Fall Gardening & Preparation
As fall draws near it is time to begin thinking about what needs to be done to your plants, flowers, tress and shrubs to make sure they are winter ready. This is when you plan for the next spring by preparing your garden, protecting plants, maintaining gardening equipment, among other things. There are different reasons for interest in Fall Gardening.
{1} You really want to grow some veggies, plants or flowers in the fall.
{2} You are preparing bulbs, seeds and perennials for the spring.
{3} You are protecting your garden over the winter.
{4} You are cleaning up & setting the stage for a fresh start next spring.
Depending on what country you live in (and what specific region within your country) changes in seasons occur at different times, rates, and manners. You can consult such maps as the USDA Pant Hardiness Zones Maps, or other worldwide reference guides to determine your exact climatic conditions.
The great thing about treating your gardens on a regional basis is that you can know what to plant when. It all varies and eventually you’ll reach the time of the year to “Put Your Gardens to Bed”. 
Obviously if you are in a “warm winter climate” you have different planting options in the fall and winter than a person living in “cold winter climates”. Neither is better than the other, just different in you’re your approach for outdoor gardening activities. Some of the specific fall gardening activities that are good include:
Other Plant & Flower Over-Wintering Tips Include:
Fall Gardening Checklist
Master Gardener - James R. Cannon
More Detailed Fall Gardening Checklist:
There are many different goals and activities you can choose to undertake as fall approaches. Your can go from doing nothing to a full scale work-over of your gardens. To help you think of the many possibilities read the following list of potential activities:
{1} Prepare your gardens soil
{2} Fertilize plants and flowers as recommended
{3} Apply dormancy fertilizers to shrubs, trees, vines and ground cover
{4} Add any mulch for winter protection to all plants, trees and shrubs
{5} Rake and remove fallen leaves and debris
{6} Remove Annuals damaged by frost and other causes
{7} Replace spent annuals
{8} Plant and put mulch around hardy annuals
{9} Divide and transplant your perennials
{10} Cut back spent perennials and biennials
{11} Transplant roses
{12} Plant bare-root roses
{13} Plant bare-root trees, shrubs, ground covers and vines
{14} Dig and store tender bulbs
{15} Plant spring bulbs
{16} Sow seeds for your succession plantings
{17} Clean and sharpen tools and store in safe dry places USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
There are several different plant hardiness zone descriptions (also known as growing zones or climate zones). The version many gardeners are familiar with is the USDA Hardiness Zone Maps. This map is broken into 11 temperature zones as follows:
Zone 1: (below -50 F) or (below -46 C)
Zone 2: (-50 to -40 F) or (-46 to -40 C)
Zone 3: (-40 to -30 F) or (-40 to -34 C)
Zone 4: (-30 to -20 F) or (-34 to -29 C)
Zone 5: (-20 to -10 F) or (-29 to -23 C)
Zone 6: (-10 to 0 F) or (-23 to -18 C)
Zone 7: (0 to 10 F) or (-18 to -12 C)
Zone 8: (10 to 20 F) or (-12 to -7 C)
Zone 9: (20 to 30 F) or (-7 to -1 C)
Zone 10: (30 to 40 F) or -1 to 4 C)
Zone 11: (above 40 F) or (above 4 C)
Outside the USA:
If you live outside the United States you can figure out your hardiness zone by simply finding out how low the temperatures get in your area. This way you can still go by this method if making a purchase where the growth calculations are related to a particular plant using USDA measurements. Plant hardiness zone maps are great in general for determining which plants you can grow in the region you live. There are some disadvantages to this method of mapping. The USDA Hardiness Zoning only takes the average minimum temperatures a region will encounter to come up with their mapping.
Why is this an issue? There are several factors beyond pure temperatures that go into whether a plant or flower will grow and thrive in a particular region. Other important things in addition to temperature affecting plant growth are:
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