Outdoors

With the changing season, it’s time to close the garden down. After a 10-year-run, this series is also ending, but keep nurturing your backyard and container gardens!

If you want to enjoy your spring flowering tulips, daffodils, crocus and other bulbs a little earlier in spring or if you don’t have a garden, consider forcing them in containers.

While the look of a cleaned garden might be appealing, it's not the best for the ecology around your yard.

While tulips, daffodils, and crocus bulbs are commonly planted each October, don't forget about alliums. Alliums, aka flowering onions, come back each year and deer, rabbit and mice don't seem to bother with them.

Bring these cook's favorites indoors for the fall and winter: parsley, rosemary, geraniums, chives, thyme and oregano. Once inside, mature potted herbs will continue to send out shoots and leaves into November, and under grow lights, your herbs will continue growing into winter.

Boltonia is a pollinator favorite often visited by butterflies, bees and other insects. It's deer and rabbit proof and a delightful fall flower for your garden.

Helenium has the unfortunate common name of sneezeweed because it blooms when ragweed is flowering. It's a carefree, native perennial to grow for fall color and food for the pollinators.

Charlie's tips for harvesting apples and pears.

While there are chemical controls for Japanese and other ground dwelling beetles, there are effective ecologically friendly controls as well.

Fall in Connecticut feels longer and warmer. It's an opportunity to garden more, so start planting quick maturing, cool weather loving greens like spinach, lettuce, arugula, escarole, kale and Swiss chard.