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With the prospect of cooler temperatures and colorful leaves, taking care of your landscape may not be the first thing that comes to mind.

But this season offers many opportunities to renovate your lawn.

(Sound of grasshoppers and running water)

Insects chirp while coy fish swim in a nearby pond at Wickman's Garden Village Landscaping in Springfield.

Plant caretaker Pat Scammahorn says autumn is the time to prepare your lawn so that it's healthy when spring rolls around again.

"Overseeding is probably the best thing that you can do. Also, you need to fertilize in September and October"

Scammahorn says this puts the soil pH where it needs to be to unlock important nutrients for grass roots.

If you're looking for a good reason to leave that rake in the shed, she says fallen leaves act as a good fertilizer.

"Most of the time they do more good than harm because of the fact that they break down and add organic matter to the soil"

Autumn is also the time for planting trees and shrubs.

Scammahorn says the mild weather and the plants transitioning to dormancy make conditions right for putting them in the ground.

"Not many people realize it. They need to go to the nurseries and pick out their trees now and plant them, during this month or October or November, even as late as December is a good time to plant trees and shrubs"

And as for that task practically no one looks forward to--removing leaves from gutters—Scammahorn says that's something that can wait a couple of months until the leaves settle.

For KSMU news, I'm Benjamin Fry.

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