Well, I had lovely daffodils and other bulbs in the spring
and the summer gardens have been terrific - but I want the colour to continue. . . .
About three weeks ago, I cut back the straggly petunias, and they are coming back nicely. The impatiens are doing fabulous - and I suppose they will continue until the first frost (please, please after Nov. 15)
I keep deadheading the bachelor buttons - and they keep making flowers. What about garden phlox - do I deadhead these? And the Golden Jubilee (darn - I can't say the name of the plant, much less spell it - but you know what I mean - bright lime green leaves, pale blue spikes) - should I deadhead these?
What about coneflowers? will they keep blooming if I deadhead?
Finally, besides mums and flowering cabbage/kale - are there plants specifically for blooming in the fall?
Has anyone every grown a garden specifically for fall colour?
Fall gardens . . . help please :-)
Saffron crocus bloom in November for me. They are pricey to buy but multiply nicely. there are other fall crocus - I just happen to have the saffron variety.
Don't forget the asters for fall. The Purple Dome are just starting to color on the buds here. The annuals you can keep deadheading till frost gets them, but the perennials I stop deadheading now or about six weeks before first frost just so they can wind down naturally and go dormant. Others may do differently but that's my method. Hydrangeas also color in the fall and hold their blooms nicely, so don't forget about the shrubs for fall color.
Edited to add: Sedums and grasses.
This message was edited Sep 2, 2007 10:40 AM
Micheala - if you know how to propagate hydrangeas from cuttings - my neighbor's yard had a beautiful blue and a white, vining hydrangea that I can bring you cutting from at the RU.
Cat:
That's one beautiful hydrangea!! What type of soil does your neighbor grow it in?
my cosmos and annual verbena went strong through october last year... i don't know if that is fall enough, and it was my 1st year gardening so i don't know if it is typical. this is my 1st year with perennial verbena.
o - and strawflowers seem to go on forever. i have a LOT of strawflowers this year.
i've never liked mums, but this year i have looked around and found colors and varieties that are more appealing to me than the "typical" looking mums that come to mind.
i have been told coleus can come inside in the winter - how long can it stay out?
amy
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This message was edited Sep 3, 2007 1:07 AM
That's a gorgeous hydrangea - but alas - I really don't have room for it until I can convince Dave (my Dave) to sacrifice even more of his lawn -not likely for a few more years
I have three hydrangea now - was I supposed to deadhead these? I mean, the blue blossoms are now lime green. go figure. And the pink ones are now a kind of motley dark burgandy.
I know you don't have alot of extra room but a butterfly bush is good this time of year, as is purple beauty berry (callicarpa). There's always morning glories, cosmos, spider plant, gaillardia, and portulaca. Let's not forget sedum 'autumn joy'! I have a red yarrow (achillea) that I cut back and is doing nicely now, although not as vigorous as the first blooms.
A favorite of mine is pineapple sage, which sits quietly in the garden all summer and early fall. Then in late October, early November it opens up into gorgeous little red flowers! A perfect surprise for that time of year when nothing grows. It's an annual, so in October I take some cuttings in to keep them over 'til the next year. Plus it really does smell like pineapple!
Candyce - The original plant is about 50 years old. My neighbor had a huge bush in his front yard and tore it out before I moved in. He keeps moving pieces around the yard. I'm sue the soil is really acid here. I feed the hydrangeas food for acid loving shrubs from Gardens Alive and then I give them the cat box washing outs! They love it!
I'd love to have some of that hydrangea, Cat!! If he's cutting more, save a piece for me. It's just so beautiful, and the history of it would really 'fit in' with with my home's history.
Just tell me what and where to cut and youv'e got it.
Cat:
I don't know what to cut. But, I'd really, really, really like to have some. Hopefully, someone on this thread knows what to cut.
You are coming to the RU, yes?
Yes.
Michaela, are you only looking for Fall blooms or does foliage color count? If it does, check out the Fall color thread. Lots of good ideas there and many shrubs are small.
For Perennial blooms, Helenium and Heliopsis, Sedum, Geranium, Toad Lily, Goldenrod (smaller, more well-behaved ones advisable) are a few.
Shrubs count too . . . but much of my garden is in shade by the fall. We have a burning bush in the front that never really gets as red as it should. I would like to get rid of it, but DH is rather found of it.
Thanks everyone - you have given me lots to think about :-)
Itea virginica 'Little Henry' is a dynamite small shrub that will do well in part shade. Gets fragrant white flowers in Spring and fantastic Fall color which lasts a long time.
Okay - thanks, Victor - I will check this out :-)
Seandor.....My street (and town) is very big on early spring blooms. Daffies everywhere. Because the area looks a little tired right now, I'm going to concentrate on late bloomers and fall color. So far its Asters (the tall willowy ones, not the shrub type), Heptacodium, Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', Callicarpa 'Amethyst' and fall crocus. Be a few years to see how it all works (asters were great the first year of course).
Dahlia " Mrs. I De Ver Warner", I've read, is hardy in zone 6. Assume it will go until the frost. Like to try that. Know anything about it?
Well, currently I have most of my summer flowers still blooming - including the dahlias - but I really want to extend the season well into October - so asters seem to be an idea along with some of the shrubs, mums, and fall croci. (crocuses?) I guess I am looking for frost hardy plants. I have been given some terrific suggestions so far :-)
How about helleborus that blooms during the winter?
Did a custom search(didn't know what type of soil or sun/shade conditions) on bluestone per. and here's what they list for late fall....
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/search.html?mv_session_id=5gcvBDWV&mv_more_alpha=yes&mv_more_alpha_chars=1&tf=name&ml=45&co=yes&rf=code%2Cname%2Cshort_desc%2Cprice%2Cqty%2Cnew_plant%2Cdisc&sp=results_pics&st=db&mv_value=nametype%3Dscientific&mv_value=srchtype%3Dcustom&sf=disc&op=%3E%3D&nu=1&se=1&sf=zones&op=rm&nu=0&sf=p_color&op=rm&nu=0&sf=soil&op=rm&nu=0&sf=ht&op=rm&nu=0&sf=bloom&op=rm&nu=0&sf=sun&op=rm&nu=0&sf=ty&op=rm&nu=0&from_search=1&se=z6&se=&se=&se=&se=bg&se=&se=
Have fun!!!
Thanks flowergen...been looking for a reasonably priced c. cartwrightianus. It is the fertile ancestor of c. sativa the crocus grown for saffron. Like to see if I can get it to naturalize. Flowers and paella in the fall! (if this one produces saffron...one vendor told me yes...but he didn't seen too sure..he was also selling the bulbs for five times what Bluestone is).
My saffron crocus "naturalizes" here in Bridgeport. I save the saffron but don't know what to do with it.
Steep it in chicken stock for five or ten minutes. Remove the saffron and use the chicken stock in rice.
Oh yes, pirl! Isn't that the yummiest cold weather lunch in the world? Saffron and chicken rice, I mean.
Lunch? Generally I have one pretzel for lunch. The chicken and rice would be dinner for me.
So, pirl ~ what's for lunch today?
Four squares of Ghiardelli chocolate.
Man - you must have great self control - only four squares?
*sigh*
I just made do with my sliced chicken, tomato, and romaine sandwich. How depressing! I'd much rather have had chocolate.
I consoled myself by baking some shortbread cookies in the afternoon while the rain poured down.
Yes, Seandor, I do, except for ordering Japanese irises. Then there's no control.
Candyce - sounds good to me. I'd even like that sandwich for dinner! I spent 2.5 hours cleaning the refrigerator interior - shelves, etc. all bleached and washed in hot sudsy water. I threw out more things than ever before and it felt great. It's not one of Martha Stewart's "good things" when items in the refrigerator have birthdays!
Pirl:
I have to do that once a week just to have room for the groceries for this family!! And we have two refrigerators and a great big freezer.
*sigh* a momma's work is never done, even when she's a grandmomma!! Or a 'Grams', as I am so affectionately named.
There's just the two of us but we have two big refrigerator/freezers and until I cooked it (with that old fashioned electric defroster) we had a big freezer in the garage until last month. Regardless of the work involved in the job I managed to save the items in the freezer and it's gone to recycling. I hated the job of cleaning out that freezer - it was all wasted hours!
At last: FREEZER FREEDOM!
Whoooo Hooooooo!!!!!
Maybe I should blow up the picture and paste it where the freezer used to be!