Christa's Garden Corner
Fall Color Power
by Christa Kenefick

The following plants will also give you color in late summer into fall.

Perennials

Sedums: There are many varieties offering choices in bloom and foliage color as well as low growing and taller varieties. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is commonly known, other varieties worth checking out are Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’, Sedum ‘Bertram Anderson’, Sedum ‘Maestro’, and Sedum ‘Vera Jameson’.

Russian Sage: Beautiful lavender-blue flowers on erect stems in summer thru early fall. The silver-gray foliage adds a soft, airy feel to the landscape and contrasts wonderfully with Knock Out Roses. A tough plant that loves hot and dry conditions can get large; however there is a dwarf variety, Pervoskia ‘Little Spire’, which fits nicely in the smaller landscape.

Kalimeris ‘Blue Star’: This Japanese Aster has small, pale-blue, daisy-like flowers that bloom mid to late summer. A good size, about 1.5’, for the home landscape, it tolerates heat and drought well.

Helianthus: Showy masses of bright yellow, daisy-like flowers in early fall. Usually the last plant to flower in the perennial garden, a beacon of yellow when not much else is in bloom. Foliage is a nice, dark green with no insect or disease problems.  Helianthus 'First Light' is a tall variety growing up to 5' tall and Helianthus 'Low Down' reaches a dwarf 12”.

Coral Bells: A multitude of colors are now available; yellow, orange, red, purple, variegated and multiple colors on one plant, just to name a few. So many to choose from, there is sure to be one for your part-sun garden.

Shrubs

Gro-Low Sumac: A short but wide shrub, growing 2’ tall to 6-8’ wide; The Gro-Low Sumac is an excellent choice for hillsides with its dark glossy green leaves during the growing season and brilliant orange-red fall color.

Dwarf Fothergilla: Another underused plant with excellent landscape value. Fragrant, white bottlebrush-like flowers in the spring with attractive blue-green summer foliage that turns brilliant yellow to orange to scarlet or combinations all on the same leaf in the fall.

Winterthur Viburnum: This Viburnum has smooth, dark green glossy leaves that turn a beautiful red-purple in the fall. It flowers in the spring or early summer and the female plants later develop fruits ranging from red to blue to black adding even more interest. Growing 6-8’ tall, Winterthur Viburnum makes a great screen or focal point in the landscape.

Hydrangea ‘Tardiva’: Grown as a shrub form or standard (resembling a small tree). This white flowering Hydrangea blooms later than most and can have flowers throughout September. The flowers dry with a pink tint creating added interest.

Autumn Joy Sedum

Russian Sage

Kalimeris Blue Star

Helianthus

Coral Bells

Gro-Low Sumac

Dwarf Fothergilla

Winterthur Viburnum

Hydrangea Tardiva

Simply Simplify your Landscape
by James "Woody" Wood

As I get older and hopefully a little wiser, I find things in my life need a little simplifying. Nothing can be more frustrating than having a landscape, that we used to have lots of time for, but has now gotten out of hand.

Let’s face it; many things change our life styles: addition of children, careers, retirement, etc. We all would rather be spending more time enjoying our hobbies than married to our gardens. Maybe gardening is your hobby, but you just don’t have the time anymore.

“Time to simply simplify your garden”

Summer has been a long and hot one. Due to this our gardens have taken a beating. Fall is the absolute best time to renovate your gardens. If your landscape just doesn’t seem to work for you anymore, then it’s time for a change.

The nursery industry has done an incredible job in creating high color impact, low maintenance plants for the simple garden.

Renovating your landscape doesn’t mean you have to tear everything out and start over. Also, maybe you are overwhelmed by the amount of landscape that needs renovation? Renovating in phases might be the answer? Many mature landscapes have existing plants that can be saved, relocated or pruned to freshen up the landscape. Reducing the amount of planting beds and consolidating may be the answer for you?

As in past articles, I have talked about the importance of planning the plan. A professional landscape designer is trained to aid you in all of these decisions. Hiring a professional designer allows you to come up with a game plan, work with phases and budgets and provide economical suggestions in what’s worthy of renovating and what’s not.

I see the trend of small intimate garden spaces becoming more the norm than large entertainment spaces. Small spaces, although challenging can really be transformed into usable, enjoyable spaces that work well with lifestyles with limited time.

Take the time now to walk through your gardens and decide what is working for you and what is not, contact your Landscape designer and simply simplify your gardens.