Design Your Fall Garden Now

How to best prepare for that fall garden. It's best to plan far in advance before planting.

Festuca glauca 'Boulder Blue'
Item # 52361 		Festuca glauca 'Boulder Blue'
Boulder Blue Fescue Grass

each $5.79
3 to 6 plants $5.59
7 or more $5.29
Achillea ageratifolia
Item # 10010 		Achillea ageratifolia
Greek Yarrow

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more plants $7.59
Salvia reptens
Item # 84791 		Salvia reptans
West Texas Grass Sage

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59

Item # 96492 		Kniphofia caulescens
Blue-leaf Red Hot Poker

each $7.99
3 or more $7.79
Solidago sp. Wichita Mts
Item # 91926 		Solidago sp. 'Wichita Mountains'
Golden Torch

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Veronica rupestris
Item # 97370 		Veronica rupestris 'Heavenly Blue'
Heavenly Blue Speedwell

each $5.49
3 to 6 plants $5.29
7 or more $4.99
  • Topics: Garden Design, Spring Gardening
  • Author: By Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: Garden design, xeric pricipals, e zine, gardening help, fall planting, bulbs, Garden Design, gardens, xeriscape, xeriscaping, xeriscapes
  • Date: February 2005

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

It may feel a bit odd to think about fall right now with so much of the country covered in snow. But January just might be the time to get ahead of yourself by a few seasons.

How many times come October have you wished for a bright red maple tree in the front yard? Or the luscious burgundy leaves of Virginia Creeper? During those warm Indian Summer days I’m always envious of people who had the foresight to plant Helianthus maximiliana ‘Santa Fe’ along a south-facing wall. As if I couldn’t do the same thing.

And that’s what I’m doing now—planning for next fall before it’s here and taking me out of the loop once again.

Plan for Foliar Color

As the days shorten, plants’ abilities to synthesize chlorophyll become reduced. When this happens, the foliage of many plants begins to change from green to various hues of yellow, orange, red, purple and brown. The yellow and orange carotene and xanthophyll (hidden under the green of chlorophyll) that’s found in ash, aspen, birch, black cherry, cottonwood, sycamore, tulip tree and willow begin to appear.

Shrubs and grasses with yellow fall color include:

  • Forestiera neomexicana
  • Sorgastrum nutans (Indiangrass)

Another group of pigments, called anthocyanins, is responsible for the pinks, reds and purples, which are present in maple trees, sumac bushes and the Virginia Creeper vine.

Other plants that have red fall foliage include:

  • Rosa hugonis (Father Hugo Shrub Rose)
  • Ribes odoratum ‘Crandall’
  • Rhus trilobata, R. aromatica ‘Gro-Low’
  • Viburnam lentego and other Viburnam species
  • Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ (Prairie Switch grass)
  • Schizachrium scoparium ‘Blaze’ (Little Bluestem grass)

Oaks contain high quantities of tannin in the leaves which are responsible for the brown and beige colors.

Plan for Fall Flowers

Many perennials bloom in the fall and should also be included in your garden. These include many plants with yellow flowers like Helianthus maximiliana (Maximilian Sunflower) and various Solidago cultivars (Golden rod).

Red and pink flowered varieties include tall Sedums like S. sieboldii,, S. ‘Autumn Joy’, S. ‘Neon.’ Hummingbird mints like Agastache x ‘Ava’ and ‘Desert Sunrise’ are essential fall bloomers.

Orange flowered perennials like Zauschneria arizonica and Kniphofia caulescens are always welcome. Blue flowers are provided by Salvia pitcherii ‘Grandiflora’ and Salvia reptens. Purples are supplied by Aster ‘Purple Dome’ and ever-blooming Viola corsica.

Ornamental grasses provide a wonderful textural element with attractive foliage and colorful plumes. Miscanthus ‘Silberfeder’ and Panicum ‘Dallas Blues’ are particularly showy.

Don’t forget the various fall blooming Crocus. These little beauties are often overlooked but are perfect for planting into swatches of low groundcovers like Veronica ‘Heavenly Blue’ and Achillea ageratifolia (Greek Yarrow). These small naturalizing bulbs are planted in the fall and will spread to provide carpets of color in shades of pink, white and blue for many years to come.

Plan for Design

When establishing fall plantings, keep in mind that many of the reds look good with the grayish perennials and ornamental grasses such as Stachys byzantina ‘Helen Von Stein’ (Lamb’s Ear) and Festuca glauca ‘Boulder Blue’ (Boulder Blue Fescue Grass).

Don’t Forget the Annuals

When planning your fall garden, make a spot for snapdragons, pansies, violas, mums and fall asters. These have a lot of color and if interspersed with perennials that turn color, annuals will brighten and prolong the color in any garden.

When gardens begin to fade in late summer, the last hurrah of the growing season is fall. If you plan now, your dream garden of yellows, oranges and reds just might happen when autumn settles in again. So as you sip hot chocolate by the fire, try to imagine your garden this next fall. It’ll be here before you know it.