Whats your favorite Fall annual or perennial?
Been looking for something special for the fall
and can't find it?
Favorite Fall Plant or Plants?
I think my favorite of all is the climbing carolina aster. Mine is a mid-lilac color, same color as my house and fence. I lust after the one a friend has, which is dark purple.
I also love the large daisy mums. I bought several korean apricot but they fade badly in the sun to a washy peach that I don't like. However, the "ryan's pink" and "ryan's yellow" are lovely. I recently saw a photo on the goodness grows website featuring ryan's yellow flopping down low as it tends to do, and growing above it was a purple native aster. Nice combo!
GGG
My fav. is the ol' standby hardy mums and amaryllis.
Deborah
I love the big stands of the purple mexican sage, the quill mums and the red Texas sage. And the toad lilies and the red blooms of the pineapple sage - here's a neat critter - the tops of its wings are sulfur yellow but the undersides look like leaves - look how well camouflaged it is against this pineapple sage:
Hi, what's the difference between red Texas sage and pineapple sage? This year, it self-sprouted all over the yard (escapees from a big flower-bowl I bought the year before. I have some that looks exactly like your picture... and some that's pink (real pretty). I'd really appreciate any info on this -- it has turned into one of our very favorite easy-growers (and the butterflies and hummers love it too).
thx
jo
OK - pineapple sage - Salvias elegans - http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1913/index.html - is a pineapple flavored soft leaf sage - dies back here in the winter
Texas Red sage - Salvia greggii - http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/51610/index.html - is also a sage but has a smaller leaf and not the wonderful fragrance of pineapple sage.
To confuse the issue - there is a Furman's Red Texas Sage - with is more of a woody shrub. http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/product/84735/
Plus there are dozens of red sages of various kinds - some annual and perennial...
Salvias, mums, red spider lilies, Arum italicum, camellias, I love them all. One of my goals is to have something in bloom each month that I can cut and bring into the house.
Beth
I would love to have a "cutting garden". My ex-inlaws owned a plantation in Louisiana and my MIL had a large cutting garden behind a large row of oleanders so you couldn't see it from the formal gardens. Flowers were planted in rows, like corn, and were planned for blooming for all seasons. She could go out with scissors and a deep narrow bucket of water and create a huge arrangement for the table. I was about 23 at the time and thought it wonderful. She did not plant or water or tend the garden in any way though. She just told her yard man what she wanted planted and he did all the work. She also had herbs and a big square mint bed.
I would miss working in the garden but it was unbelievably hot there. I would love to have a cutting garden like that though!
Sterhill, I am going to try to do a small version of what your ex MIL did. I have already planted a lot of dahlias (Lord only knows if they will survive), and lilies of all kinds, and this past year I had some glads, but I will plant a large long bed of them this year in addition to whatever returns from this year. Dahlias and lilies seem to be my favorites for cutting, and last a long time in the vase. Any recommendations for annuals for cutting? I tried a few from seed this year, and the only ones that did anything were the lavender very tall Cosmos. At first they were pretty pitiful, but as the temps dropped in the fall they did much better and were really pretty. I think I will plant them in a shadier spot next year. We in the south need to remember that when the package says "full sun" they may not have meant full Georgia sun!
Sterling.. I have to agree with the sage.. I think I have two pinapple (will post to be sure next year) and they were lovely and bloomed past anything else. I love the idea of a cutting garden.. I just don't currently have a dedicated space to do that. I just cut them where they are! :) I just had some camelias bloom and in january will have some more.. I just love those! I've done u-turns to drive back by them in bloom! :)
Susan