Fabulous Fall Tractor Display by Ray and Kathy Roberts, owners of Central Florida Fern & Foliage in Zellwood, FL
October in the Garden: Black Is the New Orange
October has arrived, bringing cooler mornings, longer shadows, and the annual reminder that black really is the new orange. This month’s In Your Backyard celebrates the colors, flavors, and occasional frights of Fall gardening, with practical advice, inspiring plants, and just enough mischief to keep your landscape from becoming frightening for all the wrong reasons.
We’ll begin with What to Do in Your Backyard, your October checklist for keeping the garden healthy, productive, and ready for the season ahead. Then we’ll step over to the dark side with Black Plants, those dramatic burgundy, maroon, purple, and chocolate beauties that only look black but bring very real sophistication to the landscape.
Next, Lizzie Steele, the talented producer behind Better Lawns and Gardens, shares another installment of Lizzie’s Garden Adventures. You’ll also discover Teresa’s Plant of the Month and a new Teresa’s Landscape Design Tip to help you create a garden that is both beautiful and thoughtfully designed.
And because October deserves at least one good scare, Landscape Malpractice: How to Know When to Fire Your Landscaper, #48 reveals another landscaping offense that should have homeowners reaching for the pruning shears, or perhaps a termination letter.
Better Lawns, Better Gardens and Better Weekends
For nearly three decades, the award-winning radio show, Better Lawns and Gardens, has helped listeners cultivate healthier landscapes, solve perplexing garden problems, and enjoy life in their own backyards. With expert guests, timely advice, and lively garden conversation, the show proves every week that gardening education can be practical, entertaining, and occasionally uproarious. Listen every Saturdays from 7am - 9am EST on WFLA- Orlando. Call in with your garden questions and text messages on 1-888.455.2867 and 23680, Miss the live broadcast? Listen on Audioboom podcast 24/7.
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Come See What’s Blooming in 2027
Our 2027 Art in Bloom Garden Tours will take fellow garden lovers beyond the backyard for unforgettable horticultural and cultural adventures. From the artistic gardens of France and the celebrated Chelsea Flower Show to the grand landscapes of Scotland, Newport, and Martha’s Vineyard, each journey will offer carefully curated gardens, architecture, history, and plenty of inspiration to bring home.
Harvest the Goodness
As October settles in, I hope you’ll harvest all the goodness your garden has to offer. Perhaps that means gathering cool-season vegetables for a comforting pot of Fall soup or stew. Perhaps it means cutting a bouquet of beautiful flowers to brighten your home and warm your soul. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of preventing those winter weeds trying to work their way in your yard. In every way, the garden continues to nourish us, one harvest, blossom, and peaceful moment at a time.
Thank you for subscribing to my In Your Backyard newsletter. Please leave a comment and let me know what’s going on in your backyard. May your October be colorful, your harvest plentiful, and your landscape only the right kind of spooky.
Kathy Roberts’ She-Shed garden, spooky full moon vignette with her lantern trellis. Moon and raven courtesy of my imagination.