Fall is the time to wind down and put the garden to rest for the winter.

For annuals and plants grown as annuals, the declining temperatures are a cue that their season is over. For perennials, as the length of the day decreases, they shift from actively growing to storing food for next year’s growth. For you, the gardener, it's time to shift to tidying up, to helping plants survive the winter, and to dream of flipping through gardening catalogs in February.

To properly put your garden to rest, you need to know what tasks to undertake and what tools are needed.

You will need pruners and a debris bucket. You first want to collect any seeds you want for next year before removing the dead plants. You can trim them to the ground and leave the roots to decay and add organic matter to the soil. To trim them, these pruners will do the job and since they are bright colors, you’ll be able to find them easily. For debris collection, this bag is lightweight and takes up only a bit of storage space. You want to make sure that when you’re cleaning up, that you only put non diseased plant matter on the compost pile. Any plant matter that is diseased should be thrown away in the trash since home compost piles may not reach the 160F needed to kill pathogens.

You will need the above, and the following: for trees and shrubs you may need loppers. Not because it’s pruning season, but because the falling leaves will allow you to see the full structure of the shrub or tree. In the fall, you’re looking for dead, damaged or diseased branches. These can be and should be removed when found. However, if the plant can be pruned in the fall, then fall is a good time to prune, since you’re out there already. Know your plants and the correct time to prune them, or else you may not have blooms in the spring.

Speaking of falling leaves, studies are finding that you should leave the leaves in your garden beds. The leaves break down and return nutrients to the soil and act like mulch to insulate and moderate temperatures for the dormant plants. Leaving the leaves also leaves next year’s pollinators: butterfly and moth caterpillars, solitary bees, and fireflies, and other good bugs who all overwinter in the leaf litter. Raking them up and putting them at the curb, removes the pollinators from your garden. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be neat. You can remove them from your lawn and pathways. Raking the leaves from the lawn into your beds is made easier by the right rake. This rake has an interesting feature. It saves your back! By allowing you to pick up the leaves without bending over.

For flowering plants, such as coneflowers and otherwildflowers, consider leaving the seed heads to feed the birds. And after they have eaten all the seeds, save the stems! You can trim the flower stalks to various heights. This again provides shelter for nesting and overwintering insects that need the hollow or pithy stems to lay eggs or wait out the winter.

And when you’re done, give your tools some love before putting them away for the winter. Scrub handles with a stiff brush and a gentle soap to remove dirt. Dry thoroughly and if the handles are made of wood, then rub in a light coat of walnut, linseed or tung oil with a rag. This protects the wood from drying out and splitting. For metal tools, give a good scrub with hot water, a bit of soap, and a stiff brush to get all the dirt, then dry them well. You can sharpen them, make any needed repairs, and then treat them with a bit of oil to keep rust away. You work hard and so do your tools. Treat them well and they will be there for your year after year.

Nature is pretty good at living in balance when we leave it the tools it needs to do so. So in the fall, neaten up, but not too much. Leave the leaves and save the stems. They keep good bugs in your garden to help your plants and keep the bad bugs in check. Leaves are nature’s mulch and return nutrients to the soil. Take care of your trees and shrubs by maintaining them which includes pruning at the proper time and when needed. Clean up plant waste when it’s diseased. Removing it helps keep pathogens from spreading and your garden healthy. And finally, pamper your tools so they can provide you years of service to come.

And after you’ve done all that, you can grab a cup of your favorite beverage and sit down. You earned it. Enjoy the down time. Just like your garden, you need to rest during the winter months. Because soon enough, you’ll be itching to start planning and planting!

Fall is the time to wind down and put the garden to rest for the winter.

For annuals and plants grown as annuals, the declining temperatures are a cue that their season is over. For perennials, as the length of the day decreases, they shift from actively growing to storing food for next year’s growth. For you, the gardener, it's time to shift to tidying up, to helping plants survive the winter, and to dream of flipping through gardening catalogs in February.

To properly put your garden to rest, you need to know what tasks to undertake and what tools are needed.

You will need pruners and a debris bucket. You first want to collect any seeds you want for next year before removing the dead plants. You can trim them to the ground and leave the roots to decay and add organic matter to the soil. To trim them, these pruners will do the job and since they are bright colors, you’ll be able to find them easily. For debris collection, this bag is lightweight and takes up only a bit of storage space. You want to make sure that when you’re cleaning up, that you only put non diseased plant matter on the compost pile. Any plant matter that is diseased should be thrown away in the trash since home compost piles may not reach the 160F needed to kill pathogens.

You will need the above, and the following: for trees and shrubs you may need loppers. Not because it’s pruning season, but because the falling leaves will allow you to see the full structure of the shrub or tree. In the fall, you’re looking for dead, damaged or diseased branches. These can be and should be removed when found. However, if the plant can be pruned in the fall, then fall is a good time to prune, since you’re out there already. Know your plants and the correct time to prune them, or else you may not have blooms in the spring.

Speaking of falling leaves, studies are finding that you should leave the leaves in your garden beds. The leaves break down and return nutrients to the soil and act like mulch to insulate and moderate temperatures for the dormant plants. Leaving the leaves also leaves next year’s pollinators: butterfly and moth caterpillars, solitary bees, and fireflies, and other good bugs who all overwinter in the leaf litter. Raking them up and putting them at the curb, removes the pollinators from your garden. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be neat. You can remove them from your lawn and pathways. Raking the leaves from the lawn into your beds is made easier by the right rake. This rake has an interesting feature. It saves your back! By allowing you to pick up the leaves without bending over.

For flowering plants, such as coneflowers and otherwildflowers, consider leaving the seed heads to feed the birds. And after they have eaten all the seeds, save the stems! You can trim the flower stalks to various heights. This again provides shelter for nesting and overwintering insects that need the hollow or pithy stems to lay eggs or wait out the winter.

And when you’re done, give your tools some love before putting them away for the winter. Scrub handles with a stiff brush and a gentle soap to remove dirt. Dry thoroughly and if the handles are made of wood, then rub in a light coat of walnut, linseed or tung oil with a rag. This protects the wood from drying out and splitting. For metal tools, give a good scrub with hot water, a bit of soap, and a stiff brush to get all the dirt, then dry them well. You can sharpen them, make any needed repairs, and then treat them with a bit of oil to keep rust away. You work hard and so do your tools. Treat them well and they will be there for your year after year.

Nature is pretty good at living in balance when we leave it the tools it needs to do so. So in the fall, neaten up, but not too much. Leave the leaves and save the stems. They keep good bugs in your garden to help your plants and keep the bad bugs in check. Leaves are nature’s mulch and return nutrients to the soil. Take care of your trees and shrubs by maintaining them which includes pruning at the proper time and when needed. Clean up plant waste when it’s diseased. Removing it helps keep pathogens from spreading and your garden healthy. And finally, pamper your tools so they can provide you years of service to come.

And after you’ve done all that, you can grab a cup of your favorite beverage and sit down. You earned it. Enjoy the down time. Just like your garden, you need to rest during the winter months. Because soon enough, you’ll be itching to start planning and planting!