You do not have to be the design guru to create a Christmas tree worthy of a display window. Just follow these general guidelines to give your tree maximum impact this year.

A complete tree traditionally is composed of lights, garland, trim, and ornaments, arranged in that order. Add a tree skirt for a finishing touch. It is customary to add the topper last, although this is mostly for ceremonial purposes.

Lights Thread lights from the base of the tree to the tip, and the inside branches to the outward ones. For trees taller than 4 feet, use up to 100 small twinkling lights per foot. Trees 2-3 feet tall need 35-80 lights. If you prefer to use the larger C-7 or C-9 bulbs, multiply the height of your tree by its dimension. For trees up to 7 feet divide this number in half. Divide by 3 for trees over 7 feet. Check the packaging of C-7 and C-9 bulbs, since not all brands have been approved to use with artificial trees.

Exercise caution when using strings of lights end-to-end. As a general rule, do not hook more than 3 sets of lights together, as doing so can overload the circuits and blow the fuses. Some commercial grade sets are safe to hook up to six sets. Hook together only strings of the same lights; for example, never hook a string miniature twinkling lights to a line of C-7 bulbs. This is also true when hooking your tree topper to the light sets. Use a 3 outlet cord instead. Discard any damaged light sets or decorations and turn everything off when you go to bed for the night!

Garland Garlands can be made of tinsel or beads, and some ambitious revelers still make their own garlands out of popcorn, cranberries, and/or linked paper. Ribbons of various widths, styles, and colors also make fabulous garlands. Hung in large loops, garland adds drama to your tree, although how you drape your garland is a matter of taste and sometimes depends on the size of your tree. (Large loops can look silly on a smaller tree.) Nowadays you can also string garland vertically, by securing it at the top and looping downward. Experiment to see what looks best. Garlands may slip, particularly if the tree is delicate or droopy. To keep them in place, wind the garlands around the branches or secure with ribbons or wire.

You will probably need about 10 feet of garland per foot of tree. Any extra garland can be used to decorate around the house, and is particularly lovely used on the mantle or in wreaths. You may use up to three different types of garland, but make sure these coordinate with each other.

Ornaments Whether you have hundreds of one-of-a-kind collectibles, or a box of shabby hand-me-downs, your tree can look fabulous if you hang your ornaments well. First, create depth and interest by hanging some ornaments on the inside branches. Use plain or inexpensive ornaments for this, using the outside branches to showcase collectibles, if you have them. If you are still building up your collection, shoot for 10 special themed ornaments per every 2 feet of tree. Hang similar ornaments in a group, taking care not to crowd them, but keep them together for maximum impact. You really can’t have too many ornaments, the key is in the spacing.

A word about metal hooks: save them for fishing! Instead, use loops of ribbon, raffia, or cord to hang ornaments. These can be a unifying factor if your ornaments don’t all match, and are much lovelier and easier to handle than metal hooks.

Skirt, Trim and Toppers This would include tinsel, bows, or whatever else you want to throw on your tree. Trim can be used to tie together different types of ornaments, but it’s completely optional. Whatever you do, don’t spoil your tree by drowning it in trim. Use a little for enhancement. As far as the skirt goes, it should be big enough to cover the stand, but not bigger than the average branches. Add some wrapped presents and you are ready to go!

The most common toppers are stars, angels, and finials, but these days you can use almost anything to top your tree. A big bow that matches the garland would be a fine example of a tree topper. Your tree topper is a significant piece, so choose wisely!

In the fall as the nights draw in and the days become shorter many people think that a quiet and restful time for the gardener is approaching and that it’s almost time to put the garden tools away in the shed till spring. While this may be true for the lawn mower, there are many other garden tools whose services can still be required during the fall.

For the more serious gardener who wants to continue to grow as late in the season as possible or who wants to optimise his lawn and garden in preparation for next year. There is still much gardening that can be done, both in growing vegetables and preparing and planning your garden for next spring, until well into the fall.

With the constant possibility of early winter frosts many gardeners don’t even consider fall gardening. This is a pity as with the right planning, planting the most suitable plants and at the right time of year, the rewards can be well worth the extra work. As often, for example, vegetables, produced in the fall can be sweeter and tastier than those grown in the height of the summer. This can bring a refreshing new dimension to some of the same old varieties of garden vegetables.

It is important, however, to choose vegetables with a short growing season to give the best chance of harvesting before the more severe frosts do make an appearance. Vegetables that can be ideal to grow well into the fall include carrots, beet, lettuce, broccoli, turnips and radish. They should be planted while the ground is still warm and in a place where they are likely to get a minimum of six hours of sunshine.

Fall is also the best time to plant your spring bulbs, especially the hardy varieties such as crocuses, daffodils, tulips and irises and these will do well in either containers or beds. They will flower in the spring so you can look forward to their colourful displays as an early sign of the arrival of spring, which should be ample reward for your additional work and planning in the fall.

Looking after and maintaining your lawn is another task you can be busy with in the fall to enhance your chances of a luscious lawn next spring. It is an ideal time to concentrate on factors like aeration of the soil and clearing debris accumulated over the summer growing season. You should remove any twigs, stones and fallen leaves from your lawns as these can harbour disease and encourage pests. A leaf blower or garden vacuum will make this task much easier and you should, of course, keep all of the organic material for composting.

Aerating disrupts the soil surface by making holes in the earth. This can be done manually with a garden fork or a number of tools can be used to make the work easier, or if you have a larger area to deal with. This allows more oxygen into the soil and water will also gain easier access, rather than simply running off. Earthworms will thrive better in this environment as well as a number of other beneficial organisms. Fertilizers and other top dressing substances will be more effective after aeration and it makes re-seeding, if necessary, more successful.

These are just a few of the tasks that can be keeping you busy in your garden during the fall. So if you want a beautiful garden in the spring it’s not quite time to lock away those garden tools just yet.