Fall clean up????

What should I be doing garden experts? should I cut back hedges? Clean out flower beds or just let them die?

Help??

I don't think you want to be trimming any hedges now. I'm pretty sure that's usually done in the spring. Flowering shrubs, like Forsythia, should be cut back right after they flower, because the buds start growing for the next year shortly after the current year's blooming, and if you trim them later you won't have many blooms the following year.

I think Rose Bushes can be cut back in the fall, but you need to cut them correctly - pick up a book from the library or search on line for more info.

You don't want to let lots of leaves lie on the lawn over the winter, because they will matt together and kill off the lawn in the spring - they block out the grass, just as if you'd put a board on the lawn.

I pull my dying annuals from the gardens this time of year, and cultivate the soil to get it in good shape for planting the next year.