The short of it is, I have a derelict garden in my front yard that I didn't take care of this summer. It's overgrown with weeds and I do my best to walk by it quickly when entering and exiting the house. The weather is already getting colder (I live in Toronto, Ontario) and I'm not sure if it's possible to start a garden at this point or whether I should just prepare for Spring. I am planning on hiring a landscaper to handle the work for me. Any thoughts on what can be done at this point? Or conversely, what should be done in order to prep for Spring. Both would be ideal. That is, beautify the area for the Fall while also getting it in good shape for the Spring. Any ideas? Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this from a newbie gardener like myself. Best Regards, HBW
It's not too late in the season to start it, but I don't imagine you've got all the pre-dig prep work done? Best to get your goals & requirements down on paper first, then discuss with a landscaper (preferably a landsape designer) to get a solid plan. At that point, you're ready to start digging. Even if you started digging today, the best you could achieve would be hardscaping (bricks & mortar), and improving the soil. Planting shrubs and perennials should probably wait until spring (it will increase their success rate) as mid to late October is probably the earliest you could start planting. Simon
I would be thinking along Simon's lines, that there is a lot of work in advance of planting that will push planting too far into the fall. Plants in your climate need some time to get their roots established before winter conditions set in. However, we're obviously both thinking of landscaping from the perspective of redesigning your space and possibly rebuilding it - changing a walkway, adding a retaining wall or moving flower beds, etc - before planting. You may be simply thinking of replanting what's died this summer, as you make no reference to whether you know what you want to do with your yard. If you just want someone to clean up the weeds and fling a couple of new plants into the ground, you might still have time (depends on your first anticipated frost date). If you're going to actually hire a designer, the design and installation time line will definitely take you past the planting date, and so it should, as those kinds of decisions shouldn't be made in a rush. You can certainly start by cleaning up, or having someone in to clean up, the yard now, and reevaluate whether you're happy with the current layout when it's not messy.
Thank you so much for your replies. I have decided to take things slowly as you suggested and hired someone to just clean up the yard and then re-evaluate then. First first is soon approaching so I think I will be waiting until the Spring and using the time to plan the space. Thanks again! HBW
On the other hand, you may want to consider moving along and get the ball rolling in having design in place and the garden ready for planting in the spring. Assuming that planting can start in April, you have about 6 months to work with. In my book, that's not a lot of time between concept, design, hiring and implementation.
