Fall Garden Beauty
Autumn colour has
two aspects, firstly the bright blooms of late flowering species and secondly
the maturing plant foliage colours and fruit. Using good design principles,
including contrasting forms, we can integrate these to create a fine display for
the Fall. For colour, there are two key components: the plants of the daisy
family providing bright focal points (also see pp 137-140 in the Society’s
book “The Calgary Gardener”) and the mint family and others plants for green
background. In September and October, typically we see straw-coloured remnants
of early-maturing plants: we need to contrast these with large groups.
Other plants we need
to have to provide “any colour but brown” include evergreen trees &
shrubs, vines, semi-evergreen ferns and tough annuals. Search for trees, shrubs
and vines that provide attractive leaves, bright red or orange berries,
including climbing nightshade, red-berried cotoneaster, and of course, mountain
ash, and roses with showy hips. Interesting seed heads, ornamental
“grasses", and good lawn care are the remaining ingredients for the fall
garden recipe.
One of the greatest
contributors of late blooms is the daisy family, Asteraceae (or Compositae)
including the many varieties of Helenium,
Helianthus, and Heliopsis
helianthoides. Rudbeckia fulgida
v. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’, Echinacea
purpurea, Ratibida columnifera all also attractive. In the Fall of 2006, new
Heucheras and Mums were particularly noticeable in Calgary. I prefer using only
one or two colours of Chrysanthemums, the pink C.
rubellum ‘Clara Curtis’ for instance.
A disadvantage with “mums” - or “chrysanths” for some gardeners - is
that they look awful after the first really hard frost, whereas many other
perennials have attributes that provide winter joy.
New or
under-utilized perennials include Pink Turtlehead,
Chelone obliqua, (and
the white form, ‘Alba’), bugbane, Actea
(Cimicifuga) simplex ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ or
‘White Pearl’ and the sedge, Carex morrowii ‘Aurea Variegata’,
or, if you can find them, how about the late flowering Aconitum
carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’, Physostegia
virginiana, ‘Bouquet Rose’ or the
deep lilac-pink ‘Vivid’? If you have the appropriate spot, try Veronicastrum
virginicum ‘Album’, and of course, the white, perfumed Phlox paniculata in partly shady corners where they bloom
later in the season.
Contrast –
background color – is important. Ground cover plants for fall contrast include
lamium, and other perennials of the Lamiaceae family, as well as periwinkle,
ajuga, various saxifrages and sedums, lungworts and perennial geraniums, along
with the relatively new perennial, Brunnera
macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’.
Slightly taller than these are the yuccas and variegated iris than give interest
in the fall and early winter. Annuals, including Japanese Blood Grass, Black
Mondo Grass, and late season pansies are useful. Quite splendid is another annual, Coreopsis rosea. Rarely do we see bright light green
ground cover, but the frost hardy Kenilworth Ivy (Cymbalaria muralis)
when used en mass, is great. Similarly, bright green contrast can come from
semi-evergreen ferns such as some forms of Asplenium, Dryopterus and
Polystichum. Kenilworth Ivy can also
look good in containers combined with grasses, sedums, or hens and chicks.
Changing leaf colour
is important: shrubs like barberry, black currant and burningbush: euphorbias
too, if we have the right weather. Bergenia, especially the reddish leaved
varieties, provide good leaf colour. Heuchera … older forms such as Plum
Pudding & the new varieties such as ‘Marmalade’ … all exhibit great
fall colour. Try Tiarella Stargazer Mercury for its intriguing leaf colour
patterns
Tall plants with
attractive seed heads, such as Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium
purpureum maculatum ‘Atropurpureum’, several ligularias, and even lovage
are very worthwhile. Some seed heads, such as on the cow parsley Anthriscus
sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’
show well in that inevitable early snow. If you are not familiar with the
following perennials, and want to take advantage of our lengthening growing
season, try the giant yellow scabious, Cephalaria
gigantean, or the red-flowered
Angelica, Angelica gigas.
If you want to push the zone, try Phytolacca
americana (for its exquisite deep red berries),
Clematis viticella ‘Polish Spirit”, Leucanthemella
serotina (and keep the Ox-eye / Shasta police at bay), or the new Big Sky
series of coneflower from the States.
Clearly planning for the Fall can be very
rewarding: keep on the look-out for the right combinations. Do not wait for
September to plant, but do walk around Calgary in the Fall and see what
impresses you.
Glynn Wright.