|
Issue Date: Sept. 7, 2003
Five fabulous plants for fall
These affordable, unusual varieties will keep your flower beds bright until winter sets in.
By Fran Sorin
September may mean the end of summer, but regardless of where you live, it's not the end of the gardening season. Your fall garden can sizzle with these five plants, each relatively unknown to the weekend gardener; they're rich in color and texture, and they're moderately priced. They'll give your garden an extended bloom time -- at least until the first heavy frost arrives. You'll marvel at how these few minor additions can make a major difference in your fall landscape. If any of these plants are not hardy in your climate, you can bring them indoors for the winter. (Just move them from the ground to containers, spray them with organic insecticide, place them in a shady spot and bring them inside after two or three days.)
It took me years to realize that fall is not the end of the gardening season but rather the beginning, with winter just a hiatus during which plant material can take a respite. Fall has become as exciting a gardening season as spring for me, if not more so. The preciousness of the time spent in the fall garden makes it incredibly sweet. So now I make sure my fall garden stages its last bravura performance before it enters its period of slumber.
1. Salvia vanhouttii
Seeing this plant glistening in a mixed border at an arboretum makes you think to yourself, "Wow! I wish I could get my hands on this. What is it?" Well, Salvia vanhouttii is a mound-forming specimen that grows up to 3 1/2 feet tall. Its magnificent racemes (flower clusters), which range from orange to deep red (depending on how much sun it gets), contrast beautifully with the pale purples and blues of asters and the oranges of other fall foliage. It blooms from late summer through autumn. It's hardy only in gardening Zones 9 and 10 (see link, right), so you'll probably need to take it indoors for the winter. A plus: Hummingbirds are drawn to this specimen.
2. Leonotis leonurus
(lion's ear)
This subshrub, native to South Africa and widely used in tropical climates, can grow up to 6 feet tall rather quickly if given generous amounts of water, sun and fertilizer. Leonotis leonurus' magnificent whorls of tubular orange flowers make it a standout in a fall border (or in containers). Gardeners who do not live in Zone 10, where Leonotis leonurus is hardy, can either take cuttings in the fall or bring the entire plant indoors for the winter. If you know how to propagate, you can use one plant to create several for next year's garden. I love Leonotis leonurus scattered haphazardly in borders with Verbena bonariensis, Aster frikartii 'Monch' and Salvia vanhouttii.
3. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
(hardy plumbago)
This perennial spreading ground cover has slim red stems with brilliant spiky clusters of crisp, deep-blue flowers that bloom endlessly from early autumn on. Even after the plant has finished flowering, the leaves continue to offer a display as they turn from green to red. Hardy in Zones 6-9, this specimen shows best in the front of a border, in a container or in a rock garden. And it's not fussy about the conditions -- it can be grown in either sun or shade, and it adapts itself to a wide variety of soils. I love Ceratostigma positioned next to the succulent Sedum 'Autumn Joy' or against the shimmering soft silver foliage of Artemisia 'Powis Castle.'
4. Panicum virgatum
(switch grass)
This clump-forming, columnar perennial grass has stems of silver to purple-green and dancing racemes of long flowers (up to 20 inches) that begin to bloom in the autumn. It's a great architectural plant to use solo as a highlight in the fall garden. It also can be effective in mass plantings or interspersed in a herbaceous border. Panicum virgatum does best in fertile, well-drained soil, in full sun, but I've seen it thrive in less-than-ideal conditions. My favorite selection, 'Heavy Metal,' has a stiff texture with metallic blue-gray leaves that turn yellow in the fall. It's hardy in Zones 5-10. I use it in my herbaceous borders surrounded by masses of Echinacea purpurea and Phlox paniculata.
5. Caryopteris x clandonensis cultivars
(blue mist shrub, or bluebeard)
A woody perennial, originally from Asia, this bush is a great addition to a shrub or herbaceous border. Its blue or purple flowers perch on delicate canelike silver stems 3 feet high, complementing other, more vividly colored plants. Caryopteris x clandonensis begins to bloom sometime between late summer and fall, and although it does best in rich, well-drained soil in full sun, it will tolerate light shade. It's a prolific self-seeder, but weeding easily keeps it under control. This species is hardy in Zones 5-9.
Fran Sorin, who lives near Philadelphia, last wrote about container gardens.
|
