Fall is a great time of year to do landscaping because it is a good time for planting just about anything.

Plants go into a sort of dormant state during the winter, so planting something during the fall allows it to adjust to soil and other conditions, as well as begin to store up water and nutrients to help it survive the warmer, dryer summer months.

In autumn trees come into prominence, showing off rich golds, purples, and reds. Closer to the ground, skillful gardeners keep the color coming with rich red pine mulches and well-selected shrubs and perennials. Better Homes and Gardens magazine suggests for more color from annuals you can plant cool-season types of plants, such as snapdragons and pansies, which keep going even after frost. Ornamental grasses are also at their most gorgeous now, especially when backlit by the slanting golden light of an autumn afternoon.

Ideally perennial garden beds should also be cleaned up and mulched as part of your yard work in fall gardens. Removing old stalks and leaves means you'll be one step ahead come spring. Pine mulch is an excellent mulch to use. Just remember to leave an inch or two of space around the stems of plants and trunks of trees to allow the plants to breathe and avoid problems down the road.

In fall mulching with pine straw has an important purpose since temperatures in the late fall to winter months can change radically. The ground heaves as it freezes and thaws, forcing the root systems of many delicate plants up from the soil and exposing them to the elements. Nearly all plants are much healthier when they have a layer of pine needle mulch spread over their roots.

Many people make the mistake of using a less reliable fall mulch such as hay in their garden. Hay is not a good alternative to pine straw since hay often carries seeds that may eventually sprout and cause weed problems in your garden bed in the spring. Pine straw comes from several different species of pine trees that drop their pine needles or "straw" naturally throughout the year. Once the pine needle drops to the ground, it is cleaned and baled, without ever cutting down a single tree. Since it is produced naturally, pine straw sometimes is referred to as the "guilt-free" mulch.

You can get the best pine straw and even buy pine straw truckloads of wholesale mulch by requesting a quote or by calling us at (386) 454-1395.