It’s difficult not to regret the end of summer and all the vibrant colors it brings to your yard. However, with the right additions to your flower beds, you can have color in the fall to brighten your landscape and your end-of-summer blues!

• From bright pink and lavender to reds and oranges, mums are a great choice if you want to add some color. They produce multiple flowers per plant which last for weeks, making this plant a stunning addition to your fall landscape. The hardy aster is also a good flower choice for fall color, blooming from mid to late fall and varying from purple to red.
• Sadly, the coming of the frost is inevitable, but you can keep some of your potted plants happily flourishing for a little while longer. Move containers into an area of your yard that gets direct sunlight or even closer to the warmth of your house to make your flowers last as long as possible this fall. Brighten up any dull pot with garden mums and asters for a pop of fall color!
• Lawns in our region, Maryland, DC and Virginia, are typically of the cool-season grass varieties such as ryegrasses, bluegrasses and fescues. Cool-season grasses stop growing in the winter but for the most part stay green. It’s good to continue a watering routine for your lawn through September, October and November so that it has enough moisture to make it through the colder months. However, do not continue mowing your lawn the same. Mowing to a height of 2.5-3” during the fall provides more surface area to absorb sunlight and water during this last growth spurt. Raking the fallen leaves off your grass is also important to allow the proper amount of sunlight an air for the lawn to stay healthy.

Fall may not be the season of choice for outdoor living and entertaining. Not anymore! Fall offers many great options for enjoying the outdoors, and without the nuisance of mosquitoes or much needed AC breaks!

• The addition of an outdoor stone fireplace or fire-pit brings warmth to those chilly autumn evenings and allows you to enjoy your beautiful landscape and hardscape well into the year.
• Complement the natural fall colors of the trees and your fall flowers with some bright throw pillows and a blanket to for your patio furniture.
• Don’t let the excuse of the shortening days keep you inside either. Invest in outdoor lighting! The inclusion of landscape lighting in your outdoor space now will allow you to enjoy your yard despite the earlier nightfall.

Clearwater Landscape can fulfill any of your outdoor living needs this fall—from patios to fireplaces and plantings to lawn maintenance—we can enhance your landscape into one that can be enjoyed for more than just the summer! Call today to speak with one of our talented landscape designers!

Call one of our designers to get started today! 301.607.4480