Once upon a time, not so long ago, gardening in the fall meant mums and pansies. These excellent plants, dependable and readily available, served us well and are still well represented in the garden centers each fall. However, for the gardener who longs for the choices available each spring and wants the variety of color, textures, heights and uses, fall offers a bounty of plants.
Each fall, Mother Nature turns down the heat, and with dropping temperatures comes a remarkable pallete of colors that greet us each autumn: yellows, reds, purples and greens. A variety of browns emerge as the summer fades into fall. Our cravings for the bright pinks, fushias and lavenders diminish as we move into the cooler days of autumn. Those bold and festive colors have their place, but seem out of place when we sense a nip in the air!
We have worked hard to bring our customers a broad collection of cold tolerant plants with striking flowers or equally striking foliage. All of these varieties have been carefully selected for both their beauty and their hardiness; all can take light frost with many plants capable of withstanding short periods with temperatures dipping into the teens!
Color and texture are as important in the fall as it is in the spring. Our flowering varieties range from yellow to red and purple. One of the best colors for fall is yellow, and we have several plants that provide bright cheery yellow flowers: ‘Lemon Symphony’ Osteospermum and ‘Tequilla Sunrise’ Calibrachoa as well as our uniquely colored pansy collection which combine the yellows, oranges and rusts. These unusual varieties are a perfect compliment to all of our fall plants – especially attractive in planters.
The oranges in the pansy collection can also be seen in ‘Orange Symphony’ Osteospermum and ‘Sundaze Flame’ Bracteantha. The Bracteantha is upright and makes a great medium height element in a combination. The ‘Orange Symphony’ will cascade over the edge of a pot and looks great in combination plantings.
Peaches and reds make a comeback as well; the ‘Superbells Red’ and ‘Superbells Peach’ Calibrachoa will surprise you with their toughness! We have also added a Verbena ‘Burgundy’ and a Verbena ‘Coral Red’. These plants proved themselves in the spring, and we look forward to welcoming them back to our greenhouses this fall!
In addition to a full array of flowering plants, we need to mention our exciting lineup of all foliage plants. Many leaves in fall turn bright yellow, and Acorus ‘Ogon’ is a short grass, 8 – 14 inches tall, with yellow and green variegated foliage that loves damp conditions and mixes extremely well in combinations. It is an excellent plant to add a bit of a vertical element without being overpowering in small combo planters.
Silver to white foliage is another popular addition to any garden or planter. We had a lot of success with Helichrysum ‘Icicles’ and decided to bring it back for the fall. This filler plant is used in combination planters and is an excellent highlight plant.
Red to purple foliage is also popular in the fall. Ajuga ‘Black Scallop’ is a hardy perennial with dark purple foliage. It is grown primarily as a ground cover, but it makes an excellent component plant. Euphoribia ‘Efanthia’ has dark green foliage with maroon highlights when the weather is cool. And, we are particularly excited with our Heuchera collection: Heuchera ‘Amethyst Myst’ has a mist of silver over purple-burgundy foliage. It is the winner of the National Home Gardening Club Member Tested and Recommended Seal of Approval! The browns are represented by Carex ‘Toffee Twist’, a fairly tall (18″ – 24″) grass with mahogany colored foliage that twists and twirls; a great anchor plant and mixes well with almost all of the other plants that we are proud to offer this fall.
Fall is offering the gardener bountiful plenty; a generous selection of foliage and flowers that can be used to create an array of beds and containers with abundant color as well as reliability and staying power!
In 1985, Briscoe White opened The Growers Exchange in an abandoned Texaco station on a busy urban street corner in Richmond, Virginia. The facility has grown over the years, and is now 5 distinct growing environments with 5 acres under cover. Briscoe has over 25 years of gardening experience. For further information on gardening products or gardening tips please contact Briscoe White at bwhite@thegrowersexchange.com.
