How to add Bold Color to a Fall Garden
As we switch our wardrobe from shorts and tanks to long sleeves and jeans, we must also switch to fall colors in the garden. Fall colors in the garden can be started in late summer or early autumn. In this blog, we will show you how to spread your dollar to attain the richest and boldest colors in a fall garden.
First, lets talk about how to build a garden bed in fall. First, choose plants that can grow in similar conditions. For example, part shade or full sun plants should be grouped together in the planting bed. Place small plants in the front of the garden (or we call these border plants), and start working next largest behind the border plant, and work up to tallest plant in the back.
A good fall border plant start is the Begonia. Begonias are great for the lowest level and thrive in sun or shade. If you have cuttings, you can plant these in fall. In the winter time, we suggest bringing in before the frost.
Anenome are a great fit behind a border plant. They can adapt to a variety of soils, but like well drained soils. They will bloom in many colors until the first frost. These go a long way, so plant 18″ apart. The Anenome is a great “bang for your buck” type of garden plant.
No fall garden is complete without the bold colors of Chrysanthiumums. They love the morning sun! They also bloom in response to the shortened fall days. We love the Chrysanthiumums for the wide variety of colors, shapes, and textures these beauties behold. You can plan on these blooming through late fall.
You can’t pass a grocery store without seeing rows and rows of Mums for sale. Mums certainly are the flagship plant of the fall. Go ahead and buy some these year, but forget about buying them again. Cut stems down to about 1 ft. in December, and they will come back in spring. They are a hearty plant that will keep coming back if you prune them correctly. They need light watering and plant the roots shallow.
Next in your garden bed, try adding Black Adder. It’s a vertical plant addition, so place these towards the back of the garden bed. Black Adder attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Important to note, Black Adders can not start from seed, you need to start from cuttings only.
In the very last row of your bold fall garden bed, we suggest a Butterfly Bush, named aptly for the insect they attract most. These can grow 36 to 96″ tall! These will bloom until October.
If you are going to start shopping for bright autumn garden color, only shop when the plants are in bloom! Plants in the same species will look different during the time of year you shop for them. Now is a great time to head to the nursery and design your fall garden bed.
If you’d like assistance from your friends at Bayscape, give us a call! Or visit our Seasonal Colors services page to learn more.