This course focuses on gardening best practices that begin in the fall and last into the early spring—be it vegetables, flowers, shrubs or trees. How do we offer our garden the seasonal care it deserves? Keeping the mercurial nature of Kansas weather in mind, we will discuss the important garden tasks that keep our plants looking their best all year long. Starting with autumn, we will learn when and how to divide perennials, where and what variety of bulbs to plant, how to put a vegetable garden to bed properly for the winter, and the proper way to “clean up” flower beds. We will also talk about the advantages of fall vegetable gardening, including hoop houses and cold frames. Winter is a great time for planning, building garden projects and, most of all, perusing the garden catalogs. We will learn how to prune shrubs and trees while they are dormant. Last but not least, we will discuss when and how to start seed indoors.

Instructor: Kelly Caswell, Master Gardener