Plant your spring flowering bulbs and cool season annuals, such as common daisies, dusty millers, pot marigolds, and snapdragons, at the end of the year when the soil has cooled. Use a root stimulator to get them started and a slow release fertilizer to keep them going. Water thoroughly and wait until spring to apply other fertilizer. Don't forget to remove dead, diseased, or insect-infested foliage around those bushes, flowers, and vegetable gardens to prevent harboring pests.