Meadow View Greenhouse & Garden Center

September 10 ETMV

I am officially sick of 90 degree days. I don’t mind a few, like we had last year, but over 60 days in the 90s is about 50 days too many!  I am tired of being soaked in sweat, I am tired of not being able to enjoy the outdoors, and I am tired of trying to keep my poor plants alive! Can I hear an “Amen”?

Now that I have that out of my system, let’s talk about fall. I know that many of you have simply given up on having pretty yards right now and are waiting on cooler weather before trying again. That’s OK, because fall is a great time to work in your yard. It is also a good time to evaluate the plants that you have now. Do you have some plants that have struggled this summer and need to be moved to a shadier location? On the other hand, do you have trees that have grown to the point that they are shading plants that need to be in the sun?  Or do you have a landscape that is only geared toward warm weather and is dull and boring in the winter? That last problem is what I will address today.

What we often see in landscapes is that the homeowner has chosen plants that look terrific for part of the year, and not so great the rest of the time. If all the plants you chose for your landscape are deciduous, for example, you may have great blooms and color in the spring and summer, but in the winter you have a bunch of stuff that looks dead. On the other hand, if you only have evergreens, you are missing out on the great colors of the deciduous plants. In this article I am going to talk about some plants that you can bring in to add fall and winter interest to your yard.

Cool Season Annuals

These are the guys that add that “pop” of color to your yard and make your neighbors jealous. My favorite plants in this category are Pansies and Violas.  These hardy little troopers can be planted in September and will chug along nicely until next May. They come in a wide variety of colors, and are very tough.  They will succumb to overwatering, however, so they should be planted somewhere that they will have good drainage and at least 6 hours of sun. They will also need the occasional boost of fertilizer.

I am also going to include Mums in this category, and I have a logical explanation. There are some mums that are perennial. Most of the mums that you buy in the fall, however, are hybrids that may not even remember what they are supposed to be. If you want a perennial mum, buy one that is labeled as a perennial.  If you buy one of the hybrids and you want it to come back next year, you need to get it in the ground by the middle to end of September.  Any later and it may not have time to get its roots down. With the hybrids, don’t be surprised if what comes up next year is not the same color as what you planted, or if you get lots of little “mumlets” instead of one big plant.

Let me also explain about the bloom time of a mum. Mums have 3-6 weeks of bloom from the time they first start showing color until they are done. This time period is lengthened by cool weather and shortened by hot weather. There is no such thing as a mum that blooms from Labor Day until Thanksgiving. If you want color that long, you are going to have to replace them.

Flowering cabbage and kale are also pretty additions to landscapes and containers, and come in a variety of colors now. One warning, however, if you have rabbits and you plant cabbage or kale and pansies, they will think you have set out a buffet line!

Perennials

There are several perennials that wait until the weather is cooler before putting on a show. Anemones and asters are classic fall bloomers, and look great with pansies.  Autumn ferns and several of the sedums are also known for fall color. Clematis ‘Sweet Autumn’ is gorgeous but hard to find, and can be used as a climber or even as a ground cover. Good basic perennials like coneflower and coreopsis are known to put on a second flush of blooms as the weather moderates. Don’t forget about the wildflowers! Golden Rod, Iron Weed and Joe Pye Weed can look just as pretty in your yard as they do in the meadows.

Grasses and Shrubs

Many of the grasses are attractive well into the winter.  With their wavy plumes and foliage, they add interest even after the foliage has turned brown. They should be planted as soon as possible so that they can get their roots down. Grasses that are planted late in the season tend to sit and rot.

Dwarf Burning Bush is one of the most sought after shrubs in the fall as it turns a magnificent shade of burgundy. Many people are not prepared for the size it gets however. The name says “dwarf”, but it can still reach up to 8′ tall and wide. It does best in a well drained spot and will have the best color if planted in the sun.

Callicarpa ‘Beautyberry’ is one of my very favorite plants. It has a graceful, arching shape and pretty purple flowers in the spring. In the fall, it grows clusters of bright purple berries all along the stem.  It is attractive and provides food for the birds, but needs some room to spread out. It is a great choice for someone with a large spot to fill.

Camellias just might have even the Beautyberry beat.  They are one of those nice evergreen shrubs that also blooms. The blooms are beautiful and come in a wide range of colors from white to red, and can be single, semi-double, double, anemone or peony shaped.  The foliage of the Camellia is also attractive, and the shape can be low and sprawling or tall and vertical. Camellias must have afternoon shade. We will be having a workshop on this terrific shrub on October 16^th if you are interested in adding one to your landscape

This is just a short list of some of the things you can add to your yard to keep things interesting. Come on in and look around and let us help you pick out some things to update your landscape “fall wardrobe”.

Don’t forget to check our website or Facebook for upcoming events, and call us if you have any questions.