Late Season Drama

A well-planned landscape provides continuous, colorful inspiration as the seasons change. Autumn brings dramatic sweeps of brilliant color that last. As autumn colors fade, landscape plantings contrast starkly against winter whiteness to create a striking display of tree silhouettes, distinctive bark, colorful berries on shrubs and snow-dusted perennials rustling in the wind.

You can add late season drama to your landscape with the following perennials, shrubs, and trees that are proven performers in our area.

Perennials

Snowbank Boltonia

Some of our late-blooming favorites provide a refreshing difference to the reds and golds commonly seen in autumn. For example, the tiny white flowers of Boltonia B. asteroids ‘Snowbank’ (4’) are reminiscent of spring daisies and have cheery yellow-green centers. This plant’s tall and sturdy growth makes it ideal for the back of the perennial bed, blooming September through October.

Purple Dome Aster

Glowing pinks and vibrant purples come from various cultivars of Aster. ‘Purple Dome’ or ‘Woods Purple’ (18”) which bloom with dramatic displays of purple with yellow centers. Asters start blooming in September and are suitable in the middle ground of a flower bed, to disguise their fading lower leaves.

Shrubs

Burning Bush

The fiery red autumn leaves of Dwarf Burning Bush Euonymus alatus ‘compacta’ (5-6’) are truly dazzling on a sunny fall day. Its corky winged branches provide winter interest after the leaves have fallen.

Fothergilla

Another fall favorite, the Dwarf Fothergilla Fothergilla gardenia (3’) radiates a warm fall glow as each and every leaf becomes a collage of yellow, red and orange. It tolerates shade nicely and, in spring, fragrant bottlebrush shaped white flowers appear.

Blackhaw Viburnum

The Viburnum is a widely adaptable, shade tolerant shrub which offers spring flowers, full summer foliage and terrific fall color. ‘Blackhaw’ (12-15’) is a native viburnum that blooms with white flower clusters in spring. Leaves turn bronze to brilliant burgundy in autumn. Its showy, bluish-black berries offer birds food in winter. ‘Koreanspice’ Viburnum (5’) has spicy, sweet fragrant flowers blooming from late April through early May, with red to burgundy colored leaves in the fall. ‘Autumn Jazz’ Viburnum (8-10’) has shiny green leaves with creamy white flowers in late spring. Blue-black fruit follows in late summer. Fall foliage colors range from yellow to orange.

Ornamental Trees

A tree bares its soul in winter, as falling leaves expose its silhouette. Some tree species are especially dramatic, as their trunk bark exfoliates in curls and shreds that reveal subtle colors and textures. The following trees are outstanding exfoliating specimens in the landscape.

Heritage River Birch

The bark of Heritage River Birch Betula nigra ‘Heritage’ (35-40’), peels off in delicate curls, revealing a colorful inner bark that is almost a peach color. Resistant to the birch borer, which can attack other birches, it thrives in damp areas. Pretty yellow foliages appear in the fall and its delicate dark cinnamon-colored branches taper out to accentuate its vase shape.

Paperbark Maple

As its name implies, the exfoliating reddish-brown bark of Paperbark Maple Acer griseum (15’) is an attractive feature. The bark begins peeling on two or three year-old branches. Upright and spreading, with a rounded crown, the leaves turn scarlet in autumn.

Why Do Leaves Changes Color in the Fall?

We all enjoy the colors of autumn leaves, delighting in their ephemeral beauty, knowing that all too soon their leaves will drop and winter will be here. Have you ever wondered why leaves change color?

Plant leaves contain pigments that give them their color. The three primary pigments in a plant leaf are chlorophyll (which gives leaves their green color), carotenoids (which provide yellows, oranges and browns) and anthocyanins (responsible for purples and reds). During the growing season, the dominant pigment in most plant leaves is chlorophyll. Plants use chlorophyll in the photosynthesis process. In this amazing process, plants take carbon dioxide from the air, water from their roots, and combine them with sunlight taken in through their leaves to produce glucose (sugar). This is what they do to make their own food.

As summer ends, and sunlight lessens as days begin to get shorter, chlorophyll production slows and eventually stops as plants prepare for winter. When the chlorophyll breaks down, the other colors that have been there all along become visible, and we start to see the change of color. The amount of the various pigments in a leaf are specific to each species of plants, and will also vary from plant to plant within a species. That’s why plants have different colored leaves, and some plants, even of the same kind, are more colorful than others.

Fall color is also influenced by the weather. Temperature and soil moisture are the two main factors. Warm sunny days, followed by cool but not freezing nights, bring out the best color. Too wet or too dry conditions will often result in less dramatic fall color.

Every autumn is different, every autumn is to be appreciated. It has been said that if a person lives 80 years old, they have only had 80 Octobers to appreciate the beauty of the autumn leaves. Take the time to appreciate this special phenomenon.

Just a few of our favorites with spectacular fall color are Triflorum Maple, Paperbark Maple, Serviceberry, Burning Bush, Fothergilla, Itea and Oakleaf Hydrangea.

It’s time to Plant Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Celebrate this coming spring with a fall installation of flowering bulbs.

Nature’s Perspective offers a distinctive assortment of quality Tulips, Daffodils, Alliums and minor bulbs, professionally installed for natural appearance and visual impact. You may choose from our updated 2009 Bulb Selection Form, viewable online at www.naturesperspective.com. Or, your salesperson can also recommend a bulb arrangement that would compliment your existing plantings and home’s architecture.

Substitutions are made based on availability, so place your order before October 1 for the best selection.

 Call us at 847-475-7917 and we can send you an order form or print one directly form our website by clicking here. 

Plant Minor Bulbs for Spring Color, Deer/Rabbit Resistance

The most commonly used spring flowering bulbs are the ‘major bulbs’ such as daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. However, there is a whole group of ‘minor bulbs’ that provide such reliable color that most gardens would benefit from including them when planning for early spring color. The bulbs are tiny and the plants are small, rarely more than six inches in height, so a large number of bulbs are needed in order to make a visual impact.

The term ‘bulb’ includes a variety of plants with a large storage root (or stem) from which the plant grows every year. These little wonders of nature require only moisture and rising temperatures to end their dormancy and begin to grow. This means that bulbs are generally an easy and fool-proof garden plant. Minor bulbs also tend to be very resistant to deer and rabbit damage.

Minor bulbs should be planted during the fall, in drifts or masses, about 3”-4” deep. They can be planted in flower beds or shrub beds where they’ll emerge and bloom before the perennials get started and before deciduous plants leaf out.

Some of the prettiest minor bulbs, listed in order of the appearance in a garden, are:

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) Snowdrops do well in our area and emerge very early. The small three-segmented, drooping white flowers are 5” tall and stand out dramatically above their silver-green foliage. (March)

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is another early bloomer. The solitary, yellow buttercup-shaped flowers grow 6” tall and are surrounded by bright green bracts that look like a collar around the blossom. (March)

Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxas) are low growing plants, reaching 4-6” high with grass-like leaves that appear the same time as the flowers. The blue star shaped flowers face upwards and has a central white eye, lasting two weeks or more. (March/April)

Crocus (Crocus) naturalize exceptionally well, creating an expanding carpet of bright colors as the years go by. Their purples, lavenders, whites and yellows are a clear signal that spring in on its way. These are the only minor bulbs that we’ve listed that the rabbits eat. (March/April)

Scilla (Scilla siberica), also called ‘Squill’, this vivid blue flower is about 5” tall. You can see some strikingly beautiful and very large drifts in many North Shore gardens where they have been naturalizing for many years. Some varieties are available in pink and white, but the blues are spring time knock-outs. (April)

Windflower (Anemone) is a charming border plant with daisy-like flowers that comes in a variety of blues, pinks, violets and white. The foliage resembles parsley and the plant stands about 6” tall. (April)

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) is the largest of the minor bulbs with tiny deep blue flowers densely clustered like miniature grapes on a firm stalk. The flower cluster is about 5” long and the plant grows to 7” or 8”. They are long lasting and produce a striking effect when planted in drifts. (April-May)

Autumn is Great for Landscaping

Along with the milder temperatures and beauty of fall comes an excellent opportunity for landscaping for your yard. The cooler weather is a signal for plants to stop growing new shoots and leaves above ground, but not below. Trees and shubs continue to extend their root systems, making fall an ideal time to plant. The cool weather reduces the risk of ‘transplant shock’, or dieback, giving newly installed plants the time to acclimate themselves to their new home and set out new feeder roots before winter arrives. As the soil temperature cools and seasonal rain adds moisture, plants continue to establish themselves. This means that new plantings are less reliant on you (or your irrigation system) for their watering needs when next summer rolls around.

Trees, shrubs, and perennials planted in fall have plenty of time to develop before the wintry weather sets in. When the long, cold winter ends, you will have a new look in your garden and your plants will be ready to embark on a new season of growth.

The fall season is also great for landscaping with spring flowering plants. Because they set their buds the season prior to the flower, fall-planted trees and shrubs will display their glory in the spring season in your garden. A few of our spring-flowering favorites are Crabapples, Redbuds, Serviceberry, Azalea and Viburnum. Or, add to your garden’s fall display by choosing Maples, Cherries, Burning Bush or Sweetspire.

Autumn is also a terrific time to install the new patio or walkway you’ve been thinking about. With the addition of a new patio or sitting area, you can expand your outdoor living space and enjoy the wonderful fall season the Midwest has to offer, as well as having the use of your new space when spring arrives.