Putting Your Garden to Bed to Ensure Successful Gardening in 2026

Our speaker William Karges will outline how to prepare your garden for winter. With a focus on perennial gardens, you'll learn what to cut down, how and when to cut plant material, and how to prevent this year's problems from recurring in future years. The proper use of mulches will also be covered in detail.

Meeting attendees are welcome to bring plant samples for discussion of insect, disease and/or cultural problems, as time permits.

• Dividing and adding plants: when to do it, after care, rejuvenating ornamental grasses
• Trimming and pruning: "perennials," natives, vegetables, to cut or not, when and how
• Attending to the soil: amending, soil testing, fertilizing (organic v. inorganic)
• Mulching: choosing the right mulch, using leaves, when to apply and how much
• Watering guidelines
• Wildlife and weather

The presentation will be informal, with many examples to illustrate the topic at hand. Audience participation, questions, and comments are always encouraged.

Schedule for the evening:

6:30 Social Time - Enjoy visiting with our friendly members.

7:00 Program – William Karges presents “Putting Your Garden to Bed”

8:00 Darien Garden Club's General Meeting - Find out all about DGC and the activities available to our members.

All are welcome. Darien Residency is NOT required.

Meeting will be in a hybrid format. Please allow for emails from the organizer when reserving your ticket to receive the Zoom link.

More about DGC at our website.

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Become a DGC Sponsor. See information

Mr. Karges has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Botany and a minor in speech. He enjoys talking about all aspects of the world of plants.

Mr. Karges has managed garden centers for over 50 years, where he offers advice on a wide range of horticultural topics. Whether your gardening questions concern cultural requirements, insect and disease problems, fertilization practices, or soil structure issues, he tries to blend traditional, reliable information with current research to help his customers improve their gardening skills.

Also check out other Meetups in Darien.