Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gardening

5 outdoor gardening projects to do in October

Ways to improve your garden this October

Cayla Leonard
By
Topics
Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard
Contributor
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
Quaking aspens are tall, beautiful, and easier to care for than you might expect
Read here and learn how to grow quaking aspens
Quaking aspen trees

Quaking aspens are native deciduous trees with striking and easily recognizable silhouettes. They have tall, thin trunks wrapped in white or silver bark. Although they are stunning all year long, with small white flowers in the spring and round green leaves in the summer, quaking aspens are perhaps most famous for their brilliant gold color of fall foliage. In addition to their beauty, quaking aspens are also extremely good for the environment. If you’re thinking about planting a quaking aspen tree in your yard, this is the care guide for you.
How to plant a quaking aspen
When choosing your planting site, there are a few key things to look for. First, your planting site should be well away from power lines, buildings, or other structures that tree growth could damage. Quaking aspens typically grow to between 30 and 50 feet tall (although some can grow much taller) and their longest branches can grow up to 30 feet long, so make sure your tree has plenty of room.

Your location should also be in full sun with rich, moist soil. Quaking aspens need at least 4 to 6 hours of sun each day in order to grow properly. In addition to the sun, a quaking aspen needs plenty of water and nutrients. Adding compost to your soil before you begin planting can help improve poor soil. Although it needs moist soil, avoid planting your quaking aspen in wetlands or dips where water pools, as too much standing water can lead to fungal infections.

Read more
Blazing stars will fill your summer garden with color: A liatris care guide
Growing and caring for liatris
Tall purple liatris (blazing star) with butterflies

There are many wonderful plants you can add to your summer flower garden for stunning color, from tall and bright sunflowers to short and sweet zinnia. If you’re planning your garden now, you should definitely consider adding liatris, also called blazing star, to the mix! This tall, drought-tolerant, native perennial has stunning purple flowers. It’ll even attract butterflies. Here’s everything you need to know about planting and caring for liatris.
Planting liatris
You can plant liatris bulbs in the spring or fall, but you can transplant mature plants during any season. Choose a location with full sun and well-draining soil to plant your liatris in. Blazing stars can tolerate some light shade, but they won’t thrive unless they get at least 6 hours of sun each day. Spacing is important when planting liatris, as they can grow to 2 feet high and 1.5 feet wide. Plant your liatris bulbs 12 to 15 inches apart so they have plenty of space to grow.

In addition to having well-draining soil, it should also be average or poor. Many plants prefer soil that's rich with organic matter, but liatris has an unusual quirk! The flower stalks will sometimes bend or flop over if the soil is too rich.

Read more
Take advantage of hydrangeas’ color-changing quirk – how to get beautiful blue hydrangeas
Make your soil acidic to turn your hydrangeas a beautiful blue color
Hydrangeas with blue flowers

Hydrangeas are known for two things -- impressive, showy flowers and their tendency to change color based on the pH of the soil. This makes them highly appealing, but also unpredictable. If you don’t take the soil into account, your bright blue hydrangeas could turn out to be pink or purple instead. With careful planning, you can take advantage of this quirk to ensure your hydrangeas are the striking shade of blue you want them to be.
Getting started
First, check what variety of hydrangeas you have. Not all hydrangeas change color! Bigleaf hydrangeas, especially the mophead and lanceleaf cultivars, are the ones that change color. However, white hydrangeas of any variety will not change color.

Test the soil’s pH before you get started. This lets you know how much you’ll need to change it, or if you need to change it at all. If your soil pH is already between 5.5 and 4.5, it’s acidic enough to turn your hydrangeas blue.

Read more