Now that the weather has cooled down and the daylight hours have decreased, the grass is growing a lot less. You will have longer lasting results while edging your sidewalks, driveways, curbs, and bed lines. If you do a good job edging now, the clean edge could last until April. With my schedule, I like that edging that lasts six months!
If your trees and shrubs have matured over the last year, you might want to consider some design changes over the coming months.
Fall is for planting, transplanting, or even giving away plants. If you plant properly now, the plant’s roots will grow all winter, and the plant will be better prepared for our hot summers.
As trees grow and their canopies get bigger, their area of shade gets larger. A plant or grass that was in full sun before, now might be in full shade.
In this situation, the area under the tree could be changed into a shade garden with a bench. The grass and plants that were there could be removed and placed in another area of the landscape or passed on to friends.
With all the growth in the Lowcountry over the past years, there are many landscapes that have matured and have plant beds that need to be redone.
When the house was first built, plants were packed into the landscape to give it a mature look.
These plants have now grown and need to be thinned out to prevent disease and other problems. Overcrowding and lack of air movement can be a plants and gardener’s worst nightmare.
Anyone have a sago palm attacking them?   
The fall is a great time to redesign bed lines to accommodate the maturing landscape.
As you make your beds larger, think about the plants you have and their mature size.
So this project does not become a yearly task, make the beds large enough to contain several years of growth.
If the bed looks too empty for you after enlarging the beds, plant annuals, perennials, or containers to temporally fill in the bed.
My sister planted vegetables along her bed lines and really increased the yield of her “recession garden.” She would give the Cotton Burr Compost, Messenger, and Neptune Harvest’s Fish and Seaweed Blend all the credit for her success, however.   
If you are going to do some major changes in your landscape, consider hiring a professional designer.
You can still do the work yourself, but at least this way you have a plan that should work in this area (no Lilacs). If you would rather someone else do the work, you can bid it out “apples to apples.”
If you plan to plant bulbs this fall for spring surprises, now is the time to get them while the selection is good.
Look for big healthy bulbs, they may cost more, but they are worth it. Bigger bulbs usually mean bigger flowers. When planting, include one tablespoon of M-Roots per hole.
Once the plant comes up, use Messenger. Continue using Messenger on the foliage after the flowers have died for bigger bulbs next year.
With the cool weather it is a great time to visit our public parks, the College of Charleston campus or The Citadel and the historic plantations. You can adopt many good ideas from these landscapes.

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply, 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511).  Fax your questions to 406-2700 or e-mail them to your newspaper’s editors. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from 12-1 p.m. on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker).