Fall flowers and fine foliage make for lively autumn color
Autumn’s equinox marks the shift from summer’s warmth towards winter chill. But rather than plunging us straight into the rainy season, September usually does a slow fade. That way, those who are still enjoying their gardens can prolong the rewards for our patient, careful watering well into October.
Though September usually lacks rain, it often offers gentle, grey, marine layer mornings that keep gardens and woodlands from total desiccation even without much help. Where humans have turned on the taps regularly (or in damper years), autumn can be as lovely as midsummer. If less full of bloom, our gardens may be bright with berries, and lovely foliage comes into its own, taking over for fading flowers. While bronze and copper foliage can get overshadowed in summer’s glorious colorfest, the long, slanting light of autumn illuminates these more subtle hues that gleam like lost sunshine amid perennials in quiet retreat.
Like a tall cold drink, summer weary borders gain sparkle from a shot of lime, whether from a tumble of Lime Sweet Potato Vine or a ruffled clump of Lime Coral Bells. A soft wave of All Gold Japanese Forest Grass billows brightly beneath the rosy purple puffs of Glowing Embers Hydrangea. Too understated to shine in summer’s showier displays, the tawny leaves of Marmalade Coral Bells set off autumn’s cinnamon and rust tinted chrysanthemums and storm-cloud-purple asters to perfection. One of my favorite surprise combinations pairs smoky Burgundy hydrangeas with dwarf leadwort, a cheerful ground cover that’s useful for hiding the foliage of spring bulbs. Come autumn, its unremarkable leaves turn brilliant tints of smoldering plum and flame red, which vividly enhance its fall crop of sapphire blue blossoms.
If you cut the garden back heavily at this time of year, consider grooming with a lighter touch while looking for places where a few late bloomers could keep things interesting. Many gardens would benefit from an autumnal burst of Fireworks Solidago, a graceful perennial that produces arching stems laden with showers of golden sparks well into October. A tall late lily, Chinese Gold Band (Lilium auratum) often blooms into September, as do many of its offspring. Gold Band Lilies remind me of Victorian party dresses, white and ruffled, their soft yellow throats bright with scattered rubies. Many Oriental Lilies are also late bloomers, especially in shady positions, and all are swooningly fragrant to boot.
An old fashioned favorite, Magic Lily (Lycoris), produces sheaves of tender pink lilies every fall. The fact that they are to be found beside abandoned houses all across the country explains why this easy going bulb is still around despite falling in and out of fashion over the years. Treat it too well and it may vanish; let it bake all summer and it will stick around indefinitely. So will her Naked Ladies/Spider Lily Lycoris cousins, as well as lipstick red Schoolhouse Lilies (Rhodophiala). You gotta love pretty plants that thrive on benign neglect!
A number of smaller bulbs produce fall flowers, from rosy Autumn Crocus to orchid-like toad lilies (Tricyrtis) which mingle happily with ferns and mosses in shady gardens. In sun or shade, lovely little fall-blooming Cyclamen hederifolium, a dainty yet tough corm, partners rosy, reflexed flowers with beautifully patterned foliage, splashed and stippled with silver. Tuck in a few more late bloomers each fall and a worn out border can become a handsome autumn haven that keeps your inner gardener as happy as the birds and pollinators that find nourishment there. Onward!
Contact Ann Lovejoy at 413 Madrona Way NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 or visit Ann’s blog at http://www.loghouseplants.com/blogs/greengardening/ and leave a question/comment.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Fall flowers and fine foliage make for lively autumn color
