October Gardening & Planting Tips

Grow Now: Old-Fashioned Mums
These are some of the finest perennials available for Southern gardens. Their soft colors and graceful habits steal the show in fall borders. Excellent selections include 'Hillside Sheffied' (apricot-pink), 'Cathy's Rust' (rusty peach), 'Clara Curtis' (clear pink), 'Country Girl' (rosy pink), 'Ryan's Pink' (soft pink), and 'Emperor of China' (silvery, rosy pink). Good companion plants include salvias, asters, and ornamental grasses. Look for old-fashioned myms at your local nursery.

Buy Now: Pumpkins
Pumpkins are now available in a range of colors at grocery stores and local farmers markets. Look for ones that are firm and unblemished and have their stems still attached. Keep in a cool, dry spot to extend their use outside. No time to create a display? Just pick multiple pumpkins of the same color in different sizes to keep things simple.

Bold color:
Crotons are beautiful houseplants that echo the shades of the season with their yellow, orange, red, and green leaves. Use them to brighten any indoor room or to dress up an entry to your garden or home. Let the soil dry slightly between waterings.

Pansies:
Begin planting these happy flowers in your beds to help roots become established before colder weather sets in. Set out trasplants in a sunny location in rich, well-drained soil. Use ornamental cabbages or kales as a backdrop for the blooms.