In between scorching summer and chilly winter, is fall, the season when everything starts to cool off. Nighttime arrives sooner, there is a nip in the air, and most vegetation comes to a standstill. It is also that beautiful time of the year homeowners get to sit back and enjoy nature’s vivacious display of vibrant colors.

9 Fall Landscaping Tips

While temperatures may have started cooling down already, don’t hang up your shovel and gardening gloves quite yet. There is still a lot to be done. Fall requires regular lawn, landscaping, and curb appeal maintenance, which could keep you busy for the next few weekends yet.

To help our homeowners tackle their fall to-do lists we have compiled a list 9 landscaping tricks to keep your fall lawn looking fresh throughout the winter and into next spring.

1. Let Your Lawn Breathe

Aerating compressed soil will help water and nutrients reach the roots. If you have a small yard, a garden fork will work just fine. For a larger job use a walk-behind aerator.

2. Feed Your Grass

We suggest homeowners cut back on fertilizing their lawn in the late summer to prevent over-active leaf production. However, grass roots will keep growing until the ground temperature drops to around 40 degrees, so at this time it’s a good idea to feed it. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beazley, REALTORS® recommends giving your lawn a high-phosphorus mix to nurture the roots.

3. Give your Lawn a Haircut

Your lawn will need one last haircut at the end of fall. Trim it down to 1 and 1/4 inch to prevent disease from attacking it. Don’t go too low, though. Cutting it too short will keep grass from getting the food it needs.

4. Trim Your Limbs

Lifeless branches can become dangerous once winter snow starts falling and winds start blowing. For bigger trees consider calling professionals, but smaller trees can be handled yourself. Cut cracked, loose, and diseased limbs close, but not entirely flush, to the truck of the tree to allow for regrowth in the spring.

5. Give Your Plants a Warm Blanket

To keep new plants warm through the winter and control water runoff and soil erosion you will want to apply a 2 to 4 inch layer of new mulch to your plant beds.

First, till the decomposed layers of organic mulch into the soil. Then assemble a layer of mulch using chopped leaves, weed-free straw, or wood chips. This layer should be applied to your plant beds after a light frost, but before the ground freezes.

6. Dry Out Drip Systems

This job is usually pretty simple. Unscrew the tap-joint adapter, and, using a high-volume, low-pressure setting on a compressor, insert an air hose where the system normally attaches to the tap. Doing this prior to winter will prevent standing water from freezing and cracking your tubing. You’ll also avoid having to uproot the entire system, which could cost a pretty penny.

7. Give the Exterior a Facelift

You may think landscaping only pertains to living plants and ground cover around your home. But your exterior paint color also plays a big role in the overall look of your exterior, and should be maintained in the fall. Autumn is the perfect time for a new paint job. If that seems like too much, opt for retouching the chipped paint. A few touches here and there will make your home shine bright throughout the colder months.

8. Wash Your Hardscaping

Hardscaping refers to the non-living things around your landscaping such as sidewalks, driveways, rocks, mulch and pavers. You can keep your driveways clean by power washing throughout the fall months and into the winter months.

9. Clear Away Dead Leaves

Don’t get so caught up in the nostalgia of falling autumn leaves, that you neglect raking them up before it’s too late. Fallen leaves can be dangerous if not raked regularly. They can hide sidewalks or walkways, or can get wet and become slippery underfoot for pedestrians. Rake leaves onto a tarp and deposit in a mulch pile weekly during the fall months to avoid a possible accident.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beazley, REALTORS® enjoys helping their readers navigate the changing seasons, and the maintenance that goes along with it. For more great homeowner tips and tricks of the trade make sure to follow Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Beazley REALTORS® on their Facebook page or contact us to inquire about our availabe real estate in the Augusta metro area at 706-863-1775.