Adding Late Summer/Fall Color and Interest to the Garden and Landscape
What’s in the Garden:
On Tuesday, September 27th at 7 p.m., nationally known horticulturist, speaker, and garden writer David Culp will be our guest speaker. His seminar, “A Second Look at Fall: Plants to Extend the Season,” will cover a number of plants that bring color and excitement to the garden in late summer, fall, and even winter.
Many annuals are beginning to become tired as summer comes to a close. We at Rohsler’s have some suggestions to add color, foliage, and texture to your garden for extended beauty and interest. The plants mentioned below should begin to whet your appetite. David Culp’s presentation will take this topic to another level. We hope to see you there.
Many plants are ideal for fall color. We recommend 
Mums, Pansies, and Ornamental Peppers loaded with vibrant fruit. Ornamental Cabbage and Kale are also great choices, since their bold and colorful foliage continues well into the winter. Ornamental Kale delights the eyes in the fall with its vibrant serrated leaves. Many varieties are available in a wide varieties of leaf textures.
Perennials are perfect additions to the fall garden — and many of them are yet to flower.
Asters come in array of colors and are a favorite plant for pollinators, especially bees. Montauk Daisies will be in flower shortly and bloom gloriously in October.
Japanese Anemone, one of the most underused perennials, adds 
white, pink, and purple blossoms to the late summer/early fall garden. It prefers morning sun or light afternoon shade. The Perennial Plant of the Year is “Honorine Jobert,” a beautiful white flowering form with single petals.
Heuchera (Coral Bells) lends foliage in a wide variety of colors, including red, purple, bronze, silver, chartreuse, green, and more.
Ornamental Grasses add grace and stature to the landscape. Many grasses are just hitting their stride and are now in full plume. Planting grasses such as Panicum (Switchgrass), Shizachyrium (Little Bluestem) and Muhlenbergia (Muhly Grass) en masse can be quite stunning.
If you need to brighten up or add appeal to the shade garden this fall, consider planting some Ferns in addition to Heuchera and Anemones. Maidenhair Ferns add delicate texture to the shade garden, while the Royal Fern adds structure with its strong upright habit and rigid fronds. Japanese Painted Ferns provide texture and brightness thanks to their exquisite variegated fronds in hues of green, silver, and maroon.
Keep in mind that flowering bulbs are not just for spring interest. Many species of Crocus, such as the Autumn Crocus and Saffron Crocus, flower in the fall. Winter Aconite is another bulb/corm that will produce dainty yellow flowers in February.
Many trees and shrubs are excellent for the fall landscape. Japanese Maples, Blueberries, Parotia,
and various native Maples put on quite a show as their leaves turn color. PJM Rhododendrons, Andromeda, and many Azaleas will even add red to bronze winter color in their evergreen foliage. Witch Hazel is another underused small ornamental tree that boasts colorful fall foliage and flowers in late winter.
Hopefully this has piqued your interest in bringing fall color and interest to your garden and landscape. Please join us as David Culp shares his years of gardening experience, knowledge, enthusiasm, and excitement. Click HERE for more information about “A Second Look at Fall: Plants to Extend the Season” and to RSVP.