5 garden jobs to tackle in Seattle right now

🥬 Plant for fall and winter: The window is closing for sowing many overwintering crops. Get spinach and other hardy greens in now or sow a cover crop in empty vegetable beds.

🌳 Put down roots: Fall is one of the best times to plant trees, shrubs and perennials in Western Washington. Cooler temperatures and returning rain reduce stress on new plants and help roots get established.

🌱 Give the lawn some love: September is among the best times to overseed bare or thin patches and aerate compacted areas while grass is still actively growing.

🌿 Tackle invasives: Get after Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, Himalayan blackberry, English ivy, garlic mustard and other unwanted invaders before fall rains take over.

• Just check the recommended control method first — especially for knotweed, which can spread from tiny root and stem fragments.

• Pro tip: Invasives generally can't be tackled in one season. But you can start small — one plant, one square foot, one patch at a time.

🍂 Don't clean up too much: Weed, add compost and mulch bare soil, but consider leaving healthy perennial stems, seed heads and some fallen leaves for insects and birds.

The bottom line: The garden may be slowing down, but now is no time to call it quits.