Fall mums, hardy asters and fall decorations are now in stock, so take advantage of this long season to decorate. Soon it will be time to do your fall clean up, when most of the leaves have fallen. Your perennials can be cut down to the ground, we recommend that you do not just pull out the old foliage, it can hurt the living crown of the plant ...some perennials with semi woody stems like butterfly bush and blue mist spirea can be cut back 2/3 down because their crown is not below ground level. You can also plant fall bulbs, its best and easier to plant the bulbs in groups of 7-10 bulbs per pocket because you'll get more of an impact than several single plants and use some bulb food when planting. fall fertilizing can be done until the ground freezes it will give your lawn a great green up in the spring, but don't put down grub killer now because the grubs are too deep in the soil and you'll be wasting your money.
People frequently ask us what plants they can trim back now, the answer is most except magnolia, azalea, rhododendron and some woody hydrangeas because these require 2nd year growth to flower and their flower buds are already set, these are best pruned soon after flowering... you can still shape up these plants just be aware that you will cut off flower buds if you prune too heavy. Trees can be pruned now because its easier to see branch structure... roses can be trimmed now to 15"off the ground because they have overtaken their space due to last years mild winter, you can trim them down further in the spring, down to the live parts of the stems as needed.
Plants that were planted this year should be watered in one more time heavily, because even though their leaves are gone they are still setting roots. Watering in your evergreens is especially important because they are still rooting and need small amounts of water all winter, to keep their foliage from drying out with the winter winds, if you can give them a bucket or two of water until the ground freezes around December 15 that would be a benefit.