I didn’t buy any flower bulbs this fall, but maybe you did. Maybe you bought armloads of them, lured in by the siren song of those pretty pictures on the bulb packages. And maybe many of those bulbs still haven’t gone into the ground. I know all about this, because I used to do the same thing, buying more bulbs than I could plant in a couple of weekends (at least the way I do it). Often I was still planting bulbs into December, which I can easily get away with here in Atlanta. Continue reading
Signs of the Season: Autumn Blooming Cherry
Photo: wlcutler, via Flickr
The autumn flowering cherry (Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’) is such an innocuous little tree that the only time I’m likely to notice it is when it’s putting out a flush of bloom during the cold months. But when I see cherry blossoms in November, I know exactly what I’m looking at. A couple of years ago, I was in the north of England over Thanksgiving weekend. The weather was foggy, drizzly, dreary – yet, standing out through the mist was a glorious display of light pink blooms on bare branches. On such a gray day late in the fall, the flowers were a welcome surprise. Continue reading
The Last Mum of the Season
Chrysanthemum pacificum is such an unassuming little plant that you might fail to notice it at all for much of the gardening season. It has little in common with other garden mums, which tend to be tall, colorful, and floriferous. Instead, C. pacificum measures in at a compact eight to twelve inches tall. It has tiny, button-like blooms that somewhat resemble ageratums in form, though they’re bright gold in color. And it’s not going to stop traffic, that’s for sure. In general, I would say that C. pacificum has two big things going for it: gorgeous foliage and late-season bloom. Continue reading
Bulb Planting: Two Picks For Soggy Places
When it comes to planting bulbs, the standard advice has always been to choose a location with well-drained soil. Bulbs like tulips and daffodils tend to rot and die out when they’re planted in a soggy spot.
But if you have a water garden or a generally soggy yard, there are a few options for damp places. The Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center suggests planting certain varieties of fritillarias and camassias near ponds or in places that don’t drain well. Continue reading
Bulbs: Figuring out the Timing for Fall Planting
At this point in October, bulb planting is probably well underway in many parts of country — some areas are probably expecting their first frost soon. But because I live in the South, and because this has been a very warm fall so far, I’ve barely thought about bulbs yet. We can’t start planting here till it cools off a bit anyway, and it’s often hard to know when exactly is the right time to get bulbs in the ground.
I recently got a packet of information from the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center that gives some general rules about bulb planting, and I thought it was useful enough to share here: Continue reading
Crazy About Colchicum
There’s nothing like a field full of autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) to make a gorgeous, sunny September day seem even more perfect. When the bulbs are planted in a spread-out mass like this, the Wow Factor is just incredible! It makes for a stunning, spring-like display for those of us who get tired of the more classic autumn flowers like mums or asters, or the traditional fall hues of russet, gold, and ginger. Continue reading
Sweet Autumn Clematis Signals the End of Summer
Today is the autumnal equinox, that celestial event that officially marks the end of summer. But it was just after Labor Day, which for many people is really summer’s grand finale, that I started noticing the fluffy white blooms of sweet autumn clematis around my neighborhood. Here it is clambering around a white picket fence in a suburban front yard.
Plant Beautyberry for Shockingly Purple Fall Berries
Photo credit: Morguefile
American beautyberry is an odd sort of shrub. By this I mean it’s hard to categorize. During the spring and summer it’s not really much to look at, just a generic looking bush that’s probably best placed in an informal setting. Not the kind of shrub you lust after…
Yet when it comes to calling attention to itself in the fall, this shrub is shameless! By late summer it’s already heavily adorned with clusters of berries so purple, they’re downright shocking. The berries hold their own through these cool, crisp days of September — but just wait until a bit later in the fall. In October and November, when the shrub has lost its foliage, the fruits are absolutely brazen on the leafless branches. Continue reading
Six Perennial Flowers for Late-Season Color
Japanese anemone
As the summer days fade slide into fall, you may find your garden is looking a little bedraggled. Now is the perfect time to plan ahead for next year, by assessing where you could use an infusion of late-season color or a blooming focal point to steal the scene.
The following five perennials are reliable September bloomers in many parts of the country. (Before you buy or plant one of them, check to make sure it does well in your climate and conditions.) And remember, you can also fill in the gaps with hardy annuals like pansies, geraniums, and sweet alyssum, which all thrive in the cool, sunny days of fall. Continue reading