It’s easy to ignore outdoor upkeep when summer heat waves have temperatures spiking at well over 100 degrees. Now that the muggy days are giving way to more enjoyable fall weather, it’s a great time to get back outside and discover what chores need to be done to get your curb appeal back in order. The folks at askHRgreen.org have some suggestions to start:

• Prune trees, summer blooming perennials and warm season annuals.
• Hand-pull weeds and invasive lawn grass from flowerbeds. Make the job easier by working a few sections at a time or pulling a few weeds on the way in and out of the house each day.
• Complete an inexpensive soil test before using lawn fertilizer.
• If a soil test reveals your soil needs fertilizing, remember that cool season grasses should be fertilized in the fall while warm season grasses should be fertilized in the spring.
• Plant more plants. Assess your flowerbeds and landscape design to determine if you have space for more plants. If so, consider planting native plants/trees, drought-tolerant bulbs or seasonal color with a fall-winter blooming plant.
• Apply or refresh mulch in flower beds to protect roots from winter weather. Use pine needles for a low cost alternative.
• Before the first freeze, empty and store your rain barrel.
• Attend an upcoming gardening festival or plant sale to pick up plants or get free expert advice on your hard to solve landscaping problems.

Put your fall gardening know-how to the test with askHRgreen.org’s  Fall Lawn Cleanup quiz!