Everywhere you look – fall plants at local garden centers and other locales have arrived. Mums in full bloom, ornamental kale, pansies, pumpkins….fall gardening season has arrived! So what should you be doing in the garden now that it's September? Here are some great fall gardening tips.

• Any houseplants that have been outdoors, now is the time to prep them for their return trip indoors. Inspect them for any insect issues and make sure to treat those before bringing them back inside. Slowly adjust them to lower light conditions inside by placing them in bright light and gradually move to lower light conditions over a few weeks.

• Plant mums in the ground and consider planting them on a slight mound to help with drainage issues.

• Remove and clean out any tired or worn out annuals and replace them with spectacular fall plants to liven the garden back up – mums, ornamental kale, pansies. There are plenty of options to renew both the garden and containers in the landscape in September.

• Evaluate the perennial garden – make sure to clean out diseased plant material so that it doesn't provide inoculum to reinfect plants next year.

• Take notes about what worked and didn't work this gardening season. It's easier to take notes now then try to remember next year what happened this year. Taking photos is another great way to remember what this gardening season was like. This is especially useful for vegetable gardens where we recommend crop rotation as a cultural method for addressing disease issues such as early blight on tomatoes.

• Now is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. For more information about proper planting of trees visit www.treesaregood.com which is the general public website for the International Society of Arboriculture.

• Take advantage of the cooler weather and divide and move perennials.

• Purchase spring blooming bulbs for planting in October.

• Enjoy the cooler weather and sit and relax in the garden.