UNDrabby fall gardens -Reply

When I first started gardening on my 70 x 100 ft lot
8 years ago, my original goal was to have flowers
or something "going" every day of the year.  This
was inspired by Ann Lovejoy's book, "The Year in
Bloom."  Excellent book for those of you interested.

While I would say my garden is "floppy" this time of
year (the rain we get in the PNW can get serious), I
find it no less beautiful and full of color and interest.

I'd like to suggest the following plants for fall interest
for a very UNDRABBY fall garden.  Keep in mind
the one "sacrifice" means these plants are often
not *stars* the rest of the year, but are often great
backdrop plants the rest of the year.

My first choice for winter interest would probably be
the viburnum family.  These are shrubs, so they
technically are not applicable here on the perennial
list, but I really can't imagine that anyone who
gardens with perennials never uses shrubs (or
roses or vines) for backdrop, filler, statement, or
what have you.  For those of you who are hardcore
perennialists, I'd hit your delete key about now.  ;-)

Viburnum opulus compactum:  Very pretty mapleish
shaped leaves, white "lacecap" flowers, similar to
hydrangea in the spring, but the show stopper are
the incredible, nail polish red, nearly translucent 
berries in clusters.  I have never had anyone in my
garden that this shrub hasn't stopped dead in their
tracks when in berry.  This particular variety gets
about 5 x 5, vib. op itself gets I think 10 x 10, and
there is a smaller version, but I believe I've read it
doesn't berry at all.  I use these berries on wreaths
for the birds and even after a few months off the
plant, they are still beautiful outside.

Viburnum "Xanthocarpum" is similar to the one
above, but with beautiful golden yellow berries. 
There is no compactum, so you'd have to find room
for 10 x 10 and keep it pruned (I plan to keep mine
about 7 x 7).

I bought 2 other types of viburnum this year so I
can't really comment from experience yet, just what
I've read.  One is viburnum nudum, which I believe
has berries in the fall in all shades from pink
through porcelain blue, all at the same time on the
plant.  The picture certainly was incredible.

Viburnum tinus is reputed to have blue/black
berries in the fall and is doing well in a dry
sem-shade situation in my yard.

I'm not a big evergreen person myself, but after
seeing the glowing, orb-shaped arborvitae "Golden
Globe" (gets to 4 x 4), I HAD to have one.  The
golden green foliage turns a bronze gold in the fall
and winter -- really, really beautiful.  Will light up
your garden.

The hybrid musks roses, which are very shrubby in
stature, excel in the fall, usually putting on quite a
show of their clusters of flowers.  They almost all
tolerate some shade and I have several that are
competing with tree roots as well and are doing
fine.

Another shrub that is new to me this year, that I'd
coveted for years, is Leycesteria formosa.  This
plant is incredible.  It is growing on the north side of
my house, so almost no direct light, and it's
flourishing.  The leaves are very large, and frankly I
can't remember the flowers (I think they're white),
but in the fall, it has 6 inch hanging panicles of
these burgundy/blackish berries, surrounded by red
calyxes -- WOW is all I can say.  Apparently a
bird-friendly plant as well.

Someone mentioned calocarpa, which is a
wonderful plant with those magenta/purple berries. 
Stunning in a vase with orange rose hips and will
last without water for a month or more this way.

Which brings up the other *view*of fall gardens --
beauty in the eye of the beholder.  I find berries,
seed heads (especially when decorated with the
birds who enjoy them), rose hips, etc. beautiful in
their own right.

For vines there is celastrus scandens or
"bittersweet" vine (the common name).  They are
dioecious so you'll have to have a male and female,
but this vine produces brick red berries covered by
a deep yellow "shell" that splits to reveal the berries
-- gorgeous on the table at Thanksgiving and in
wreaths.  My two plants are growing on a chain link
fence and are about 10' apart.  After 3 years, I have
not had trouble keeping them to this size, they don't
mind pruning at all.

There is also the fall blooming clematis which
they've changed the name of at least 3 times since
I've been gardening, so I can't remember the
botanical name -- but small starry white flowers
cover the top of a row of mature rhododendrons in
my garden -- quite cheerful on dark rainy days --
and the rhododendrons don't seem to mind at all...

Another stunning plant all year is cotinus or "smoke
bush."  Deep burgundy foliage which lights up this
time of year with redish edges -- very striking.

I realize I live in a climate that is not so harsh as
many of you, our current temperatures are days low
60's and nights 50's.  But I still have in bloom and
looking good, dahlias, sunflowers, tithonia, butterfly
bush, lavender, sedums, salvias, caryopteris, the
lamium is still *glowing*, as well as all the
artemisias in their silver jackets.  I still have many
roses blooming (loving the extra water, I imagine),
and asters and mums (of course).  The other show
stopper for visitors is phystogia, or obedient plant,
the lavender being the most striking.

I always try to grow some things just for the fall, so I
have fences covered with small pumpkins and
various gourds, millet to use in bird wreaths,  black
tipped wheat (which has the uncanny ability to
seem very "oceanish" to me as the wind rustles
through it).  

The ideas are endless, but our space and
pocketbooks are not, so choose carefully.  I try to
always leave some room in the garden for the
things that make a beautiful fall garden.  Living in a
mild climate, I try to take advantage of those
months because they are cooler and more easily
enjoyed than the August heat.

Hope this inspires some of you to do some
"homework" -- there really is so much more out
there than just trees for fall color and interest.

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