As autumn arrives, it seems school activities, work projects and winterizing home projects all gear up, and after four or five months of gardening, almost everyone is ready to turn their backs on the frosted remains because they are just plain tired.

For many die-hard gardeners, this is not possible. They know there are chores to be done, so they go forward. Fr the regular person, that football game on Saturday afternoon sounds like a lot more fun thancutting back perennials. Well, in this instance, both responses will work except for a few small things.

Putting the garden to bed, as gardeners say, can be a full blown project or a few chores, depending upon individual situations and, very importantly, what you grow in your garden.

For those who have regular foundation plants and maybe one or two small gardens for perennials and annuals, walking away is a fine option. Just remember to take care of the tools. Tossing dirt encrusted hand forks and clippers into a pile will only mean that next spring you will be at the store buying new ones in many cases. It takes, perhaps, an hour to clean tools properly.

* Tools– Bring trowels, hand forks, clippers, etc., into the house. Wash them thoroughly in hot, soapy water. If there is any rust on metal parts, use steel wool and sand it off. Then rinse again. When they are completely dry, put linseed oil on any wooden handles. A thin coat of 3-in-1 oil on all metal parts is a good protective measure, and spraying WD-40 in any moving parts of clippers, etc., is also good. If you have expensive rose clippers or pruners. it is not overkill to wrap them in paper towels or an old dish towel and put them in plastic bags. Hang tools from a wall; do not pile them on a floor. Rinse hoes, rakes, weeders and the like with a hose, sand off any rust and coat them as well before hanging them. This is also a good time to throw all those gardening gloves in the washing machine, so when spring comes and you can’t wait to get into the garden, you don’t have to put on dirt-encrusted gloves. This is also a good time to spray your snow shovel with any kind of spray-on cooking oil – the snow won’t stick to it when you shovel.

* Annuals – For those who plant a lot of annuals in with their perennials or just have annual beds, pulling them out is quick and much easier in the fall. If left in the spring, the stalks will have rotted and pulling won’t work because the roots will be left. Then you have to dig up the roots. Take a few minutes to pull annuals in the fall and save frustration in the spring.

* Perennials – For those with large perennial beds, the tasks multiply and become more time consuming, if you allow them to be. If left as they are, dried stalks will collect leaves which can form a natural mulch over plants. However, in the spring, if not removed early, those same leaves can smother new growing plants and prevent needed moisture from reaching roots. It’s just another choice. Cutting back spent flowers and stalks in the fall is somewhat easier because they have not been bent over from snowloads and ice. Weeding in the fall will also shorten cleanup time in the spring and perhaps keep down the number of weeds in your garden next summer, but most weeds have already gone to seed, so it may be a hopeless task.

* Roses – If you grow roses, you probably already know there are chores. The areas under rose bushes need to be cleaned up completely before snow. Any leaves and debris left create a breeding ground for the bugs and diseases that will plague your bushes next growing season.

If you have old fashioned roses or very winter-hardy roses, you can stop here. However, for the health of the roses and the beauty of your garden, there are a few more steps that can be taken. After clearing the debris and after the ground is frozen, add one-cup per full-sized bush of super-phosphorus to soil underneath the bushes from the stem to the dripline of the outermost branches. Cut any exceptionally long canes that may be caught by winter winds and whip the plant back and forth. I am not a believer in fall pruning of rose bushes. I wait until spring and see what the winter has killed and then prune.

Why cut it in the fall if it may live to see the spring. Along with the super phosphorus, I add one-half cup of greensand for each bush. I then use compost as a mulch and mound it over the rootball of the bush. If we have an extremely cold, icy winter without much snow, everything below the mulch will live, hopefully. It may take a while for it to grow back, but it will live. In the spring, just pull the compost back off the rootball and away from the trunk and your spring mulching is done for the roses. As the ground thaws and the spring rains come, the phosphorus and greensand will go to the roots and give the bushes a healthy jumpstart.

* Bulbs – This is the time of year to put them in and dig them up – depending on the bulbs. You plant tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus and snow drops now. If you have dahlias, cannas, calla lilies and/or freesias, it’s time to dig them up. They will not live if you leave them in the ground. When you dig them up, make sure you have them separated for labeling purposes as to what kind they are, what color, how tall, etc. Wash them with a hose and let them air dry for at least three days in a sheltered location like a garage where they get air circulation but not sun. Cut off any remaining stalks and you can divide them now or in the spring. You can use a magic marker and write directly onto the dahlia bulbs as to height, color etc. or place them in separate containers that are labeled. You can use plastic containers or cardboard boxes or wooden barrels filled with peat moss or packaging peanuts. Dust the bulbs with a bulb fungicide, which can be found at most gardening centers. Put in a layer of peanuts, a layer of bulbs so they are not touching, another layer of peanuts and then bulbs etc. Finish with a layer of packing material and close up the box. Tape it, label it and place it in a dry, cool location.

* Mulching – Mulching plants is not to keep them from freezing. It is to keep them from thawing and then refreezing. Mulch, whether leaves, pine needles or compost, needs to be added after the ground is frozen. If you have a few plants that are very precious to you, or some plants that specifically need winter protection, then mulch is a good idea. Most regular garden perennials, if purchased for the correct cold zone, do not need to be mulched.

Whether you clean your garden completely or just put away the tools, spring will come and the garden will come with it. You get to decide what will be there for chores when it does. Have a good winter!