Seasonal
Fall Gardens
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Fall's
one of the most colorful seasons you will find anywhere. You will notice in
the photo that this is a small space and yet they have managed to create a wonderful spot to sit and admire all the colors this
season brings to us. They have used several colors of green as a backdrop for the vibrant Flame orange and Ruby Reds. The tall
colorful trees lend not only color but also act as sentinels for
privacy.
Every day as the colors turn a little more you have an ever changing piece of art.
You can almost see yourself sitting here listening to the birds
sing to you while you sit back with your binocular w/ camera and relax in
your fall garden and enjoy your own private artwork.
Check out the
climate zone chart and start planning your fall
colorama.
If you like your garden to
flower and bloom into the fall, there are many plants in addition to the hardy
mum to pick from. When you prepare your fall garden, set aside a good-sized
section for your fall display. Place at least two decorative grasses, such as
Feather Reed Grass, Fountain Grass, or Maiden Grass in your fall garden. One
exceptionally stunning decorative grass is the Pennisetum Orientale. It is
compact and low to the ground growing with almost white leaves and it blooms
from June through October. Plant Pennisetum and add several tiny Japanese Blood
Grasses in front for a stunning fall display.
Nearly any medium to
tall sized decorative grass looks terrific when planted with sedum in front of
it; Ruby Glow and Autumn Joy are two with the most dazzling colored grasses.
Then plant a mound of Festuca Glauca Elijah Blue a six-ten inch silver-blue
decorative grass, or Festuca Glauca Blaufink, that have pleasing tufts over the
grassy mound.
An easy but effective and
striking fall garden plan is to plant Asters in a mass. They are easily
obtainable, and are resilient plants that come in wonderful hues. If you plant
and over winter, your Asters keep in mind that you have to pinch them back in
early June, by pinching them back they will be fuller during the fall months.
Planting Asters in front of something interesting would enhance them, for
example dark green dwarf conifers. Yes, conifers are generally evergreens, but
just think about the texture and plush green color, and you will see them as an
ideal setting for blooming flowers or shrubs. Conifers come in a variety of
shades of green, bluish green, blue green tones, and golden green. A number of
conifers have attractive weeping or twisting forms.
 This
is good time of the season to plant a burning bush. Picture a Silver Lace Dusty
Miller in front of a Burning Bush with Russian Sage planted amongst both.
Careful placement and
selection of shrubs supply a foundation for your fall garden. For instance,
deciduous azaleas are stunning in the fall. Hydrangeas, mainly oak leaf
varieties, have beautiful red and burgundy seasonal foliage. Garden phlox will
continue blooming until the frost arrives. This will also aid in leading your
eyes up in the direction of your tallest plants like the grasses, and shrubs.
Trees for fall appeal and backdrops include the Forest Pansy variety with its
purple foliage or the Eastern Redbud that has red or yellow fall foliage. The
Corns Kousa Moonbeam, also known as the Kousa Dogwood, reaches a height of
approximately 24 feet and has deep purple to crimson foliage, and red fruit.
Another excellent fall tree is the Stewartia. Fall foliage is red and orange the
Stewartia has a pleasing peeling bark for added appeal. The oaks are exceptional
for their true dark browns and reds. A number of oaks have the benefit of
keeping their leaves all winter. Red oak, Scarlet oak, Pin oak, and Willow oak,
are all good options.
Many maples are fit for fall.
Their fall colors of red, yellow, orange, red, and scarlet are renowned. The
Swamp Maple also referred to as the Red Maple grows to a height of 50-60 feet
and the gradual change of color to its leaves make it interesting. Some maples
are a combination of, green, scarlet, and gold, and then turn to a scarlet color
as the season progresses. The Paperbark Maple's brown and red peeling bark gives
this tree year-round appeal, its fall colors are scarlet to orange-brown,
Bonfire, a Silver Maple, Autumn Flame and Red Sunset, all show stunning
orange-red and red leaves in the fall. The leaves of the Autumn Flame turn color
ahead of other varieties.
 Plant
a few smaller trees for some seasonal appeal; think about adding some of the
following trees. Eastern Redbud, Japanese maple, a Smoke Tree, a Flowering
Dogwood, Crape Myrtle, Hawthorn, and Japanese lilac, or any weeping fruit trees,
These can all be under planted with little shrubs, like mums, sedum, pansies,
asters, etc. Do not disregard the diversity of small evergreens they have the
additional benefit of color through out the winter. In addition, some of their
forms are attractive.
A mixture of environmental
circumstances and genetic predisposition establish leaf color. Put another way,
if a tree or shrub does not have the chemistry to create colorful leaves, there
is nothing you can do. Horticulturists devote a great deal of time selecting and
breeding plant mixtures for fall color, but even the most colorful clone will
not do well if circumstances are not ideal.
Leafs turn color, because of
shorter periods of daylight and cooler temperatures; neither can be controlled
by us. The amount of daylight is a cause, but an early cool spell can also bring
about an early color season. Changes in temperature and light shut down the
interaction among the leaf and the remainder of the plant.
The green pigment chlorophyll,
which is the essential ingredient in the plant's ability to turn sunlight into
stored energy, begins to break down, revealing other pigments which have been
there all along. These pigments include carotenoids (the same type of chemical
that makes carrots orange) and xanthophylls (which simply means "leaf
yellow"). Anthocyanin is produced by trees and shrubs which manufacture a
great deal of sugar, like some maples, and is responsible for the brilliants
reds of early autumn.
As anthocyanin breaks down, it
exposes still added color in the dying leaf. Droughts lead to reduced amounts of
sugar a plant creates; this reduced amount of anthocyanin results in a less
colorful season. It is a complex equation, and fall color forecasts are usually
imprecise. This is where luck comes in to play.
The size and nature of your
landscape will influence which woody plants will give you the utmost chance for
fall color. In the native northeast landscapes, maples top the list for color,
especially red maples. Nearly any red maple will give you a number of fall
colors. There are many types of maples available that will produce spectacular
results. Try panting Red Sunset or Autumn Flame
maples.
The genus Fothergilla one more
northeastern inhabitant offer stunning fall color, but on a smaller level. Red
maples can grow well over 50’, but Fothergilla is a spring-flowering shrub
that seldom approaches 10', depending on variety and species. There are a many
cultivars available, but Mt. Airy is one of the better ones and is usually
available. Flower fragrance is one more advantage of this desired shrub. Itea
virginica also called Virginia Sweetspire is also a native. The shiny foliage of
cultivar Henry’s Garnet turns to a deep mahogany in fall.
The witch hazel is another multi
season delight, with early flowering, fragrant blooms, and great fall color, but
is moisture dependent. Hamamelis x intermedia, a hybrid between H. mollis and H.
japonica, is usually found in nurseries in a quantity of varieties. Jelena,
Diane, and Arnold Promise, offer yellow, orange, and red flowers in that order.
Viburnums, typically grown for their flowers, often displaying subdued fall
colors, in tones of red, faded orange, and burgundy. The list goes. A seasonal
walk through your community public arboreta and gardens will show you the top
fall performers in your area.
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