A Transitional Palette

Choosing Fall Color for the Garden


Iris Watson
Photo by Proven Winners

You walk out your front door for the morning paper or to get into your car to go to work and you can feel it. It isn’t in your face, more like brushing against your face; there is a softness in the air, a golden glow to the morning light, the subtle but unmistakable smell of fall.
    This is my favorite time of year. I think it must be the lack of urgency. By the end of winter, we are rushing to embrace the explosion of spring; by the end of spring, we have the simply-can’t-wait push for summer and all of the anticipated activities. But fall is our breathing space, suspended between the physicality of summer and the chaos of the holidays.
    Fall is a season of transitions. Deciduous trees and shrubs begin to let go of their spring and summer greens and introduce us to an entirely new palette of colors. Ornamental grasses send up graceful plumes that catch the light of the sunset and the drift of an evening breeze, and roses put forth a half-hearted display that tells us they are just a little bit tired of being center-stage performers.
    The colorful and bountiful product of your efforts in spring and summer may still be presentable in some places and can probably be extended by judicious deadheading (removing dead flowers) or haircuts (shearing back by inches all of the tip growth, leaves and flowers as well), then working in a balanced fertilizer such as Osmocote to encourage a new surge of blooms.
    There are some terrific flowers that reach their peak bloom in autumn with the color spectrum that goes with the season. These flowers can be planted anytime from spring through summer from cell packs or 4-inch pots, or you can find them in full bloom in 4-inch or 1-gallon size cans from August through November.
      RUDBECKIA is often referred to as Gloriosa daisy, probably because the flowers are absolutely glorious. Most varieties have petals in shades of gold or orange, some with touches of rust, brown and bronze. Some have dark, velvety brown centers and yet others have lime-green centers. In many cases, the named cultivar tells the colors: Goldsturm has single golden-yellow blooms with brown to black centers and grows to 24 inches tall. Marmalade has single golden-yellow blooms with huge brown centers and grows to 18 inches tall. Rustic Colors is a beautiful mix of autumn shades of orange, rust and bronze on 5-inch-wide flowers, all with dark brown centers, and grows to 24 inches tall. Goldilocks has semi-double bright yellow blooms and grows just 8 to 10 inches tall. Iris Eyes has 4-inch chrome-yellow petals with a beautiful lime-green center, multi-branching to 24 inches tall. Mixing all varieties together gives any sunny garden a real pop.
    CHOCOLATE COSMOS are one of fall’s most dramatic flowers. Basal foliage is approximately 12 inches by 12 inches and thin stems shoot up to 18 inches above the leaves. They bear amazing daisy-type flowers the color of chocolate devil’s food cake—and actually smell like chocolate! The dark, rich color, combined with that of rudbeckia, is quite stunning and it makes a great cut flower.
    STRAWBERRY FIELDS (gomphrena) is one of my favorite annuals and for some reason only one of my vendors grows it. It is always snapped up as soon as it is on the tables in August. The foliage is insignificant, but the strawberry-shaped and colored flowers are borne high above the leaves on tall, thin stems that make them appear to be floating. It’s stunning when mixed in rudbeckia, coleus, ipomoea or some of the ornamental grasses that peak in August/September.
    COLEUS: I just cannot say enough good things about all of the new varieties of coleus that are available now. Some are hardy enough to take full sun in Alameda and that makes them extremely valuable for container gardens. I even had two that lived over this past winter to be rejuvenated in June. Bold and dramatic, the colors are eye-popping shades of burgundy, yellow, cream, orange, lime, magenta, black and even green—sometimes all on the same plant. The shape and texture of the foliage are as varied as the colors; your possibilities are almost limitless.
    It’s a short season—enjoy it to the max.