Fall Around The Neighborhood

I woke up this morning and all of a sudden realized fall was upon us!  Looking up I saw the trees turning color. I had not noticed how vivid they were until today, reds, golds, yellows and even browns and purples.

This wonderful tree is across the street from me.

This one is next door.

We try so hard in the colder areas to have at least three seasons of bloom and this is certainly achievable with some planning and four seasons are possible by adding structures and enjoying the plantings that can be left up over the winter.

Hydrangea Limelight
The flower heads will continue to dry and do hold up throughout the winter.

Looking South in the Fall Border

Yellow line in the middle is the umpteenth time the gas company has marked off for new repiping!  It doesn't seem to matter that we are a newer home with new piping!

The Miscanthus Udine plumes are coming into full bloom against the fall sky.

Panicum Northwind is developing seed heads and turning color.
This is a grass that will also stand straight during the winter.

Penstemon Hamlin
Looks great all winter

The border looking north shows daylilies that have been cut down and rejuvenated, Southern Comfort Heuchera, Greenstem Forsythia and Dark Horse Weigela.

Bronze Mums and aster in the front garden,  Crotons will not last in the fall garden.  I see many of them in nursery fall planters.  They do not do well below fifty degrees and I hate to tell you what happens below that!

I have to admit that Mums give that punch of color to the fall garden.

The Rudbeckias look great with the fall colors.

The cabbages have their own beauty as they open up.

I stopped and took this photo as I was driving through the neighborhood, very effective use of mums and cabbages together.

This is Aster Purple Dome and has never looked good for me, bare on the bottom, eaten by the rabbits and just tattered looking all season.

I am growing a last crop of lettuce in containers on my patio.  Anything edible planted in the veggie garden was eaten by the rabbits as soon as they sprouted.

Eva Cullum Phlox is a later and longer blooming variety.

Franz Schubert is an early blooming phlox but is still going.

There is nothing like the roses in the fall garden.  This is Pink Promise an All America Winner a few years ago.  However, it is very tall, over five feet.

Roses single and double Knockout, they add color like no other fall flower!

Rainbow Knockout

Pink Knockout

David Austin's Mary Rose

Home Run Rose Pink

Finding Fall With Friends

There is not a more enjoyable experience than exploring nature with friends.  We set out on a trip to the Morton Arboretum to find the ultimate signs of fall.

Goldenrod (a sure sign of fall)

We almost didn't get started as we found a plant and bulb sale going on by the Visitors Center.  The prices were reasonable and they had some shrubs and perennials that were difficult to find at the local nurseries.

We had no idea that they had their own mini nursery open on a daily basis.

There were many new plants that I personally had not seen at local nurseries.

Echinacea Pica Bella

Cosmic Eye Coreopsis

Route 66 Whorled Coreposis

Little Lime Hydrangea

I bought this one for $16.95 which was a great price compared to the $40.00 ones that I had seen.

Little Honey Oakleaf Hydrangea

Cliff Dwelling Stonecrop

Seibolds Stonecrop

Foxtail Grass

Variegated Oshama Sedge

We made our purchases and put them on hold to pick up after lunch.  We then headed out the the Children's Garden where all of the plantings are up close and personal.

Beds of Lantana, Elephant Ears and grasses

Teddy Bear Sunflowers, Gomphrena and Sedums

Vivid Obedient Plant

Not a perennial in zone 5 but does reseed

Limelight Hydrangeas are everywhere and they are huge, bigger than my seven foot one!

Amsonia will soon be turning gold for the fall.

Hill's Oak turns a vivid red in the fall.

Jack Frost Brunnera along a shaded path

I have it where it gets some sun and it does just fine.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Oakleaf Hydrangea Flower 

When dried it almost looks like a pine cone.

The Pond

Sedum Neon

I have seen this one in the nurseries.  It does flop but the flower heads are stunning.

Afterglow Winterberry

We could not pass up the gift shop so after lunch we were on a mission!

 A Fall Tree

Lots of Pumpkins

We had a  great day and have already planned another outing when the leaves change color.

Summer's Gone

I am a big fan of Paul Anka but I do not remember this song.  My guess is that as a teenager I would not have liked to hear the words of this song so I must have dismissed it.

However,  with maturity I am more realistic and know that the signs are everywhere announcing the forthcoming season.

Heliopsis Lemon Queen is the first sign that Fall is inevitable.

Autumn Fern is turning color more and more each day.

Vera Jameson Sedum is in full bloom.

Endless Summer Hydrangea is not in my good graces but its fall coloring is earning it some points.

Arnie's Choice daylily is fresh and green again surrounded by Plumbago and cabbages.

I used several Gerber Daisies in my plantings this year, most not successful.  These are the best looking planted by my front walk.  They will succumb quickly to the cool fall temperatures.

I have several Crotons and they will not do well below 50 degrees, so I will bring them indoors for the winter.  They do well inside and do not get buggy, etc.

My best petunias, Bubblegum, Bordeaux and Tidal Wave will stay around for awhile since petunias are cold tolerant.

Phlox will continue to bloom as long as it is deadheaded, Laura in foreground and Franz Schubert.

Blue Paradise Phlox in a shadier area

Miscanthus Udine is just beginning to send up its pinkish plumes with aster Purple Dome in the foreground with just a small hint of purple showing.

Autumn Fire Sedum is beginning to show its colors, more upright than Autumn Joy but not the same intense coloring.

The gauras love to peek out in the fall, both pink and white are beginning a profuse blooming period.  You can only wish they come back!

Agastache Blue Fortune in the alley garden tends to lean because of the fence behind it.  I will have to encircle it next spring to keep this from happening.  This plant has a wonderful licorice fragrance but is a bee haven so do not plant near a walkway.

Rainbow Knockout is a rose that fills the fall with blooms until November.  It was especially hard hit this year with the midges and Japanese Beetles, I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is.

Unique Hydrangea is turning pink which will eventually become rose colored.

The herbs will soon need to be cut and tied for hanging in the garage ready for use throughout the winter months.

All of the Heucheras are wonderful in the fall with their colors and blooms.  This is Heuchera Purpurea Villosa.

Home Run Pink, what can I say, it has weathered the insects has virtually no disease and has grown by leaps and bounds.  The pink is electric not purple/pink but a warm reddish pink.

Home Run Red with Kim's Knee High Coneflower and Rainbow Knockout

The Home Run Rose Red is a royal red with a gold center.

I have trialed these two types of Home Run roses this year in all areas of my garden even in part shade and they have all done very well.  I did fertilize them with my other roses with the Bayer 3 In 1 Formula Systemic.  There was some rose midge involvement but very little interest in them by the Japanese Beetles, no black spot or mildew.  They do not need to be deadheaded and will produce rose hips along with continual flowering.  Let's look for these next year distributed by Proven Winners Choice.