EXTENDING THE COLORS OF SUMMER
Too often, we think of August as the end of color in the garden. Although achieving a vivid garden into autumn does take planning, there are wide assortments of annuals and perennials which will assure a colorful garden until the arrival of the fall foliage season.
LATE SEASON ANNUALS
Available in a wide array of colors and size, garden mums and pansies have long been the backbone of the late season flower garden. Even on the grayest of days, these sunny- hued annuals can instantly warm up our gardens, decks and patios. Planting containers with mums and pansies or ornamental cabbages and kale is the easiest way to add a splash of color.
With a little more effort, you can place these late season beauties directly in your garden beds. In either case, be sure to watch the thermometer. We often have very brief cold spells followed by many weeks of warm weather. What a shame it would be to lose your newly purchased plants to few cold days!
During periods of light to moderate frost, place garden sheets over flowerbeds. Remove the covers promptly when the temperature rises.above freezing. If planting in containers, use lightweight planters made to look like ceramic, stone or terra cotta or place heavy containers on dollies. Being able to easily move your pots inside and out will greatly extend the time you get to enjoy your late season blooms.
AUTUMN ASTERS
Although many garden mums are labeled as "hardy," few come back with any consistency. If you want a similar look and a plant which will come back bigger and better each year, choose an aster instead. Readily available at this time of year, asters are wonderful additions to your autumn garden. In fact, the more varieties of these easy- to- grow, insect and disease resistant, bee and butterfly-attracting beauties you place in your garden, the better.
They have been extensively hybridized to come in many colors, especially a wide array of pinks, mauves and crimsons. Some of my favorites are Aster dumous 'Woods Pink' and 'Woods Purple' and Aster frikartii 'Wonder of Staffa' (lavender with a yellow center). This year I also plan to put in
Aster lateriflorus 'Lady in Black' with pink-centered white blossoms contrasting strikingly with its bronze-black foliage and
Aster oblongifolius 'Dream of Beauty', a low grower with fragrant pink flowers with orange centers. There are numerous varieties of
Aster novae angliae (New England Aster)and
Aster novi belgii (New York Aster) which will bloom until a heavy frost.
August through October is the time many wild asters come into full bloom. Try planting some of our high country native beauties in your garden including Smooth Aster (Aster laevis), Leafy Aster (Aster foliaceus) or Tansy Aster (Aster pattersonii) which will bloom into November.
If your garden merely drones on this time of year, asters are the perfect perennials to pick up the tempo.
FALL BLOOMING PERENNIALS
Many other perennials play a large role in assuring late season vibrancy. Often plants that perform well in our high altitude gardens are either continuous or repeat bloomers. If "deadheaded" after each bloom, they will come back for a second or third encore as the summer months progress. Other natives and xerics which thrive in our Colorado climate need a long hot summer before they burst out in brilliant bloom as summer draws to a close. In my own garden at 8200', many dendranthemums, heleniums and solidagos are not yet flowering as I write this article.Other late season bloomers, including numerous varities of salvia, sunflower, coreopsis and veronica are only in the first stage of bloom.
As these late season performers gear up to put on their show, others --such as purple coneflower, blanket flower, liatris, lavender, yarrow, shasta, native yellow columbine and perennial violets --are still going strong. Most of these late bloomers are exceptional companions for the smoky blue blossoms of Russian Sage or the varied hues of Butterfly Bush, both favorite late season shrubs in our mountain gardens.
For the past four years, the prolific, low- growing 'Colorado Gold' Ganzania has been the last perennial flower in my garden, continuing to open its cheery blossoms during sunny days until Thanksgiving.
SENSATIONAL SEDUMS
No late season garden is complete without sedums. Autumn Joy, the most familiar Sedum spectabile, has become a mainstay in the autumn garden. As fall progresses, its pastel pink blooms will change to a deeper pink and then to coppery red or rusty orange. After blooming, its dried flower heads will continue to add interest for months to come. (Provided of course they are not eaten by elk, deer, rabbits and rodents, all of whom seem to find mine irresistible.) If you can provide protection against critters, you will want to try the many Sedum spectabile cultivars now available including "Brilliant', 'Carmen', '"Meteor', 'Iceberg', 'Frosty Morn' and 'Stardust'. Also, try Sedum Bertram Anderson and Sedum Matrona, late blooming sedums with a similar look. Numerous other members of the sedum family bloom in late summer and early autumn.
If your garden is looking drab and faded about now, try some of the annuals and perennials mentioned here. Doing so will extend your garden's color until the brilliant fall foliage season begins.
Nan Spence is a frequent Your Hub contributor. Visit Your Hub.com for her previous articles and numerous photos of her gardens.