Seeds preparing for spring

Summers are hotter and longer, making them increasingly difficult to endure. Still, the return of clear blue skies in autumn is a reminder of nature’s rhythm and resilience.

Oh Kyung-ah

The author is a garden designer and the CEO of OhGardens. After a night of rain, my husband lit a fire to dry the damp floor of the old heating chamber. The room quickly filled with heat, almost stifling, yet the cool air of early morning and evening that follows a long summer feels welcome. Signs of autumn now spread into the garden.

Many assume that gardening work declines once autumn arrives, but that is not the case. Gardeners often mark autumn as the true start of the gardening year. If the seasons are ordered as autumn, winter, spring, and summer, the rhythm of the garden aligns more naturally with that cycle.

가을 정원에서 보이는 다년생 식물의 씨앗. [오경아]

The most important autumn task is pruning leaves and stems of plants worn down by the summer. Foliage may turn brilliant shades of red and gold, but damaged leaves and branches — gnawed by insects or scorched by heat — are best trimmed away. Yet the greatest pleasure of the season lies in discovering the fruits or seeds that plants have nurtured through the summer. Plants do everything they can to ensure their seeds travel far, for the dispersal of seeds is the very beginning of new life. In this sense, autumn is when gardening truly begins.

From a scientific standpoint, the best times to sow seeds are autumn and spring, though much depends on the type of plant. For perennials that endure winter year after year, autumn sowing is ideal. Residual warmth lingers in the soil, allowing roots to take hold, while the cooling air weakens competing plants. Such conditions give new seeds a strong start.

Annual plants, however, benefit more from spring planting. Surviving winter cold is difficult, so sprouting in spring allows them to grow quickly and complete their short life cycle before the next frost.

The changing climate brings its own challenges. Summers are hotter and longer, making them increasingly difficult to endure. Still, the return of clear blue skies in autumn is a reminder of nature’s rhythm and resilience.

As gardeners prepare their plots, pruning and planting, they are also preparing for the next cycle of growth. Autumn may mark the fading of one season, but it carries within it the seeds of renewal.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.