Fall may end this year's gardening season, but it is also the perfect time to plan for next year.

Walk through the vegetable garden and take notes on plant location and overall performance. Sketch out your vegetable garden on paper. Crop rotation is very important when it comes to vegetable diseases. In the spring, you can refer to your sketch—rather than relying on your memory—and plant vegetables in different locations.

Annuals should also get a year-end review. How did they perform? Do you need to try different plants and varieties next year? Perhaps a different location for certain varieties will help their performance.

Clean up the garden, completely removing diseased plants. Vegetable and annual plants should be removed. Healthy plant debris can be added to the compost pile.

If any of your perennials have been seriously and routinely plagued with disease, fall is the time to discard them before spreading the problems to other plants. After the first frost, remove the annuals and cut back tops of tall herbaceous perennials.

Many gardeners prefer to leave most of their perennials as they are, cutting them back in the spring. But, perennials over 3 feet tall will only flop over under the weight of snow, creating an ideal environment for overwintering rodents. If you have had vole problems in the past, cut back tall perennials.

Rake leaves and add them to the compost pile or locate them near the pile so they are handy to add next spring and summer. Don't allow fallen leaves to accumulate and mat down over your desirable turf. Leaves smother the grass and prevent photosynthesis, which is the plant's ability to produce food. Consider using fallen leaves as winter mulch around tender plants.

Container plants should be pulled out of the container when they have been frost-killed. If you want to save the soil for next year, store it in a dry area or cover it with plastic to keep out debris and prevent it from getting waterlogged over the winter. If not saving soil, add it to your compost pile. Before storing, clean out the container with a mild bleach solution—10 parts water, 1 part bleach.

As the bright colors of fall give way to dull grays, browns, and drab greens of winter, plants that retain their fruit become a point of interest in the landscape. In addition, birds of many species come in the fall, winter, and spring to feast on fruit-laden plants.

Several landscape plants produce attractive, persistent fruit for the winter landscape. Listed below are some that are well-known for their fruit displays.

Probably the best known of the berry-producing plants are the hollies (Ilex spp.). Versatile and adaptable, hollies come in a wide array of sizes, from small shrubs to medium trees, with many variety choices. They can be deciduous, losing their leaves in the fall, or evergreen, providing good color in foundation areas and other landscape plantings throughout the winter.

When selecting hollies, remember that both male and female plants are needed for berry production. Only female plants produce berries. Wind-blown pollen from male plants can be carried significant distances to pollinate female plants. Provided it is the same or related species as the female, a single, mature male plant in a neighborhood can serve as a widespread pollinator.

Most hollies are grown from cuttings, and the sex of a plant is known. Others, such as tree form species, are sometimes grown from seed, and the sex may not be known until it flowers and fruits. Carefully read the tag so that you know what you are buying, and check the plant for berries. Examples of hollies with good berry production include the "Meserve" hybrids such as the 'China' and 'Blue' series. American Holly is a well-known tree form holly; it is slow growing, with many varieties to choose from. The 'Foster' holly is related to American Holly, but it is a faster- growing and more compact, narrow specimen plant. Common Winterberry (I. verticillata) is a deciduous holly and is well adapted to our region. It exhibits an abundance of bright fruit well into the late winter. It is outstanding planted in groups or massed in the landscape.

There are many other species of plants noted for their winter fruit. Crabapples (Malus spp.), Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), and Mountain Ash (Sorbus spp.) are small, deciduous tree species that are known for their fruit displays. Varieties should be selected based on fruit characteristics such as size and holding ability, as well as plant disease resistance.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), also known as French mulberry, produces an abundance of violet berries in dense clusters along the stems—which birds love.

Chokeberry (Aronia spp.) is an adaptable shrub noted for its persistent red or black fruit, depending on species. Berries hold on this plant because birds tend to shun it, hence the name "chokeberry."

Heavenly Bamboo, (Nandina domestica) is a small, semi-evergreen shrub. Besides colorful foliage in summer and fall, it produces clusters of bright red fruit that holds throughout the winter.

Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea) is a stiff-branched and thorny evergreen shrub with an exceptionally abundant, orange-red fruit display. Birds such as migrating cedar waxwings are known to flock to it, making stops each winter to feast on the same plants from year to year. Be sure to select varieties with noted cold hardiness.

Another group of stiff-branched shrubs with an abundance of bright red berries is the Cotoneasters (Cotoneaster spp.). Fruit on species such as Rockspray and Cranberry Cotoneaster can hold into late fall to early winter before birds clean them up.

Roses (Rosa spp.) can provide an attractive display of fruit "hips" through the winter months. The Rugosa Rose (R. rugosa) is known for its flowers and showy hips. For best winter fruit displays, avoid deadheading roses in the latter part of the season so that the hips are retained.

Various species of Viburnum (Viburnum spp.) produce an abundance of red or black fruit that hold into winter. Most Viburnums develop fruit, some more showy and long lasting than others. Birds can quickly de-fruit certain species such as Blackhaw, Cranberrybush, Leatherleaf, and Doublefile Viburnum.

As you consider your choices, remember that some plants are invasive and should be avoided. Examples include certain species of honeysuckle such as Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maacki) and Japanese Honeysuckle (L. japonica). Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) is a widely planted shrub noted for its bright red fall foliage and small orange fruit. It can, however, be easily spread by birds; it is becoming naturalized, competing with native plants. Another example of an imported plant that is becoming invasive in natural areas is Autumn Olive (Eleagnus angustifolia), which was once planted as a wildlife food species.

Selecting plants for their winter characteristics goes beyond fruit displays, with bark, twigs, buds, dried flowers and foliage (such as ornamental grasses), and plant form. For a descriptive list of trees and shrubs suitable for Illinois landscapes, visit these websites: Selecting Shrubs for Your Home, www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/shrubselector/ and Selecting Trees for Your Home, www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/treeselector/.

The holiday decorating season is just a few weeks away. Wreaths, door swags, garlands, roping, and centerpieces are all nice additions to our homes during the holidays. Decorations can be refined and subdued, or they can be exuberant and extravagant.

Indoors, you can emphasize architectural features such as stairways, fireplace mantles, and doorways. Dining room tables, coffee tables, and buffets offer convenient and prominent places for centerpieces. You can use delicate ornaments and subtle colors to blend or contrast with the interior color schemes.

Outdoor decorations should be sturdy enough to withstand the punishment of the weather. Easily soiled ribbons and fragile ornaments are impractical. Choose clear, bold colors for outdoor decorating—they'll stand out when viewed from a distance.

As you decorate your home, keep safety at the forefront. Many people put their fresh decorations up earlier every year and expect them to last the season. But, fresh-cut evergreens will dry out in the heat of our homes and become flammable. Follow these guidelines to make sure your family has a safe and well-decorated holiday season!

• A cut tree needs a new, fresh cut as soon as you bring it home. Make a straight cut, removing 1 to 2 inches from the base of the tree. Place the trunk in a bucket of clean water and store the tree in a cool place until you're ready to bring it indoors.
  
• When you display the tree, the stand should have a water reservoir that's large enough for the size of your tree. Check the water level every day to make sure it never drops below the cut edge.
  
• Avoid placing your fresh tree near a fireplace or furnace outlet because the heat will cause the tree to rapidly dry out.
  
• If possible, reduce the room temperature. A cooler room will reduce the amount of moisture that evaporates from the tree.
  
• Soak wreaths, roping, and garlands in water and let dry before decorating with them. This soaking helps re-hydrate the fresh greens and extend their life indoors.
  
• To slow moisture loss, spray wreaths, roping, and garlands with an anti-transparent or anti-desiccant before decorating.
  
• Do not place wreaths, roping, or garlands too close to a heat source or light. Also remember that a fresh wreath placed on a front door with a glass outer door will quickly dry out.
  
• Never leave candles unattended when lit.
  
• Use glass hurricanes to prevent candle flames from coming in contact with fresh greens. Centerpiece frames that hold the candles above the centerpiece also work well in keeping the flame away from fresh greens.
  
• If you use holiday plants with poisonous berries for decoration, keep them away from children and pets. Yew (Taxus species), ivy (Hedera helix), holly (Ilex species), mistletoe (Phoradendron species), Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum), crown-of-thorns (Euphorbia milii), bitter sweet (Celastrus scandens) and snowberry (Symphoricarpus albus) are all poisonous and should be used with caution.

For more holiday tips, visit the Christmas Trees & More website, www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/trees/. And remember, when your tree and other evergreen decorations dry out, they should immediately be removed from the home.

With increased energy prices, you may start getting questions about burning wood for heat. Typically, oak, hickory, and ash are the most popular. Each species has its own burning qualities; but on a weight basis, all species of wood generate the same amount of heat. So what makes species like oak and hickory more desirable?

The answer lies in the density, or weight per unit of volume. A cubic foot of oak weighs considerably more than the same volume of soft maple. More maple would have to be cut and used to get the same amount of heat as a lesser volume of hickory or oak.

There are several hardwoods, such as osage orange and black locust, that have higher densities and, therefore, higher heat values per cord. But, these woods are harder to split, harder to start burning, and—especially in the case of osage orange—tend to pop or spark.

How much wood is supposed to be in a cord? A standard cord contains 128 cubic feet of wood, but it is actually closer to 80 to 90 cubic feet due to the space between pieces. The terms facecord and rick are sometimes used interchangeably with cord; but, many times these are smaller than a cord.

A standard-sized pickup with wood randomly thrown into the top of the bed will equal about one-third of a cord. If the wood is neatly stacked, the amount of wood will be closer to one-half of a cord.

When storing wood, keep the pile covered, off of the ground, and not in direct contact with buildings. Firewood should be seasoned for six to nine months before burning to remove moisture that sacrifices energy and produces smoke.

For more information on firewood, visit the Illinois Forestry website at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry/timber_harvest/firewood.html.