Selecting Plants for Borders and Edging

Selecting Plants for Borders and Edging

Tips for Fall Plant Care

With fall in sight, there are a few projects which need to be done to move the garden and landscape into the next season. A little planning and some late summer maintenance can encourage a new burst of growth and color that will last for weeks, depending on where you are located maybe months, beyond the new equinox.

Here is what I do to extend my gardens energy:

• Deadhead- both annuals and perennials- if you have a hedge trimmer, it makes this so much easier, especially for wide spreaders such as Shasta daisies and lavender

• Pull out all annuals and perennials that have died or are on that path

• Stake all taller growing perennials

• Deadhead/prune knockout roses for gorgeous late summer growth

• Pinch blooms from herbs. After most herbs bloom, their leaves begin to lose flavor, so pinch the blooms to encourage last minute growth.

• Continue watering container plants regularly

• Apply a fresh layer of aged compost mix to enrich the soil over winter

• Weed- no one likes to hear it, but hand weeding is the best and safest way to control the situation in most gardens. Regular weeding walks through the area can help to keep them in check.

• Note what annuals, perennials and shrubs performed well over the season and what colors/plants would be good for next years gardening

Here is a listing of shrubs and perennials that perform at their best from late summer through fall. This is the time to mix a few of these into your garden or landscape for more color and texture. Plant coneflower, sedum, black-eyed susan, shasta daisy, Russian sage, Knockout Roses, Anemone, Ornamental grasses, asters, rose of sharon, herbs, salvia, yarrow, butterfly bush, carolina allspice, smoke tree, viburnum, american bittersweet, Japanese maples or chokeberry.

I clip tiny branches from my herb plantsto display in my tiny bud vases all during summer. With basil in the kitchen, rosemary in the bathroom and thyme in the bedroom, what a way to tickle the senses.

If you have herbs in your garden that will be maturing over a few weeks time, you will definitely want to harvest and dry or freeze the leaves for fall and winter cooking.

These are just a few chores to perform on a beautiful weekend. You'll get exercise, feel great and your garden will look amazing. Why not open the windows to air out the house while you work in the garden. Then the house will have that wonderful outdoor smell!

Top 7 Trees For Best Fall Color

After a long hot summer, it all begins to change. September reveals cooler weather. The air develops a crisp note. Leaves on the trees are just starting with their hibernation process, which will leave us with their magnificent fall color.

Here are my picks for the top 7 trees for the best fall color:

• Kousa Dogwood
• Sourwood
• Tulip Poplar
• Japanese Red Maple
• Birch
• Pin Oak
• Red Maple

Planting one or more of these trees in your landscape will provide you with great splashes of fall color.

The leaves on the Kousa Dogwood change from a glossy green to a purple/red shade. With its more compact growth, it is an easy tree to add to any garden or landscape.

The Sourwood is a U.S. native tree with gorgeous red to orange fall color.

When we think of fall foliage, many of us think of the orange and golden colors of New England. Need to add some yellow into your fall landscape? A poplar or birch will be the perfect addition.

For foliage in variations of red, plant Japanese red maples, scarlet red maples or a pin oak for the deepest red fall leaf color.

Share your favorite plants for fall color with your comments then visit Greenwood Nursery to purchase your fall color trees.