Right about now is the perfect time to get out the power washer.  Clean your water features, edging, rocks, fountains, and your outdoor entertaining spaces. The reality is that once you start up that power washer, the list of things that you can clean with it goes on and on. As you're working, you invariably find more things to wash. When it comes to our maintenance free decking, I'll add a little Dawn dish soap to help release the dirt out of the grooves. And, this week and next is the exact best time of year to get your ponds netted so you can catch those falling leaves and save yourself some major cleanup. My neighbor has a huge maple tree that hangs over part of our yard. When that tree starts to let go the helicopter seeds, I'll cover some of the raised beds and planters with wedding tulle to minimize the number of baby maples growing in the garden.