Fall cleanup: what actually needs to happen before frost

Fall cleanup is not about tidiness. It is about what survives to spring. Here is the order that matters.

The six jobs

Leaves off the lawn before they mat. Gutters cleared before the first storm. Perennials cut back. Beds mulched two inches deep. The final mow, one notch lower. Irrigation blown out before the first freeze.

Timing beats effort

Do these in late October and your spring starts three weeks earlier. Do them in December and you are repairing instead of preparing.