Enhancing your fall garden game is a great idea for several reasons. It allows you to extend your enjoyment of the outdoors, boosting your home’s curb appeal and providing a smooth transition from summer to winter. Gardening itself has therapeutic benefits, reducing stress and improving well-being. Fall gardens often attract wildlife, and they offer an educational opportunity to learn about plant species and the changing seasons. Designing with sustainability in mind, using native plants, conserves resources and supports local ecosystems. Your revitalized fall garden can serve as a memorable backdrop for gatherings and events, instilling a sense of accomplishment and expanding your gardening skills. Overall, improving your fall garden enhances your outdoor space, making it more inviting and enjoyable for you and your visitors.
As autumn approaches, it’s time to refresh your garden with vibrant fall foliage. To ensure your garden dazzles with color and beauty, here are some essential tips:
Consider Your Zone
Determine your plant hardiness zone, ensuring that your chosen plants can thrive in your region during the fall and winter season. The way zones work is that they are numbered to for their hardiness level. Your planting zone is essential for your fall planting schedule because it dictates the suitability of plants for your local climate and informs you about when to plant in the fall or spring based on frost dates and growing seasons in your area.
Vibrant Foliage
Opt for plants renowned for their stunning fall foliage, like maple trees, sedum, asters, perennial mums, burning bushes, and ornamental grasses, which bring rich hues of red, orange, and yellow to your garden.
Foliage is a critical consideration when buying plants because it directly impacts the visual appeal and health of your garden or indoor space. The color, shape, and texture of a plant’s leaves contribute to its aesthetics, and various foliage types offer seasonal interest and year-round beauty. Moreover, foliage reveals a plant’s sun and shade tolerance, health, and maintenance requirements. It can serve functional roles in landscaping and air quality improvement. The choice of foliage is also a matter of personal preference, from vibrant variegated leaves to the elegant simplicity of green foliage. When buying plants, understanding the importance of foliage will help you make choices that align with your goals and preferences.
Fall Perennials & Garlic!!
Planting perennials in the fall can be a great way to establish strong root systems before the winter and ensure a beautiful garden in the following spring and summer. Yarrow, Coneflowers, Hostas, and Hollyhocks, are successful fall perennials to plant to enjoy their early spring blooms. Garlic is another great idea to plant in the fall for a spring harvest of scapes and then the garlic bulb.
Evergreens
Add evergreen shrubs or trees like conifers to provide year-round structure and color. Evergreens are also great in baskets and seasonal designs.
Learn more about fall our plant selection here!!
Timing
It is imperative that you plant your selections early in the fall to allow their roots to establish before winter’s chill sets in. Planting before the first frost allows perennials to develop a strong root system, which is vital for their survival during the harsh winter months. A well-established root system enables the plants to better withstand freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. Delaying planting until after the first frost can risk the health and survival of these plants, making it imperative to get them into the ground in a timely manner.
Complementary Colors
Choose plants with colors that complement the existing landscape, creating a harmonious blend of hues. Take into account what foliage you already have in your yard, but if you have none, enjoy making a new pallet of colors based on your taste.
Watering
Adequate watering is crucial, even in the fall. Plants need moisture to establish strong roots before winter. Balanced watering is essential to sustain their growth and vitality, while neglecting this aspect of care can compromise your garden’s overall health and beauty.
Mulching
Apply a layer of mulch around the base of plants to help retain moisture and insulate roots from harsh temperatures. This is especially important for plants like strawberries if your zone is in a colder region.
Pruning
Don’t forget to trim and tidy up your garden by removing dead growth and promoting healthy, new growth. If you want to overwinter some of the plants that don’t survive in your zone, bring them inside, but they each require different care levels depending on your region.
With these fall plant selection tips, your garden will transform into a breathtaking autumn haven, complete with a symphony of colors and textures to enjoy throughout the season. Happy gardening!