Fall Mums

" Fall means mums, and here in the Better Homes and Garden's test garden, we use them a lot to perk up the fall landscape. There are a number of ways that you can use mums in your fall garden. One is to plant them in the ground. If you do that, be sure that you have garden mums. Those will be hardy in your area and be sure that you plant them in a spot with full sun and well-drained soil. Mums hate to be constantly wet and they don't wanna be in much shade. You can also put mums directly in their pots that you've got them in at your local garden center. They make a great display on their own. Or, you can pot them up in a fancy container. Look at how fabulous this looks! And here's a shopping tip. Don't buy mums that are in their prime like this. Although it looks beautiful, you're not going to get as long of a life out of it. Look for mums that mostly have flowers in their bud stage. They'll continue to open and last a lot longer. A third way to use mums is to revitalize fall containers. This pot here will look great all summer, but this guy isn't looking so great anymore. Simply pot them out and drop the mum in its place. Dig a hole. Grab your new shiny mum here and plant it in. Tuck the soil in real well, water it, and you'll have a container that looks great for another several weeks. And that's your test garden tip."