I don't cut anything down in the fall nor do I pull up my annuals. It might look a little messy for a little while but I find my perennials winter over better. The perennials die back naturally and the good from the leaves go into the roots. The plants catch the snow and the snow protects the plants because it has trapped air. The perennial stalks are easier to cut and the annuals pull out easily in the spring.

You might have some of the same snow trapping benefits by leaving the clippings where they lay but be sure to clean it up when new plants start emerging next spring. The plants stalks will act as a mulch for the perennials and protect the roots. The rotting vegetation will also enrich the soil. I'd say your plan is good one!!

Clearly taste, intent and location all play into how one gardens.

Personally I garden intensively, with a sizeable variety of perennials, closely spaced, with the intent of having continuous and changing colour from early spring to late fall.

For this I find I need to cut down all perennials by latest fall and clear away all plant debris from the surface. We almost invariably have snow cover all winter and the soil begins to reappear at some point in March.

One of several reasons for the neatness is that, without it, there'd be no clear view of the spring bulbs and perennials (see below). The ground here, in spring, is wet from snow melt, so walking on it compacts the soil and also potentially damages bulbs and perennial plants.

April 19, 2013:

I just don't think it's possible to do this here, at least in a small garden (such as we have), without a complete fall clean-up.

May 20, 2013:

I have cut back daylilies and have done some deadheading. I did not chop down the coneflowers even though I should so they do not seed everywhere. But I like the finches.

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I only cut down my phlox in Fall. Some plants are left as is so the birds can have the seeds. Others, like my daylilies, heucheras and others, I leave as they are so their leaves will help protect them thru the Winter. Sometimes we get good snowfalls in the Winter, but sometimes not. And when we get the bitter cold spells, these old leaves will help protect the plants. As for watering, I water when needed and deeply. Last Summer we had record breaking temps with highs in the upper 90s to 100s and no rain for almost 2 months and very little afterwards. If I hadn't watered, I would have lost many plants, even though my gardens are mulched. I like doing a Spring cleanup when it starts getting warmer.

Kat

I clean up when I have time. I prefer to do it in the fall, as I tend to like things neat and tidy, but my schedule hasn't allowed for this the past few years. So, things get cut down/cleaned up here and there, but mostly in the spring. I find it doesn't matter either way in terms of the plants themselves, for the most part. Hopefully I'll be able to tidy up before winter sets in this year...it all looks so peaceful when the beds are put "to bed" and a fresh coating of snow blankets the ground :0)

I am a very enthusiastic, organic gardener. However,
I am not growing my annuals,perennials,and vegetables in the forest.

I like things as tidy as possible. Sorry, that's just me. I'm starting to cut things back and prefer to do it in bits and pieces since I hate any kind of mad rush to get things done. Last year I didn't do the thorough fall cleanup and regretted it with my entire being when spring came. What a mess! When spring comes there is so much else to do. I want to plant, move things around, plant new plants. I don't want to do what I should have done months ago.

However, the main reason I like to get this work done early is to get everything into the compost bins as soon as possible and begin the decomposition process. My entire garden is recycled this way. Nothing gets thrown away. The sooner I start that process, the sooner it is ready to spread back over the garden as a nice, rich, moisture holding topdressing.

And no, this doesn't take any money either.

Kevin

Lots of perennials do better if they aren't cut back until early spring. I have some things that I cut back in the fall, the ones that are really intense reseeders like Centranthus and catmints, but I leave the iris, the agastache, and others until late winter-early spring. It does give one cold fingers sometimes. We never know if we will have an open winter or not, so for those times that we do it is easy to deal with the dead foliage then, otherwise I do it as the snow melts. I have spring bulbs too, and I don't have to look at them between the dead leaves this way.

I'm in the category of those who cut things down in the fall.

I've already started to pull up some browning annuals and trimmed back my daylilies. These have all gone to mulch heaven.

Next we'll start cutting back the taller perennials, especially the ornamental grasses. We live along a river and the winter winds that whip up it are fierce. If we don't cut these back, they're all over the back yard--- in the front yard --- across the street.

Soon I'll probably divide and move some perennials. This is much easier when the tops are cut.

We do leave echinacea up for the birds to enjoy, but these get cut back down when they're empty and blackened.

Plus, as someone else said, it's easier to see all the spring bulbs when the ground around them is cleared.

I'm seeing more powdery mildew than usual this year on the phlox in our garden. Flowering or not, I need to cut much more back to limit inoculum entering the soil.

The one exception is variegate 'Nora Leigh', which is blooming late and currently shows no powdery mildew. Perhaps the late blooming is related to me usually positioning it further back (than many phlox) in the perennial beds.

Another survivor 'Nora Leigh' (to the right) in the garden.
Both pictures today.