potassium do not. Amendments carrying either element can be safely laid out in fall, resting until spring roots wake up to find them. Traditional bone meal is the premier phosphorus source, breaking down very slowly on a timeline of months. You can get Epoma Organic Bone Meal from Walmart for a reduced price. Kelp meal supplies potassium alongside a spread of micronutrients, delivered at concentrations too gentle to burn roots.

However, consult your soil test results before applying either one. Bone meal rapidly loses availability as soil pH rises past 7, and it offers zero benefit to soil that is already loaded with phosphorus. Excess soil phosphorus can be harmful, too. Plants supplied with too much stop investing in mutually beneficial mycorrhizal fungal partnerships (and that relationship does far more for long-term plant health than any bag of bone meal). Where needed, some Down to Earth Organic Kelp Meal from Amazon nourishes underground soil life steadily. Gently scratch any amendments into the top inch (2.5 cm) of soil and cover with mulch.

5. Cover Bare Ground Before a Hard Freeze

Exposing bare soil to winter weather exacts a heavy toll for every month it remains uncovered. Rain drives fine soil particles down, crusting and sealing the surface so air and water cannot penetrate. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles heave shallow perennial roots clean out of the ground, while any soil left bare until January quickly fills with winter annual weeds. So add some protective mulch. Light straw and shredded leaves can go on thick at 4-6 inches (10-15 cm), whereas dense wood chips perform best at 2-4 inches (5-10 cm).

Timing is important, though. Wait for the ground to cool before applying thick mulch layers. Laid too early in warm soil, it may trigger late, tender plant growth that won’t harden off in time. Your goal is holding cold soil cold, preventing temperature fluctuations that can snap fine feeder roots. Always pull mulch back 2-3 inches (5-8 cm) from the stems and crowns of perennial plants. Field voles love nesting in warm mulch, where they chew on bark and stems all winter long. One of the team’s favorite organic mulches is Back to the Roots Organic Mulch, available from Amazon, which holds its integrity well in rough weather and looks lovely.

6. Turn Leaves into Leaf Mold

One rich soil treat is readily available in fall: fallen leaves. Just be sure to shred your leaves before you use them. Whole leaves mat together into a slick, water-repellent sheet that sheds rain off the top of your beds. Running over leaf piles with a lawn mower solves the problem. A dedicated electric leaf mulcher such as the Grasstigon Electric Leaf Mulcher, available from Amazon, also makes quick work of large yards. Leaf mold is a great way to rebuild soil structure. Heavy clay soils, in particular, respond with a looseness that is nearly impossible to achieve through other routes.

Beneficial fungi are the main drivers of leaf mold breakdown, whereas bacteria dominate traditional hot compost piles. This difference explains why leaf mold piles stay cool and break down slowly over a year or two, rather than heating up quickly. Construct your leaf pile roughly 3 feet (90 cm) wide and tall, keeping it damp so fungal networks can colonize the leaves. If you are gathering fallen leaves, use sturdy Joyhalo 72-Gallon Leaf Bags, available from Amazon keep your collected organic mulches dry, contained, and ready to spread.

7. Put the Tiller Away

Every single pass with a power tiller inadvertently resets the hard work your soil has already accomplished. Fungal networks that took a whole season to build get instantly shredded. Furthermore, buried weed seeds are brought up to the light where they can germinate. The crumbly, sponge-like soil structure that holds water and allows air to circulate is being built slowly by roots, fungi, and earthworms. It won’t survive being churned by metal blades.

Compaction still needs addressing before winter – just without the rotary blades. A heavy-duty tool like the Ergonomic U-Tools Broadfork, available from Walmart sinks its tines nearly a foot (30 cm) deep and levers the soil open without turning it over, so the right layers stay where they belong over winter. If clearing spent crops, cut plants off at the soil line and leave the roots. As those roots rot over winter, they create perfect drainage channels and pathways for spring moisture, with zero extra effort.

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!

Fill a feeder in the morning, and by afternoon a squirrel may be hanging upside down from it, cheeks stuffed. Here's the good news, though. There are some types of bird seed that squirrels don't enjoy – but they still bring in plenty of songbirds.

Good bird feeding isn't only about what goes in the feeder, though. Pair the right seed with smart bird feeder ideas, and you'll make life much harder for determined squirrels. Where the feeder hangs, how it's built, and what spills beneath it all affect how often squirrels show up. Fall makes this especially timely, as squirrels spend the season gathering and stashing food, and a full feeder is an easy stop on their rounds.

The three seeds I've covered here all get left alone more often than sunflower does, but that's no promise – a hungry enough squirrel will taste just about anything once. Pair the new seed with a better spot for the feeder, and the birds get more of each fill.

Why Squirrels Keep Raiding Bird Feeders

So why do squirrels keep coming back? Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) like a lot of what birds like. Sunflower seeds are a favorite, and corn and peanuts may tempt them even more. That's bad news for anyone buying bargain bags, since cheap mixes often lean on sunflower and corn.

Squirrels are also gifted athletes. From a roof, branch, or fence, a squirrel can cover about 10 feet (3 m) in one leap, and from the ground it can spring roughly 5 feet (1.5 m) straight up. That's why squirrel-proof feeders and baffles can make such a difference. Any feeder within reach of those launch points is fair game, no matter what seed it holds.

Shop Squirrel-Proof Feeders

The 3 Seeds Squirrels Are Less Likely to Steal

1. Safflower

Safflower looks like a small white sunflower seed with a thick shell. Squirrels usually pass it by, and so do house sparrows and starlings, for the most part. In some areas, squirrels have picked up a taste for it anyway. Pick up a bag of Wagner's Safflower Seed Wild Bird Food on Amazon.

2. Nyjer

Despite the old “thistle” label, nyjer has nothing to do with North American thistles. It comes from an African plant. Those tiny black seeds rank among the seeds squirrels don’t like much. Use a feeder with very small ports and serve it by itself, not in a mix, or a lot of it ends up wasted. Kaytee sells quality nyjer seed at a reasonable price.

3. White Proso Millet

White proso millet is the pale little seed that fills out most budget blends. Squirrels will eat it, but with corn or peanuts on offer, they usually go for those first. That's why a mix that leans hard on millet tends to lose their attention sooner. If you buy it on its own, pick white, like this Morning Bird White Proso Millet. Birds will choose it over red.

Which Birds Each Seed Attracts

Cardinals go for safflower more than most. Grosbeaks, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and mourning doves eat it, too. There is a catch, though: plenty of birds still prefer sunflower, and a feeder switched straight to safflower may get quieter. Mix a little safflower into the current seed and raise the share over time for an easier switch.

Nyjer is finch food. Goldfinches crowd it, both American and lesser, and house finches, pine siskins, and redpolls show up as well.

Millet works from the ground up. Juncos and native sparrows are the regulars, with towhees and mourning doves close behind, and cardinals will pick at it, too.

How to Offer These Seeds

Each seed does best in its own feeder. Safflower goes in a hopper, tube, or platform feeder without any trouble. For nyjer, you’ll want tiny ports or fine mesh, like this Kingsyard feeder from Amazon.

Millet belongs low, on the ground or a low tray that drains well, where juncos and native sparrows forage. A 10-pound (4.5 kg) bag of plain white millet makes a fine start. Go easy on the amount. Seed still lying around at dusk means you overdid it, and squirrels will happily clean it up.

Where to Place a Bird Feeder to Discourage Squirrels

Distance comes first. Give a pole-mounted feeder at least 10 feet (3 m) of open air between it and the nearest tree, fence, roof, or deck. Height matters as well – about 5 feet (1.5m) up keeps it out of a ground jump. If you’re buying a pole, a heavy-duty 76-inch adjustable shepherd’s hook from Home Depot sits on a seven-prong base that stays put in soft soil.

Then add a baffle. On a pole, it goes below the feeder so squirrels can’t climb past it – for a feeder hanging near trees, a dome-style baffle goes above instead. This Koralakiri 19-Inch Squirrel Baffle from Walmart will do the job nicely.

Other Ways to Make a Bird Feeder Less Appealing to Squirrels

The feeder itself can do some of the work. Weight-activated models close their seed ports when anything heavier than a songbird climbs on. With the Brome Squirrel Buster Classic from Amazon, a squirrel’s own weight pulls the shroud down. Hang it with roughly 18 inches (46 cm) of open space all around.

Caged designs take a different approach. The iron cage around this Veehoo caged tube feeder keeps squirrels at arm’s length from its four feeding ports. A seed tray under a tube feeder catches spills before they reach the ground. Keep spare seed sealed, too – a lidded metal or plastic container works well to keep pests out.

What Not to Add to Bird Seed

Leave sticky and greasy tricks alone. Sticky coatings meant for squirrels can just as easily trap a chickadee. Grease is no better. Smear petroleum jelly or cooking oil on a pole, and it mats fur and feathers alike – a bird with matted feathers loses the insulation it needs on cold nights.

Hot-pepper seed is the other common shortcut. Birds don’t feel the heat of capsaicin, but squirrels do. It burns their mouths and causes real discomfort, which is a fair reason to leave it on the shelf. Skip salty or sugary kitchen scraps, too. Both can hurt small birds.

Squirrels won’t vanish from the yard, and that’s fine – they’re fun to watch when they aren’t eating the cardinals’ dinner. Give them a seed they don’t love and a feeder they can’t reach, and more of each bag ends up where it belongs.

Maintaining a large property with multiple garden beds means spending countless hours tackling seasonal pruning tasks, and having reliable tools makes all the difference. I've also spent years growing and pruning hydrangeas – my favorite plants and the reason my friends and colleagues now call me the "Hydrangea Queen." With shrubs that flower on old wood, clean, precise cuts are essential, so I don't take my choice of pruners lightly.

Fiskars has been making quality cutting tools for as long as I can remember, and its 5/8-inch Cut Capacity Bypass Pruning Shears are exactly what I've come to expect from the brand. They're among the best garden pruners I've used, delivering clean, smooth bypass cuts that help minimize damage to your plants.

As a former garden center manager, I've sold and evaluated just about every type of gardening tool on the market, so I know what separates a good pair of pruners from one that's not worth your money. These affordable Fiskars pruners are available on Amazon, where they've earned more than 42,000 five-star reviews, and they're the real deal.

Product Specifications

How I Tested Them

I reach for these pruners time and time again because they're comfortable, easy to maneuver, and capable of tackling just about any pruning task I throw at them. I've put them to the test on unruly rose branches, thick hydrangea stems, general deadheading, and cleaning up my perennials (I have a few too many to admit) in both spring and fall.

I've also come to appreciate the little details that really matter, especially during those marathon pruning sessions. The spring-loaded opening mechanism comes in handy because the blades automatically reopen after each cut, reducing the amount of work my hand has to do. Any tool with features that can help reduce hand fatigue is a win in my book.

Performance

The sharp, precision-ground steel blades are the main draw here. They're strong enough to handle branches up to 5/8 inch in diameter, yet the bypass pruning action is gentle enough for delicate new growth, helping minimize plant damage and promote healthier plants. Clean cuts really do matter, and these consistently deliver them.

One feature I've especially come to appreciate is the self-cleaning sap groove. It helps prevent sticky sap from building up and gumming up the blades, allowing for cleaner cuts and longer-lasting performance without having to stop and wipe the blades nearly as often.

Design & Comfort

Comfort is one of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to these pruners. They're lightweight, easy to maneuver, and the ergonomic handles feel comfortable even after extended periods of pruning.

They also lock closed, keeping the blades protected and making the pruners easier to store in a tool bag or drawer. It reduces the chance of accidentally reaching for an open blade – always a welcome feature when you’re working with sharp tools.

Anything I Didn't Like?

These pruners are designed as an everyday garden tool rather than a heavy-duty pair of loppers, so it's important not to ask too much of them. While they'll comfortably cut stems and branches up to 5/8 inch (16 mm) thick, anything larger is better tackled with a different tool.

The lightweight construction is another reason they're so comfortable to use, but gardeners who prefer the heft and longevity of premium forged pruners may find they don't feel quite as substantial. For the price, though, it's a compromise I'm more than happy to make.

Should You Buy Them?

I’ve handled a lot of gardening tools over the years, including plenty of pruners that cost considerably more than these. Despite their affordable price, the Fiskars 5/8-inch Cut Capacity Bypass Pruning Shears remain my go-to pruners five years on, simply because they work so well. With proper care, this pair will easily last you for many, many years.

If you need a comfortable, dependable pair of pruning shears for everything from deadheading and perennials to roses and shrubs, I'd happily recommend them. They offer exceptional value for money and are a pair I reach for time and time again.

How Do They Compare?

Plenty of homeowners shut off their sprinklers in fall and call it done. That valve keeps new water out, but the water in the pipes, valves, and heads stays put. If you’re wondering how to winterize sprinklers, start by getting that water out.

In-ground lawn irrigation systems hold water in spots a shutoff can’t reach, including the valves, low points in buried pipe, and the backflow preventer. Frozen water expands, and plastic pipe, fittings, and sprinkler cases can crack under that pressure.

A sprinkler blowout isn’t hard, but you shouldn’t rush it. Too much pressure can pop nozzles off and damage pipe, and compressed air is rough on eyes. Lots of homeowners handle it themselves while preparing the garden for winter. Some systems are better off with a pro, though.

Why Turning Off Your Sprinklers Isn’t Enough

So why isn’t the shutoff enough? Water swells by about one-eleventh as it freezes at 32°F (0°C), with enough force to burst pipes and crack valves or sprinkler casings. Electric valves are another problem. They hold water above an internal diaphragm, and only compressed air pushes it out.

Drain valves help, but they don’t catch everything. They count on evenly sloped pipe, and buried lines shift over time and trap water in low spots. Skip the blowout, and you may find split fittings and cracked valves at spring start-up.

When to Winterize Your Sprinkler System

Plan to winterize your sprinkler system before your area's first hard freeze. In colder regions, that often means tackling the job in early to mid-fall. An established lawn won't be harmed if you shut off the irrigation a little early – it will green up again once watering resumes in spring.

Backflow preventers and exposed pipework are the first parts of the system at risk because they're exposed to freezing air, while buried pipes are vulnerable only after prolonged cold drives frost deep into the ground. In some mild-winter regions, irrigation systems aren't designed with a blowout port because draining the above-ground components is usually enough. In these areas, simply shutting off the water supply, turning off the controller, and draining exposed parts may be all that's required.

What You’ll Need

• Air compressor: You'll need an air compressor with enough airflow (CFM) to push water out of the sprinkler lines. Airflow is more important than maximum PSI, and a larger tank means you won't have to stop as often to let the compressor refill. I recommend the Craftsman 20-Gallon Vertical Air Compressor, available on Amazon, which delivers 5 CFM at 40 PSI – plenty for most residential sprinkler systems when blowing out one zone at a time.
• Sprinkler blowout adapter: You'll need an adapter to connect the compressor hose to your system's blowout port. I like the Hourleey Sprinkler Blowout Adapter Kit, available on Amazon, which includes durable brass fittings and a quick-connect adapter compatible with most home irrigation systems.
• Safety glasses: Always wear eye protection when blowing out sprinkler lines. A pair of NoCry Safety Glasses is a good option.
• Adjustable wrench: Keep a 10-inch wrench handy for loosening caps and fittings. I use this Husky adjustable wrench from Home Depot.

How to Winterize In-Ground Sprinklers

1. Turn Off the Water Supply
   Start by closing the water supply. It's often a stop-and-waste valve in a basement or underground box. Don't force it. If you're unsure how to drain sprinkler lines, look for manual drain valves at the low points or ends of each line and open them. Drain any pump, too, and store it indoors.
2. Connect the Air Compressor
   Attach your sprinkler blowout adapter to the blowout fitting just downstream of the backflow preventer, then connect the air compressor hose. Close the isolation valve downstream of the backflow preventer first, as air should never be forced back through the backflow device.
3. Blow Out Each Zone
   Open one irrigation zone at the controller, then slowly increase the air pressure until only a fine mist and air come out of the sprinkler heads.
4. Repeat and Finish Up
   Turn the compressor off before switching zones, and give each zone two passes. When you're finished, leave the backflow preventer's ball valves and test cocks half-open to prevent trapped water from causing damage over winter.

How Much Air Pressure Should You Use?

Don't focus on pressure alone, though. Airflow (CFM) is just as important, as it determines how much water the compressor can push out of the pipes. A compressor with too little airflow may leave water trapped in low spots, increasing the risk of freeze damage.

For many residential irrigation systems, around 5 CFM is sufficient when blowing out one zone at a time. The Craftsman Vertical Air Compressor I recommended above is rated at 5 CFM (142L per minute) at 40 psi (276kPa).

Why Sprinkler Blowouts Can Be Dangerous

Wear safety glasses throughout the process. Air blasting from an open fitting can send water, grit, and small debris flying fast enough to cause eye injuries. Keep clear of sprinkler heads, valve boxes, and risers while the system is pressurized. If you have pets, it's also a good idea to keep them indoors, as the sudden bursts of air and loud whistling from the sprinkler heads can be startling.

Air should never be forced against a closed valve, so always open one irrigation zone before switching on the compressor. Once a zone is clear, don't keep blowing air through it. Running compressed air through dry pipes for too long can generate heat through friction, potentially damaging sprinkler heads, fittings, and seals. Likewise, never force compressed air through a backflow preventer, as it can damage the internal components.

When to Hire a Professional

If your irrigation system doesn't have a blowout fitting downstream of the backflow preventer, you'll need to install one before you can safely blow out the lines. Some systems also require more specialist knowledge. For example, reduced-pressure (RP) backflow preventers need to be partially disassembled and drained, while large irrigation systems or those with extensive polyethylene pipe can be more difficult to clear with a typical home compressor.

Professionals use high-volume commercial compressors that move far more air than most homeowner models, allowing them to clear larger systems more efficiently. They can also winterize the backflow preventer during the same visit. When hiring a contractor, look for one certified through the Irrigation Association or EPA WaterSense program. If you already use a lawn care or landscaping company, check whether sprinkler winterization is included in your seasonal maintenance package.

What to Do With the System Over Winter

Leave the irrigation controller plugged in and set it to Off or Rain Mode. That may sound counterintuitive, but the transformer's small amount of heat can help reduce moisture buildup and corrosion.

Insulate any exposed pipework and above-ground shutoff valves, but don't block the vents or drain openings on the backflow preventer. For outdoor spigots, Frost King Foam Faucet Covers, available at Walmart, offer an easy way to add extra freeze protection.

If your backflow preventer is installed above ground, consider covering it with an insulated cover, such as this backflow preventer cover from Modern Leisure, available on Amazon. Just remember that a cover provides extra insulation – it doesn't replace properly draining and blowing out the system before winter.

When spring arrives, close the test cocks, open the ball valves slowly to avoid water hammer, and run each irrigation zone to check for leaks or cracked sprinkler heads. If any need replacing, Rain Bird 1800 Series pop-up spray heads from Ace Hardware are a reliable replacement for many residential systems.

Water that isn't in the pipes can't freeze in them. Remove it before winter, and spring start-up should be little more than a slow turn of the valve and a quick system check.

Once October turns gray and drizzly, the hose tends to be wound up on its reel and stored away for the winter. It’s tempting to believe that the sky has the job covered from here until the end of the year. For long-established trees and deep-rooted shrubs, that may be close to true. However, for newly planted trees and shrubs you added in the past 6-12 months, it’s another matter. The gap between a wet surface and a thoroughly soaked root ball is where countless fall plantings quietly fail.

Standard advice on watering the garden often counts rainfall against the weekly watering total, which works fine provided someone is measuring how much moisture penetrates the soil. A light autumn shower or drizzly afternoon may darken surface mulch and wet the top inch of soil, giving the illusion of a drenched yard. But a significant portion of that will evaporate or run off before ever reaching the roots below. The yard may look watered, but the root ball often remains bone dry.

For many newly planted shrubs and trees, consistent hydration remains critical until the soil freezes solid. While above-ground branches settle into winter dormancy, young roots actively expand into cool fall soil. Ensuring these fresh roots receive adequate moisture protects them against winter desiccation, frost-heaving, and freeze damage, setting the stage for explosive spring growth. So if you’ve heard it’s OK to stop watering in fall, here’s the truth for new trees and shrubs…

Meet the Myth

On the surface, the logic behind stopping your fall watering routine seems entirely sound. Cooler air temperatures reduce transpiration (the process where plants lose water vapor through their leaves). Autumn weather naturally feels wetter, characterized by heavy morning dews, misty rain, and overcast skies that linger for days. Lower water demand is a real thing in autumn: an established oak, maple, or lilac with years of expansive roots spread through native soil can easily ride out a dry October with little fuss. However, for anything planted this year, the logic falls apart.

The root system of a freshly transplanted shrub or tree remains confined to its original root ball for many months. This root ball frequently dries out far faster than the surrounding native soil, primarily due to textural differences. Commercial nursery potting media (often composed of lightweight pine bark and peat) drains rapidly, creating a moisture barrier where it meets heavier native clay or loam. Water moving across this soil boundary slows down, so native soil can feel damp while the root ball remains dry. Furthermore, dense canopies on evergreens like arborvitae or boxwoods act like umbrellas, deflecting rainfall outward past young roots.

Why the Myth Sticks

Surface appearances can be remarkably persuasive to busy gardeners. Dripping roof gutters, slick driveways, and damp patio pavers give the illusion of a thoroughly soaked yard when viewed from the comfort of your kitchen window, even on days when a rain gauge reveals barely a quarter-inch (6mm) of precipitation fell. Damp wood mulch acts much like a deceiving weather report, masking dry soil hidden just two inches (5cm) beneath the surface.

The primary reason this myth persists so stubbornly is a delay in visible symptoms. Root damage caused by dry fall soil rarely manifests right away. Trees and shrubs with root systems that have been injured over a dry fall and winter often leaf out normally in early spring, drawing on stored starch reserves. However, once the heat of late spring or midsummer arrives, these compromised plants collapse and die as their damaged roots fail to supply water. At that point, you might blame the heat, poor nursery stock, or disease, and the problems of October are long forgotten. Recognizing that can help you avoid this costly, disheartening trap.

Problems with the Myth

Root growth continues long after leaves change color and drop in fall. Tree and shrub roots can keep growing as long as soil temperatures remain above 40°F (4°C), which often extends weeks past the first hard frost. This late-season growth is the primary advantage of fall planting in the first place, but that growth relies on available soil moisture. Without consistent water, root tips wither, halting establishment and leaving the shrub weak as winter approaches.

Cold weather imposes its own pressures. Dry soil contains air pockets that freeze rapidly, conducting sub-zero temperatures deep into the root zone. Conversely, moist soil holds thermal energy, insulating roots against rapid temperature swings. Roots are far less cold-hardy than above-ground woody stems. While branches might survive sub-zero winds, tender roots suffer cell death when soil temperatures drop below 20°F (-7°C). A good mulch, such as Back to the Roots Organic Mulch from Amazon, can help protect existing soil moisture levels, but it cannot just be assumed that the soil is moist enough to keep new plants and trees in good shape.

Evergreen trees and shrubs endure the worst consequences of fall drought. Needles and broadleaf foliage keep losing water on bright, windy winter days. If the root ball entered winter dry and froze solid, roots can’t replace the lost water. This can result in severe browning foliage on the windward or sunny side of the plant, known as winter burn. Dry soil also contributes to frost-heaving, where freezing cycles lift poorly anchored plants out of the ground, exposing bare roots to freezing air.

Beyond the Myth: Real Rules

A reliable guideline for newly planted tree and shrub care goes like this: if your yard receives less than an inch (2.5cm) of natural rain within a 5-7-day period, newly planted trees and shrubs require manual watering. Applying around 10 gallons (38 L) of water twice weekly effectively drenches a standard 20-24-inch (51-61cm) root ball, providing the equivalent of that missing inch of rain.

Guessing at rainfall amounts allows the fall watering myth to persist. Installing an inexpensive, wide-mouth rain gauge on a fence post eliminates guesswork. The AcuRite Blue Capacity Rain Gauge, available from Walmart, costs only $6, with numbers big enough to read without walking out in slippers. However, rain gauges cannot account for dense foliage or thick layers of mulch. The most reliable test is manual inspection. Push a long screwdriver 2 inches (5cm) into the central area (gently). If soil comes up dry, gritty, or warm, it’s time to water thoroughly.

Delivery speed is critical when watering fall plantings. Dumping water rapidly from a bucket or high-pressure hose nozzle causes water to sheet off the compacted surface of a root ball, running into surrounding native soil without penetrating the core. Instead, go for slow, low-pressure soaking methods that allow moisture to sink deep into the root zone. Sandy soils drain rapidly and may require two light soakings weekly, while heavy loam responds best to one deep, slow soaking every 7 days.

Taking Action With New Plantings

In fall, establish a weekly monitoring routine for every tree and shrub planted this year, aiming for a slow, deep soak. You can get watering bags, such as the Oyezvary Twenty-Gallon Tree Watering Bags from The Home Depot, which release water slowly. The Melnor Flat Soaker Hose, available from Lowe’s, does the same for a hedge row or a cluster of shrubs.

When watering young trees, drench both the root ball and the surrounding backfill soil. Soaking the backfill encourages roots to venture out to help strengthen and support the plant. Continue this deep-soaking routine right up until the ground freezes solid. Once topsoil freezes hard, stop watering, as plant roots can’t pull water out of frozen soil anyway. In southern climates (zones 8-10) where ground freezes rarely occur, continue checking soil moisture monthly throughout winter, applying a deep soak during dry, warm spells above 40°F (4°C).

Finish by spreading a 2-3-inch (5-8cm) layer of organic wood mulch in a wide ring around the tree or shrub, pulling it back 3 inches (8cm) from the trunk. Make sure you always water first before you mulch. Remember: mulch acts as a protective blanket to contain existing soil moisture and insulate root temperatures, but it cannot generate moisture all on its own.

Fall rain isn’t useless. A heavy storm that delivers a full inch (2.5cm) of rain over 24 hours covers your watering duties for the week, allowing you to leave the hose coiled with a clear conscience. The rest of the time, a quick rainfall check and a manual soil probe can help to ensure that your new plantings thrive for years to come. Taking a few quiet minutes each week gives your younger garden characters the best possible start. Trust the process, embrace the quiet rhythm of fall garden care, and enjoy watching your new trees and shrubs flourish when the warmer days return…

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!

Some flower seeds do far better when sown in fall, so you can simply scatter them onto bare soil now and – hey presto! – they’ll transform into abundant blooms by next year. This is one of nature’s finest magic tricks and you really should take advantage, because there is no easier or cheaper way to fill your yard with blooms than these flower seeds to sow in fall.

All these plants are self-seeders so they don’t need any molly-coddling from you. Sow them in October and all the work is naturally done for you. Some of the seeds require a period of cold – called cold stratification – to germinate; for others, the freeze-thaw cycle cracks tough outer shells. Triggered by warming weather and lengthening days in spring, they’ll sprout at the perfect point, and rain will keep the seedlings watered. Some are even tough enough to sprout in fall and survive winter unscathed.

These seeds all like a little light to germinate, too, so you don’t even have to rake them into the ground. And the reward for your minimal efforts? Bigger, stronger plants than if you’d sown the exact same seeds in spring, for lots more flowers. So, if you're wondering what to sow in October and fancy a garden that almost takes care of itself, start right here. If you’ve already got any of these beauties in your garden, now’s the time to snap off a seedhead and shake it wherever you fancy having more growing, too.

1. Annual Poppies

Annual corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas) and opium or breadseed poppies (Papaver somniferum) both thrive with a fall sowing and are some of the prettiest plants that practically grow by themselves. They need a period of cold to germinate so you can pop the seed into the fridge for a few weeks – or do it the easy way and let winter work its magic! Scatter the tiny seeds in full sun after the first hard frost in zones 6-9, and you’re done.

Eden Brothers stocks a super selection: Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’ packs a punch with prolific plum-toned flowers, while Papaver rhoeas ‘Amazing Grey’ has crinkly petals in lilac and grey shades, and is much coveted as a cut flower. Or for a lovely addition of color running through a border, ‘Angels Choir Poppy Mix’ is a wonderful mish-mash of warm-hued varieties.

2. Love-in-a-Mist

Nigella hates having its roots disturbed so is always best direct-sown where you want it to grow, and a fall sowing brings stronger, taller plants that bloom weeks ahead of seeds cast in spring. In zones 7-9, go ahead and scatter seed now as seedlings will endure temperatures down to 23°F (-5°C), or wait till winter is here in zone 6 to ensure spring germination.

For a fall sowing, steer clear of common Nigella damascena unless you have fast-draining soil as the seedlings won’t tolerate sitting in cold wet ground. Instead, choose Nigella papillosa, which is far more robust. Love-in-a-mist ‘Delft Blue’, available from Botanical Interests, has rich violet-blue hues on white petals, reminiscent of the famous blue-and-white pottery it’s named after. Love-in-a-mist ‘African Bride’, also available from Botanical Interests and a similarly tough cookie perfect for fall sowing, is just as beautiful and produces incredible lantern-like seedpods once flowers have faded.

3. Bachelor’s Button

Cornflowers are one of the easiest of all flowers to sow from a fall scattering in zones 8-10, yet you can pay an absolute fortune for the dried petals to use as herbal tea or confetti. Centaurea cyanus do prefer a little darkness to germinate well, so it’s best to quickly rake over the soil to cover them lightly.

Plain ol’ blue cornflowers, available from Amazon, are beautiful in their own right but if you like to bring flowers inside for vases, then try a tall blend of mixed color bachelor’s buttons, available from Botanical Interests. If sultry colors are more of a border fit for your garden, then ‘Black Magic’ cornflowers, also available from Botanical Interests is a tried and tested favorite.

4. Sweet Alyssum

Steal a trick from cottage-gardeners and scatter Lobularia maritima seeds in fall in zones 7-11, and a fragrant low carpet of flowers will magically appear in spring. They're such easy flowers to grow from seed and are one of the best flowering groundcover plants, so it's a wonder this quick fall task isn't standard practice in all gardens! Sweet alyssum seeds need light to germinate and young plants cope with repeated light frosts, overwintering as small rosettes, ready to bloom weeks ahead of spring-sown seeds. The sweet honey-like perfume of the flowers is a delightful addition to those first warm days of the year.

‘Royal Carpet’ sweet alyssum, available from Walmart, brings a tapestry of white, lilac and purple flowers, while ‘Sweet White’ sweet alyssum, available from Lowe’s, does exactly what it says on the tin.

5. Purple Coneflower

Echinacea purpurea are perennials that need a cold period to germinate, so grow well from a fall sowing in zones 3-9. Although purple coneflower seeds benefit from light to sprout, it’s customary to cover them with a light dusting of soil simply to deter birds from snaffling up what is one of their favorite snacks. The other alternative, of course, is just to fling plenty of seeds into your border, and seeds of this native wildflower are cheap to buy, such as this bumper pack of purple coneflower seeds from Amazon.

Wait till after the first frost before sowing in zones 3-4, to guard against premature germination in any unseasonably warm fall weather. In zones 8-9, choose a spot with excellent drainage – a raised bed is ideal – to avoid seeds rotting over winter.

6. California Poppy

Such is their will to live, you can simply toss the tiny seeds of Eschscholzia californica onto bare earth in zones 8-10 in fall and the seedlings will survive to bloom early next year. Choose a sunny spot to surface-sow your California poppy seeds and let fall rain do the rest.

Take a look at Eden Brothers’ California poppy range for inspiration. As well as the classic orange of California’s state flower, there are all sorts of varieties such as Thai Silk Pink Champagne California poppy and Appleblossom Chiffon California poppy with petals as fabulous as their names suggest.

7. Bells of Ireland

As they need both light and a period of cold to germinate, you can steal a head start on growing Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis) in zones 6-9 with a fall sowing. Their tough seeds will sit dormant through the winter cold, then germinate as soon as it’s warm enough in spring. In zones 8 and warmer, go ahead and sow now; in colder zones though, wait till right after your first frost before sowing, so seeds don’t sprout prematurely.

These stately spires of flowers are a must for any garden, growing to a neat 2-3 feet tall and adding unusual texture as well as a fresh pop of green. The flowers last well in a vase so these are a fabulous addition to bouquets, if you like to grow cut flowers from seed for blooms all summer long. For a reliable fall sowing, bells of Ireland seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

8. Columbine

Aquilegia benefit from winter stratification and they need light to germinate, making them one of the best flower seeds to sow in fall in zones 3-9. These direct-sow seeds also appreciate starting life out where they will grow. You’ll need to be a little patient, however, as columbine is a perennial that spends its first year concentrating on roots and pretty foliage, but boy, is the yearly spring show of flowers after that worth the wait. Fling and forget columbine seeds this October and be surprised by the flurry of cottage-garden blooms in their second year.

There’s a huge range of columbines to choose from, from the dainty blue Aquilegia caerulea, available from Amazon, to the mighty Aquilegia cultorum columbines, stocked by Botanical Interests, bred for their large flowers and color variety. In zones 8-9 with mild winters, toss the seed packet in your fridge for a couple of weeks before sowing, to make sure they get the cold they need to sprout.

Tips for a Successful Fall Sowing

All these seeds naturally self-seed so all you need do is mimic nature and plants will grow well from a fall sowing with minimum intervention. A few simple prep steps, however, will help to ensure good germination.

• If you can, rake the soil before sowing to break up any clumps and form a fine ‘tilth’. This ensures seeds have good contact with the soil and makes it easy for young roots to penetrate the ground.
• Water the soil before sowing if it hasn’t rained recently. Sowing onto moist soil means there’s no need to water straight after sowing, which can wash small seeds away.
• Read the sowing instructions on the seed packet carefully to see exactly how much light the seeds need to germinate. All these seeds will germinate from a surface sowing but some will benefit from being lightly raked into the soil.
• Some seed is so tiny that it’s very hard to see where you’ve sown. Mix seed with fine sand first, so you can see where it's landed so spread it more evenly.

There's no easier or cheaper way to fill borders with blooms than to scatter these seeds in fall, then look forward to flowers popping up here, there and everywhere. Once you've got these self-reliant beauties growing in your yard, you can easily collect seeds to distribute around your garden for yet more blooms, too.

Add in flower seeds to fling and forget in spring and you have yourself a garden full of flowers that practically grow themselves.

By early fall, leaves are starting to collect along fences and driveways, and parts of the vegetable garden are beginning to fill with fading stems and spent vines. A lot of homeowners bag all of it and set it at the curb. Then a few weeks later, some of them go out and buy bagged mulch for the same perennial beds that debris could have covered. Much of that fall cleanup can be shredded and spread over perennial beds as winter mulch. It costs nothing, and it's already sitting in the yard waiting to be used.

Winter mulching doesn't have to mean store-bought material. Shredded leaves and pine needles work well over perennial beds, and several other types of yard debris can too. Most are best applied after the ground has started to freeze, when they help keep soil temperatures more stable through winter.

That matters because repeated freezing and thawing can lift shallow roots and newly planted perennials out of the ground. Known as heave, this leaves them exposed to cold and drying winds. A layer of mulch helps reduce those temperature swings, giving vulnerable plants extra protection until spring. Here are six free materials you can gather during fall cleanup that make excellent winter mulch, plus how to prepare and use each one.

1. Shredded Deciduous Leaves

Leaves are one of the best free mulches you can collect during fall cleanup, but they work much better shredded than whole. Whole leaves tend to pack into a wet mat that sheds rain and holds moisture against plant crowns, while shredded leaves stay loose enough for air and water to pass through.

You can shred leaves by running over them with a lawn mower in one or two passes, especially if it has a bagger to collect the pieces as you go. If you're dealing with a large volume of leaves every fall, then a dedicated leaf shredder can make the job much quicker. This Worx Electric Leaf Mulcher from Amazon is designed to reduce piles of dry leaves into fine mulch that's easy to spread around the garden or store until you're ready to use it.

If it's still too early to mulch, keep the shredded leaves in paper yard waste bags, a garden bin, or another dry, sheltered spot until the ground begins to freeze. That's the ideal time to spread them around hardy perennials to help keep soil temperatures more stable through winter.

Maple leaves are especially prone to matting, so shredding is particularly important. Black walnut leaves are the exception. They contain juglone, which can harm tomatoes and other sensitive plants, so it's best to compost them first, where the juglone breaks down over several weeks before you use the compost elsewhere in the garden.

2. Pine Needles

Pine needles, often sold as pine straw, make an excellent free winter mulch. Fresh pine needles are acidic, but once they're used as mulch, they cause little measurable change in soil pH. They also resist compacting under snow, allowing rain and melting snow to drain through to the soil.

Rake up dry needles as they fall and collect them in a reusable pop-up garden bag until you're ready to mulch. I like the Fiskars Kangaroo Collapsible Garden Bag from Amazon, which makes it easy to gather and carry bulky loads of pine needles around the yard. Unlike leaves, pine needles don't need shredding and can be spread straight around perennial beds after the ground has started to freeze.

In dry or fire-prone areas, pine straw can be a fire hazard, so keep it at least a few feet (about 1 m) away from your home and other structures.

3. Chipped Branches and Evergreen Boughs

Fall isn't the time to prune most shrubs, but dead wood and storm-damaged branches can be removed at any time of year. Rather than throwing them away, healthy branches can be chipped into a long-lasting winter mulch. If you generate a lot of woody debris, a LawnMaster electric wood chipper makes it easy to turn small branches into coarse wood chips for the garden.

Wood chips break down slowly, so they can protect perennial beds for more than one season. Store them in a loose pile until the ground begins to freeze, then spread them around established perennials, keeping the mulch a few inches away from stems and crowns. Avoid using chipped material from diseased trees or shrubs, as it can spread problems around the garden. Dispose of infected branches instead.

If you don't have a chipper, evergreen boughs are another excellent free option and need no preparation at all. Simply lay the branches in a loose crisscross over perennial beds after the ground has frozen. The boughs trap insulating snow while helping to shade the soil from the low winter sun, reducing repeated freeze-thaw cycles. Branches from a cut Christmas tree can be reused in exactly the same way once the holidays are over.

4. Ornamental Grass Trimmings

Most ornamental grasses are best left standing through winter, as the foliage helps protect the crown from cold weather. Many gardeners wait until late winter or early spring to cut them back, but if a clump has flopped over or is blocking a path, you can trim it earlier.

A pair of Fiskars PowerGear2 Hedge Shears makes light work of cutting back tough, fibrous stems. Before using the cut foliage as mulch, remove any seed heads, as some ornamental grasses self-sow readily and any seeds left behind can sprout the following spring. Cut the stems into pieces about 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) long so they stay in place and allow rainwater to drain through easily.

Spread the chopped stems loosely around perennial beds after the ground has frozen. They'll provide a light insulating layer over winter before gradually breaking down into the soil.

5. Corn Stalks and Garden Cleanout

Not all garden debris makes good winter mulch. Tomato and squash plants that suffered from blight or powdery mildew should go in the trash, as disease spores can overwinter on infected stems and leaves.

Healthy bean vines and spent annuals, however, can be chopped into smaller pieces and spread over perennial beds once the ground has frozen. They'll gradually break down while helping to protect the soil through winter.

Corn stalks need a little more thought. Larvae of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) can overwinter inside them. Running the stalks through a mower can kill many of the larvae, but not all. Instead of using them as mulch, it's better to add chopped corn stalks to a hot compost pile, where they'll break down safely over the course of about a year before they're ready to use in the garden.

6. Finished Yard Compost

Compost works a little differently from the other materials on this list. While it's excellent for improving soil, it's too dense and fine to provide much insulation on its own.

Spread about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of finished compost over perennial beds after the growing season to feed the soil over the coming months. Then top it with a looser mulch, such as shredded leaves or pine needles, to help insulate the soil and protect plant crowns through winter.

Before spreading compost, it's worth screening out any large sticks or woody pieces that haven't fully broken down. A compost sifter, like this Achla Designs sifter from Amazon, makes this quick and easy. Return any leftover chunks to the compost pile to continue decomposing before using the finished compost elsewhere in the garden.

When to Spread It – and How Deep

Winter mulch goes on after the top inch or two (2.5–5 cm) of soil has frozen and perennials have gone dormant. In many colder regions, that's not until late fall. Don't spread it too early. An early layer can trap warmth and moisture in the soil, which is the opposite of what dormant plants need. It can also provide shelter for voles and other rodents that may chew on roots and bark. In areas with mild winters, wait until after a few hard freezes before mulching.

Spread about 3–4 inches (8–10 cm) of mulch over perennial beds. Shredded leaves settle as the season goes on, so it's fine to start with a slightly deeper layer. Keep the mulch 2–3 inches (5–8 cm) away from tree trunks and shrub stems to avoid trapping moisture against the bark.

In spring, rake the mulch back gradually as new shoots emerge, but keep it nearby for a week or two in case a late frost is forecast. Once the weather has settled, you can spread the partially decomposed mulch over vegetable beds or add it to the compost pile.

By the end of spring, much of the shredded leaf mulch will have broken down into the soil, ready to be replaced with another free supply from your next fall cleanup.

Amanda Seyfried has done something celebrities and the average person dream about and talk about ad nauseam but never actually get around to doing: she’s made her property completely disappear from prying eyes (in her case, nosy paparazzi, and in yours, nosy neighbors). Located in the middle of the Hollywood Hills, the traditional-style house, built in 1916, was just listed for $3.2 million.

It’s tucked away behind gates and tall hedges, despite sitting in one of the most densely populated, paparazzi-adjacent neighborhoods in the world. From the street, it’s basically wearing that invisibility cloak from Harry Potter, but inside, it’s a whole different story.

This is actually the power of privacy planting when it’s done correctly. Unlike most celebrity gardening “inspiration,” you can actually achieve this in your own garden, anywhere in the world.

Start With a Fast-Growing Evergreen Hedge

The backbone of this whole look is the tall, dense evergreen hedge that takes care of your privacy all year long, even in winter. In a warmer climate like Los Angeles, Indian laurel fig (Ficus nitida), available from Citronella King on Amazon, is exactly what you want for this type of screening. The iconic "Hollywood hedge", it grows quickly into a full, glossy wall that you can maintain at any height you choose.

Thuja Green Giant arborvitae, available at Trees.com, is the equivalent in a cooler climate, and it’s a real workhorse. Growing three to five feet every year, it has a deep green color that doesn’t turn yellow in winter and a height that gives you some serious privacy rather than the polite suggestion of it.

For boundaries where you don’t necessarily have all the space in the world, Emerald Green arborvitae, available from Plant Addicts, grows to about 12 feet and will stay narrow enough that you can plant it close to a fence line without worrying it’s going to take over the whole garden.

What’s key to all of these is planting in autumn before the soil gets too cold, watering them very well throughout their first summer, and having a little patience (Rome wasn’t built in a day). Most fast-growing hedge plants will give you a noticeable screen within 2 years (that may seem long, but I promise, time flies!)

Shop Privacy Hedges

Add Gates and Structure

Hedges alone won’t give you the “Seyfried effect” (as I will refer to it from now on); you also need gates to carry at least half the load. A boundary that combines tall trees with a solid structure creates the feeling of a mental enclosure for you as well as a physical one. Even a simple timber or metal gate within the hedge line can take your property from exposed to private practically overnight.

If a full gate isn’t in your budget or it’s just not your thing, a pergola or arch over an entryway planted with lovely climbing roses or jasmine can give you something similar with a delightful scent on top. It’s a threshold that tells everyone passing it they are now in a separate world from the street.

Shop Privacy Structures

Layer the Planting for Depth

A single hedge gives you the wall, and layered planting creates the garden, but you still need that middle tier so you don’t have any gaps. You have lots of flowering shrub choices, including viburnum, pittosporum, and Mexican orange blossom; these give you structure year-round, with seasonal interest as an added benefit.

Don’t forget about ground level, which can help fill in the bases of taller plants and keep stems from looking bare and leggy. Plants like ferns, ornamental grasses, and spreading perennials are a great choice. This gives the whole garden a natural, organic quality rather than looking like you had it installed.

Layered planting also makes a boundary feel further away when you're trying to create privacy. This is a useful trick if you’re dealing with a smaller, urban garden where the fence line is close, and the neighbor's windows aren’t far enough.

When done well, privacy planting doesn’t look like a defense mechanism from the world. It looks like a garden you want to be yours and don’t want anyone to see. In a world where most people have their outdoor space visible from 14 different angles, that’s about the most aspirational thing you can have.

You thought you might have trouble with your job. You thought you might have issues with your mother-in-law. But you never imagined you might have to deal with birds pooping on your car.

Stop taking it personally! Your car isn't attracting birds, and birds aren't targeting you. Birds tend to poop wherever they are whenever nature calls. But you can get your car out of harm’s way with a few preventive measures.

Let's explore five ways to stop birds from pooping on cars parked in your driveway, so you can spend less time cleaning bird poop and more time enjoying your outdoor space. These simple changes can help reduce the chances of your car ending up beneath your neighborhood birds' favorite perches.

Why Do Birds Poop on My Car?

Whether you have a rusty old Volkswagen Vanagon or a shiny new Tesla, birds aren't picking your vehicle to dirty with their poop. In fact, it has very little to do with your car at all.

Birds have little control over when or where they poop. Most lack a bladder and a tight sphincter muscle, which means they can't hold back their waste. Instead, whenever the need arises, they simply defecate. If they feel the need as they soar over your patio, they poop on the patio. If they feel the need as they fly above your car, they poop on your car.

There is no one definitive way to prevent birds from pooping on your car. But you can do a number of things to reduce how often it happens. Here are my best tips.

1. Discourage Perching

Is your driveway shaded by trees? Are you parked beneath electric wires or phone cables? Are there streetlights right above your parking spot? Birds like to rest and congregate in these places. And when a group of birds sits above your car for periods of time, they are likely to poop… on your car.

If overhanging trees are the problem, then trimming the worst offending branches could make a big difference. A telescopic pruning pole, like Fiskars' Extendable 2-in-1 Tree Pruner & Pole Saw with Rotating Head, available on Amazon, extends up to 12 feet, enabling you to tackle branches that overhang the car. If you want to cut your neighbor's tree, then make sure you ask them first.

If there's a ledge or flat roof area near the car that birds like to perch on, then consider fitting bird spikes, like these Bird-X Bird Spikes from Lowe's. As threatening as their name sounds, bird spikes don't harm birds, but they do make it uncomfortable for them to land.

And keep bird feeders and bird baths well away from your driveway. The less attractive you make the area as a place to feed, drink, or perch, the less time birds are likely to spend above your car.

2. Don't Wax Your Car

If your car is shiny and waxed, it can reflect light and appear like a pool of water from above. Water has a relaxing effect on birds, so they may be attracted to it. In addition, during mating season, male birds can get territorial and mistake their mirrored reflection for a rival male. He might mark his territory by pooping on it.

If the idea of a dirty car is too much to bear, you can buy tough, washable car covers that you can hose down every week, like this EzyShade Car Cover on Amazon. It comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes and, in addition to stopping bird poop, will also protect against snow and dust.

3. Scare Them with Sparkle

This is an old trick, but it works like a charm. Dangle anything that could reflect sunlight near your parking spot. This might include old pie pans or CDs hung on strings, or even strips of aluminum foil. Moving, shiny objects reflect light and images, which can threaten birds and scare them away.

You can even buy reflective scare tape ribbon, like this one from MP Mypole Store on Amazon, and tie it around tree branches and other structures.

4. Use a Predator Decoy

Might a bird mistake a plastic replica of a bird of prey for a real owl? It's possible. A decoy predator placed on or near the car will certainly make birds think twice before flying over your car. The Dalen Lifelike Great Horned Owl Decoy Bird Repellent, available on Amazon, is well rated and doubles as a charming garden ornament.

A couple of rubber snakes draped across the car is another option that's easy to set up when you get home.

The trick to using predator decoys is to move them every day or two. Otherwise, the birds will soon realize it's a fake.

5. Rethink Your Car Color

Do birds deliberately poop on dark or brightly colored cars? It seems unlikely. A few small studies have suggested that black, brown, or red cars may attract more bird droppings than white or silver ones, but there's no solid evidence that birds deliberately target certain colors. As for why, it's mostly speculation. I'm not convinced, so I'd call changing your car color a last resort – if you get really desperate!

Shop Bird Deterrents

There's something about an owl that makes it feel a little more mysterious than almost any other bird. Maybe it's those enormous eyes, the uncanny ability to fly almost completely silently, or simply the fact that while most of us are settling down for the evening, these fascinating birds are only just getting started.

From tiny owls that can fit comfortably into the palm of your hand to formidable predators capable of taking down surprisingly large prey, there is an incredible amount of variety hidden beneath that familiar silhouette.

And after looking at the bird of prey associated with each birth month, I couldn't resist taking a closer look at owls in particular...

All 12 Birth Month Owls