Like Diggingthedirt, the only thing I cut back in the fall is the peonies. I leave everything else in place - both perennials and annuals. There are several reasons for this. I kind of like the "messy" look, and enjoy the foliage as winter interest, especially when there is a snowfall. The foliage provides some wind and privacy screen along the front of the house during the winter when things are bare and the winds coming from the farmland across the street are just brutal. Also, the standing plants catch lots of leaves that blow around in the fall/winter and this provides mulch for the gardens over the winter. In the Spring I actually just rake or pick out whatever stray foliage remains and continue to use the leaves as mulch. Last but not least, the birds enjoy picking through the leftover seedheads and the foliage provides places for beneficial insects to over-winter. Anyway, I definitely wait until early-mid Spring to cut back the Buddleia, just about the time I see new shoot sprouting. And yes, once cleome gets going, it re-seeds prolifically - but I love cleome, and use it and other annuals to fill in between the perennials and shrubs.

I don't like cutting things back too hard in fall, if they stay green or have the good foliage, like grasses. Many of your perrenials will brown up with a couple frosts and regular cold, like peonies and the sedum, salvia, lily stems. Then you can cut them down. I leave some stalk height as markers, my garden is quite thickly planted. Morning glory is an annual, I would pull it down whenever I got tired of it, green or dried, for neater winter appearance. Cut it off at the ground. Clematis is another climer, but a perennial. I leave alone in fall, mine stay green most of the winter, give birds shelter. They get trimmed in early spring, down to a couple feet tall. Clematis do better if pruned heavily, and I want them cut before the birds return to nest in them. Lovely flowers in many shapes colors. Three types, early, mid, late flowering, to bloom at different times of the season. They might be something you would like too. I tried leaving my dried sedum for winter interest, just didn't like it in winter so I cut it about halfway thru. Just was ugly. My grasses were pretty nice over winter, but I cut them back VERY early, late Feb or March to prevent the leaves and mess you mentioned. I think the big grasses need a bit of cover to protect the clump over the coldest times. I wouldn't cut grasses in fall, but that is me. Lavendar needs to be left alone for winter. You will probably get some die-back anyway, don't want to kill the plant with no branches to spare. You should trim it in spring, just when the new growth is starting, to know what is alive. Bell flower I just cut the flower spikes off, same with Liantris, by which I think you mean for the "roman candle flower". Leaves help me locate them for spring work. Not sure what goosenecks are, Gooseneck Loostrife? I would cut that down after it dries out when frosted. The other plants I am not recognizing from descriptions. Sage the herb, is tough, will come thru winter, but the woody stems don't need trimming back. I killed mine doing that. Just trim it on the ends, new growth, next spring for neater appearance. You can save your yard leaves, Oak are the best. Don't EVER burn them. Run the mower thru them to shred them up, use that for mulch over winter. Returns a lot of nutrients to soil, makes a nice mulch and protective layer. I would fertilize in spring, not now because plants would grow better, get winter damaged in cold. If you have extra leaves, you can bag them up for spring use or start a small compost pile for next year. Even just mowing the leaves onto the lawn, is better for the lawn, than wasting the leaves. Like a free fertilizer treatment. Small pieces of leaves don't pack or clot up like full sized leaves. I would not save Black Walnut or Butternut leaves since they contain jugalone, poison for some plants. I don't think I would do much shrub trimming now. Hollies get wind-burned over winter, dry out in cold wind. The small evergreens might benefit from a little shaping, but not massive trimming so late in season. I would trim and shape both of these in early spring, April. That time would let you remove the winter damages, not be hard on newly awakened plant. You might want to start a Journal, keep track of stuff for yourself. See what works or doesn't, for YOU, plants you have. My mom loves to have everything tidied up for fall, makes it easier for her in spring. Looks kind of stark to me, in late fall. I have some fall and spring work because I have different plants, different location in the state. Journal can be very simple, some dates, what worked or failed, just a tracking device for your notes. Easier than trying to keep it in your head. Good luck, sounds like your garden is working well for you. Kale are great winter plants, along with pansies, love the colder temps. An idea for the bare spots of fall and winter.

Thanks to all who replied to my question. I read both the WS FAQs and SS thread. I honestly never thought I had to cover anything I planted outside when the weather was nice - just let Mother Nature do her job. Now, I'll put the stuff I had inside, outside with a cover. I especially liked the FAQ "Poster Suggestions for Flats from Recycleables" and also, the suggestions posted to this thread regarding containers. I needed to know what to start saving now in order to WS as economically and environmentally as possible. What wonderfully invented ideas people had. I had asked about coffee cans a few months back but did not get a resounding "Good Idea" so I guess I'll put those in the cycle bin and stick to the more widely used plastics that light can get through. Great to hear from my New England and Canadian neighbors - we can all commiserate together about all this rain (what was THAT last night?). Also, thanks to all for the "Welcomes" to the forum. I appreciate your time and thoughtfullness in helping me out. I'm sure I'll you'll be hearing from me again with more stupid questions! Zahzeen

I always plant my leeks about now, and start harvesting them in the fall when they get large. When it starts getting cold I give them a deep fluffy mulch and continue to harvest until the garden is too deeply buried in snow to harvest. Once the bed re-emerges in the spring, I have just a very few weeks to harvest and eat the rest before they start bolting and get tough. The top gets frozen and looks relatively unappealing, but the part that is deeper in the mulch looks fine. I am not a market gardener, but I think that having them in a tunnel to keep them from getting too cold will keep them looking more handsome for sales, and in really cold weather you may want to use spun bond row cover as well. IME leeks will continue to get larger, but not tougher, the longer the growing season, but will just stay the same size once the temperatures cool and the light levels decrease. I am not sure what the advantage of starting them later or the disadvantage of starting them earlier would be, but that may be because I have a relatively short growing season, usually about 4 or 4 1/2 months.