October Gardening Tips:

Planting cool season flowers and lawns in October will keep backyard landscapes looking fresh with vibrant colors throughout fall and winter, say experts at Agromin, a Camarillo-based manufacturer of premium soil products.

Cool Weather Flowers: About this time of the year, many summer flowers have lost their luster and gardens need an infusion of hardy new growth that thrive during the upcoming cooler months. Flowers that do particularly well in fall include sweet peas, pansies, violas, primrose, calendula, chrysanthemums, cineraria, dianthus, delphiniums, Iceland poppies, nemesia, snapdragon and wild flowers. Wildflowers that thrive in Southern California are California poppies, larkspur, linaeria and gypsophila.

Spring Bulbs: Plant daffodils, hyacinth, tulips and crocus bulbs. Planting now should result in resilient, bright flowers in spring. Make sure your soil's clay content isn't too high. Till soil conditioner into the top 12 inches of soil. This should help break up the clay and make the soil more conducive for planting.

Lawns: Lawns are still growing vigorously in October. Mow weekly. Now is the time to replant or patch with cool season grasses such as fescue, ryegrass and bluegrass. If planting from seed, use a topper mix to help keep seeds moist and to stimulate growth.

Fall Gardens: Gardens can thrive year-round. Pull out summer vegetables that have stopped producing. Plant such herbs as oregano, cilantro, dill, fennel and thyme. Garlic, peas, spinach, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, lettuce and rutabaga do well when planted in fall. Apply a two-inch layer of organic mulch over plantings to help conserve moisture and encourage growth.

For more planting and gardening tips, go to www.agromin.com.