The Garden in Autumn

The crisp blue autumn sky makes a perfect backdrop for the flaming orange hues of sugar and japanese maples. In the sunny clearing below, bright purple, blue and magenta asters burst with color next to the deep red of autumn joy sedum. Overhead, the backdrop of red tipped Photina sways in green and red. Crickets chirp loudly among the garden mums nestled close to the earth in their blankets of red, yellow, white and maroon. The pansies frolic in the breeze at their feet, soft velvet faces in a rainbow of colors turned up toward the last warmth of the sun. The burning bush glows red in the corner by the fence. The wind whispers of the coming cold through the plumes of silver and maiden grass. Birds chirp fitfully around the pyracantha whose branches are drooping from the weight of its clusters of bright orange berries. The dogwood offers them its bright red fruit as well amidst its blazing red leaves. Encore® azaleas, covered now again in flowers, glow a bright magenta next to the house. A hydrangea rustles, its once blue blooms now faded to a bronzy pink. The nandina glows in the shade of a nearby pine. Clematis 'Nelly Moser' enjoys its last show of blooms for the season as it twines up the mailbox post. Shadows crawl across the lawn as the sun sets and the bright palette fades for the night.

You can create your own fall palette of color in the garden. Choose plants whose leaves turn bright orange or red, foliage plants with interesting textures and perennials that bloom very late in the season. Spice it up with autumn annuals and biennials like garden mums and pansies. Don't overlook the interest created by seed pods, dried flower heads and motion created by the breeze in ornamental grasses. Use the table below as a reference guide for choosing plants, trees and shrubs for fall color.

Asters	Sedum 'Autumn Joy'	Clematis 'Nelly Moser'
Garden Mums	Nandina	Japanese Maple
Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue'	Dogwood	Pansies
Red Tipped Photina	Sugar Maple	Burning Bush
Pyracantha	Maiden Grass 'Little Kitten'	Sarabande Silver Grass
	Autumn Rouge™ Encore Azalea®