In the autumn our gardens are mellow and yet the end of the growing season is bittersweet. As we work in our gardens and put them to bed we are reminded of some of our favorite poetry. This poem is an excerpt from the well-known "Ode to Autumn" by John Keats who lived from 1795-1821. Ode to Autumn Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness! Close bosom- friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run; To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o’brimmed their clammy cells. Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store??? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind, Or on a half reaped furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers; And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cider- press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
--------
1:59
--------
1:59
Allium
Alliums are members of the onion family, and the bulbs are planted in the fall and extend the bloom spring-bulb season.The most spectacular is Allium giganteum with tall, stiff stems tapped with globes, averaging 5 inches in diameter. These flowering onions look exotic floating above the other plants. Colors range from white through lavender to dark purple. Plant a ribbon of these bulbs in the center of a perennial bed or put them around hostas, ferns, or daylilies to provide exclamation points.The large globes are made up of tiny florets arranged in a similar pattern to the seeds of a dandelion puff. Designers have used this globe pattern to make spectacular round water fountains that you may have seen and admired. A rounded shape, composed of sparkling water jets or colorful flowers, has great architectural appeal.Allium is the Latin word for garlic, so any allium plant has a pungent taste that deer and rodents avoid.The smaller alliums bloom later than the giants. Try the ‘drumstick’, a dark purple, which blooms in July and naturalizes well, or Allium ‘Moly Jeannine’, which throws up 2-inch umbels of bright yellow florets in May. There are so many to choose from, and the more you have the more you will want.
--------
1:59
--------
1:59
Virginia Sweetspire
If you garden in zones 5 through 9 and are looking for a small to medium shrub that has fall color, Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, may be a good candidate for you. It has an upright growth habit and flowers in early summer. The flowers are white and like bottle brushes with nectar that is sought after by butterflies and other insects. Itea is a shrub that does well in sun or shade, which is a handy asset when surrounding plantings either grow up or die down, thereby changing the exposure. However, the red fall foliage color is more dramatic in a sunny site. I have Iteas in both sun and shade in my Midwest garden, and it is one of the few shrubs that will flower in shade. I plant them near evergreens as they like a slightly acid soil, but they also adapt well in neutral or alkaline soil. This is a deciduous shrub that lends itself to being planted in a serpentine curve to separate two garden areas, for example.In a shady woodland setting, they will develop colonies and naturalize. Offshoots, potted up, make an appropriate house warming gift as they can be planted nearly anywhere and thrive, and they look good as a specimen plant as they don’t need much pruning.The cultivar ‘Henry’s Garnet’ turns a dark red in late October in my garden, and ‘Little Henry’ is a more compact cultivar while ‘Shirley’s Compact’ is a true dwarf that is perfect in small areas.
--------
1:59
--------
1:59
Winterberry
From late fall through winter, Ilex verticillata produces a grand display of bright red berries that persist and light up its branches long after all the leaves have fallen. Commonly called winterberry, but also known as Michigan holly or swamp holly, this is a deciduous type of holly for cold climates. However, only the female plants produce the colorful berries. Gardeners must plant one male near 3 to 5 females to ensure good pollination and fruiting. They perform best in full sun in acid moist soils, so they need to be watered in July and August if there is not good rain and be given acid fertilizer. ‘Afterglow’ is a cultivar with big orange-red berries. In a large planting, it is best to include both early and late blooming male shrubs to maximize pollination of the females. For instance, ‘Jim Dandy’ is a slow-growing dwarf male useful for pollinating early flowering females such as ‘Red Sprite’, which is a popular dwarf female maturing to less than 4 feet tall bearing large red fruits. A taller variety, ‘Sparkleberry’, matures to 12 feet and has the additional bonus of bearing dark red berries that often persist until spring. Winterberries are hardy in zones 3 through 9.
--------
1:59
--------
1:59
Amsonia: Blue Stars
There are some perennials that provide an added bonus of foliage that changes color in the fall. For example, some species of Amsonia feature brilliant yellow foliage. The common name is blue stars, as the plants have pretty little blue flowers in the spring. Another, less poetic common name is dogbane. The narrow leaves are lancelike, similar to the foliage of a willow, and the stems have a milky sap. All Amsonias are native to North America and like full sun or partial shade and moist soil, but established plants can tolerate dry soils. Plants can be cut back after flowering to keep them compact as they can grow up to 4 feet in large clumps in zones 5 through 9. They can also be divided either in spring or fall. Amsonia ciliata or Downy Blue Star, native to our southeast, is a good one for small gardens, as its clumps are only a foot wide. Because of its pale blue flowers, it combines well with other spring bloomers and when its elegant thin leaves turn yellow it provides impact in the fall garden, especially next to dark purple asters. This is a plant that pays its way by performing well across the seasons.
New Zealand