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About this time of year, even the most passionate gardener is ready for a break. All those long hours in the sun, all those weeds pulled and re-pulled, and all those cucumbers that no one is willing to take off your hands do add up. By Labor Day, things are looking a little scraggly and brown, and the prospect of putting the garden to bed for the winter has an undeniable appeal.

While it's hard to say goodbye to warm days and the garden's ever-changing beauty, it's important to say goodbye properly, even though it's tempting to come inside one day, hang up the trowel and settle down with the first good book of the fall with nary a second glance. By taking the time to tuck the garden and yard away with care, you'll ensure that next summer your garden will bloom brighter, and produce even more cukes — or even better, more variety.

"Putting your garden to bed in the fall will save you a lot of headaches in the spring," says Master gardener Rebecca Kolls, author of Rebecca's Garden: Four Seasons to Grow On and gardening contributor on "Good Morning America." "Anything left behind is a constant reminder all winter, and the job of picking up and raking mushy, decomposed plants is not a pretty thing."

Fall is also the perfect time to reflect on the season, and note things you'd like to change for next year. Are you giving up on something, or determined to try something new? Put it in writing, because spring is still a long way away. "I make mental notes of what I will change next year, and of course I'll forget by then, and wish I would have written it down," confesses Kolls.

To help you get next year's gardening season off to a clean start, Kolls offers this fall checklist of yard and garden chores. Print it out, enlist a helper or two and be sure to take notes; one later winter afternoon, you'll be dreaming about summer and planning the perfect garden.

Rebecca Kolls' Fall Garden Checklist

Perennials:
There's no need to cut perennials down unless the foliage is diseased. Seed heads and long stems are a perfect habitat for wintering birds. Newly planted or tender perennials appreciate a thick layer of mulch 6-12 inches deep. Lay the mulch early to keep the ground warmer for a longer period of time, giving the plant a better chance to get established. Ornamental grasses can be left standing, too. Their silky, fluffed strands shimmer in the sun and sparkle when kissed with frost or sugared by snow.

Roses:
Check variety; some need to be buried, others will survive under a thick layer of mulch.

Trees and Shrubs:
You may continue planting deciduous trees and shrubs as long as the ground is workable. (Evergreens need time to get established. Wait until next spring to plant them.) Continue to water evergreens until the ground freezes hard.

Tree trunks less than three years old are susceptible to sunscald, which leads to cracking. Trunks should be wrapped with paper tree wrap, burlap strips or plastic trunk protectors. This helps reflect light and protects young tender trunks from hungry animals.

Shrubs with delicate branches, such as arborvitae, should be wrapped with burlap to help prevent breakage from heavy snow and ice. Tie a long burlap strip to the base of the shrub and wind from bottom to top, tucking in loose branches as you go. Attach the end of the strip to the top branch.
Protect evergreens from harsh winds by wrapping with burlap or make a windbreak using burlap or plastic.

Summer Bulbs:
Dig up and store. As foliage begins to turn brown, you may dig them up. Shake off the soil, trim foliage and store in a box of peat moss or sawdust. Store in a cool location where temperatures remain between 50– 70 degrees.

Annuals:
Annuals will not come back next year. Collect seed from heirloom plants and store in airtight containers. Compost plants as they die back.

Vegetable gardens:
Compost dying plant material – if it's not diseased. Amend soil, using compost, cow manure and peat moss. Cleanup, cleanup, cleanup!

Lawns:
Cut the lawn short and water it until temperatures drop to freezing. Rake leaves off the grass and compost or use as mulch for perennials.
Fall is best time to fertilize, and a great time to reseed or sod
Aerate to open soil and de-compact.

Container and garden ornaments:
Remove soil from all clay pots, dismantle clay bird baths and sculpture. Clean and store. If left outdoors, any residual moisture in terra cotta and clay pots or sculpture will expand when frozen, causing pots to crack or flake. If weight is a problem for moving, then cover birdbath/sculpture/pots with plastic and bind with jute.