Planning a Colorful Autumn Garden
Page 4More Perennials for Fall Interest
The anemones that bloom in fall are exciting additions to the autumn garden. Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' with flowers on tall stems, makes it stand about four feet tall while in bloom. The elegant white flowers begin their floral display in late summer and continue through the middle of fall. When the harvest moon lights up the night, the white flowers glow in the garden. A. hupehensis var. japonica 'Bressingham's Glow' is a dark pink Chinese anemone that casts more color into your fall garden. 'September Charm' has a lighter pink to its flowers. Place anemones carefully in the garden since they have a suckering habit and will spread. 'Prinz Heinrich' is similiar to 'Bressingham's Glow' but can be more invasive. If you choose 'Prinz Heinrich', give it a garden to itself or plant it in a container to curb the "royal thug." Any of these fall blooming anemones can be invasive, so plant them where they won't be a problem with other plants. I have mine planted next to Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' . The anemone dances all around it, but the Miscanthus holds its own.
A plant that I see growing in a few Northwest gardens is Tricyrtis, or Toad Lily. It doesn't grow in my garden yet, but not from my lack of trying. The slugs did it in last year, mowing it down to the ground. My mistake was planting it while the plants were still too small. Next time I will wait until summer, when the weather is drier and the slugs have slinked off to sleep. Yes, I will try this member of the Lily family again because the flowers have such a unique and tropical look to them. This shade plant will prevail in my fall garden, even if I have to stand guard all night to fight off the slugs. Besides, Heronswood and Plant's Delight Nurseries keep sending me their catalogs with enticing lyrical words characterizing Trycertis. I can't resist when they beckon me to keep trying this perennial.
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides syn. Plumbago larpentiae, or Leadworts, adds color in fall with both its leaves and flowers.
I try to add blue flowers every chance I get, and this one I added specifically for the flower color. Later I realized it was also a good leaf color for fall. The leaves turn to burgundy red hues as if painted with an airbrush. The little Leadworts, recently added to the top of my new rock wall, intermingle with other newly planted perennials. Placed with the grass Imperata cylindrica 'Rubra' , or commonly called Japanese Blood Grass, they look great together. Also in this grouping are the grass-like leaves of Acorus, commonly called Sweet flag. The morning sun back-lights this grouping and highlights the blood red grass of Imperata, burgundy leaves of the Ceratostigma, and the golden leaves of acorus.
Instead of the woolly, gray leaves of the artemesias or Dusty miller that we commonly plant in fall gardens, I am using Lavandula lanata for its stout gray leaves. Don't get me wrong–I like the Dusty millers for their staying power through the colder months of the year. However, since they are overdone so much in plantings, I like to look for alternatives that will do a similiar job. Lavandula lanata does this and more. In summer its fragrant, deep-purple flower spikes give it added value in my garden. So now instead of a plant that gives gray foliage and texture to the fall and winter garden, we have year round interest.
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
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