We are approaching the end of the sixth season where I have tried to mix writing and gardening. Sometimes it feels that I am repeating myself but I keep hearing the same questions. So here comes another edition of late fall suggestions.

In the lawn leaves and grass do not mix. If you want nice grass get rid of the leaves. I saved that one until I could hear the wind whistling wildly outside. The final mowing should be as short as possible. Tall grass is an invitation for diseases, especially in a very wet year like this one.

I have been complaining about the nasty weeds that seem to be taking over from the grass in my field turned lawn. Several weeks ago I looked at a spray label for a lawn weed killer. I was surprised to see similar chemistry to that which I used while I grew strawberries commercially for 27 years.

Then we took out clover, dandelions and several of their friends with an after Thanksgiving application. You guessed it. I now have half a yard full of unhappy weeds. The other half is warned.

Haven't seen anybody suggest spraying now but it works and you can't hurt your actively growing flowers because the annuals are frozen, the perennials are going dormant and the shrubs are losing their leaves.

Before you spray, always read the label and ask your supplier for recommendations.

What about clean up in the flowerbeds? It's your garden and you must look at what is left. Do what you must, but I can think of a lot of reasons to stay away from your perennials until the first warm days of spring.

If you have a few fruit trees this is not the time to think about pruning. Sure apples, pears, blueberries and grapes can be pruned at the start of winter but I would rather wait until late February or March. The commercial recommendation for stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums is to be half done by the time they bloom. That's easy if you have only a tree or two.

Short needled evergreens can be pruned in late winter. Long needled ones should not be pruned until the rapid spring growth ends in late June or July.

Spring blooming shrubs should be pruned immediately after bloom. Fall blooming shrubs should be pruned in the spring. For spring pruning I wait until new growth begins so I can remove any winter killed branches. Prune ornamental grasses in the spring. Why destroy their fall and winter display now? Get the chainsaw sharp for that mission.

If you have planted anything in the last month or so it is a good practice to let the ground freeze and then mulch those plants lightly. This stabilizes the soil temperature fluctuations and will reduce heaving. That gives you one more possibility to succeed.

There isn't much to say about fall hydration this year. We've had plenty of rain. Most plants like to enter the dormant season well watered and then spend their winter rather dry.

If you think I like to procrastinate about work I won't argue, but timelines is one of the keys to a great garden. Winter is just as long as each of our three gardening seasons so there is no reason we can't pause a bit with our activities now.