Delightful Autumn Gardens
Delightful Autumn Gardens
Just because summer is over doesn’t mean it’s too late to plant. Extend the gardening season and get a jumpstart on spring by putting these plants in the ground now.
To many, the arrival of Labor Day means the end of summer, but for gardeners looking to extend the growing season, it signifies a new opportunity for planting. Between now and early November is one of the best times of year to plant spring-blooming bulbs, cool-season annuals and vegetables, many trees, shrubs and perennials. Cooler temperatures and soaking fall rains will help your plants establish stronger root systems before their winter rest.
Some of the plants listed below bloom only in fall. Others may begin their bloom season earlier in the year. And some of the annuals that are normally considered spring flowers will flourish in the cooler fall weather, if only for a short time.
SPRING BULBS
Autumn into early winter is the peak time to plant spring-blooming bulbs, including tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, alliums, and crocuses. It’s important to put them in the ground now because they need a long winter of sleep to get ready for blooming in the Spring. When purchasing bulbs, buy several varieties with a range of flowering periods so you can enjoy blooms from early to late spring.
COOL SEASON ANNUALS
By the time autumn arrives, our gardens need an infusion of color. Cool-season flowering annuals are the most beautiful in the fall and will often remain vibrant through November or longer. They don’t mind cold evenings and many will even tolerate temperatures down to the mid-20s. Violas and such are among the hardiest and most colorful of the cool-season annuals. Other spectacular annuals that can bare the cold include sweet alyssum, snap dragon, osteospermum, dianthus, lobelia, and cornflower.
COOL SEASON VEGETABLES
You can continue harvesting many vegetables in the fall by starting fast-growing varieties from seed or by purchasing transplants. Fall is a great time to plant another crop of spring greens such as spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and mâche because they require cooler soil for seed germination and they mature quickly. Fast-growing root vegetables such as radishes, beets, and turnips also thrive in cool conditions and take less than two months to mature. Fall is also a good time to plant onion sets and garlic cloves for harvest in late spring or summer of the following year.
TREES, SHRUBS & PERENNIALS
The best time for planting trees and shrubs is in the fall or early spring. Planting when they are dormant is advised, since that is when handling them is least disruptive- they are alive but not actively growing. When do they go dormant? They generally begin to enter dormancy in the fall when their leaves fall off and begin to leave it in the spring when the buds begin to appear on their stems.
When the air temperatures become cooler than the soil, new top growth slows, allowing plants to focus their energy on root development. The moisture from fall rains also helps trees and shrubs establish strong root systems. Most deciduous shrubs can be successfully planted in fall. Spring-blooming broadleafed evergreens, such as rhododendrons and azaleas, also prefer fall or early spring planting. In hot climates, fall planting is ideal because the plant's root system has more time to get established during the fall and winter months.
In addition to planting new shrubs and trees, fall is the best time to divide or move perennials that need more growing room, especially those that bloom in the spring or summer, such as daylilies, bearded iris, peonies, and garden phlox.
Terrain has teamed up with the region’s top architects and plant farms to bring you the best palette of botanical varieties. Since 1996 we have developed relationships with growers up and down the West Coast ensuring that the species we provide will be the best one available within the budget we have. Terrain can assist in transplanting, re-locating of plants and trees and removal of unwanted vegetation. We are big supporters of plant amnesty doing everything possible to find new homes for healthy plants that are getting removed. Terrain keeps on staff a plant horticulturist to ensure you always have the best advice.
