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| Autumn Felice Goldenrod |
We're more then half way through September and the days are getting shorter. Fall is surely upon us now even though as of current the upper 80 degree highs don't much feel like fall. The weather this month has been very floppy, it was hot and very dry to start out the month, then it was cold and wet for about 5 days when we got 3" of rain all at once, then for the past 2 weeks hot and dry again. The erratic rainfall along with the prior severe drought is causing a few trees to turn earlier then normal and start dropping leaves. I noticed this on my own Sugar Maple with dropping about 1/10th of its leaves, and its more normal for it to turn closer to Halloween. Hoping the early drop wont spoil the would-be show later on. Currently the main show are the many flowers of early fall. Asters and Goldenrod are bursting into bloom along with other fall favorites
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| Fireworks Goldenrod |
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| Ohio Goldenrod |
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| Showy Goldenrod |
Goldenrods
| One such fall favorite are Goldenrods- a very under-used plant in the garden world. They get the blame for being a weedy plant that caused allergy issues even though the pollen isn't the type that effects that and unknown to many there are quite a few types ( actually likely hundreds ) but that also means many don't have runners and don't spread. Now I'm not saying I have not removed a Goldenrod type because it being aggressive because there certainly are, however the majority of the ones in my gardens have not spread at all. The benefits of Goldenrods include beautiful late-season flowers that last a long time and the pollinator habitat they provide is significant. There have been several different species of butterflies and bees both that adore these plants. Including Monarchs on their way back to Mexico! | |
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| New England Aster 'Purple Dome' |
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| Smooth Aster |
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| Smooth Aster |
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| Heath Aster |
Asters
The next important fall flowers are Asters. There are many different kinds although New England is the most common type widely available. I chose 4 or 5 different kinds to add the highest chance at seeing color since unfortunately rabbits are a common feeder on these plants. In fact I often have to fence off to have any chance of long term survival. It's worth it now however because the fall color they provide is phenomenal and they pollinators are all over this just like the goldenrods.
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| Mammoth Mum Yellow Quill |
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| Mammoth Mum Red Daisy |
Hardy Mums
Of course the fall garden would not be complete without at least one mum. I actually have 2 both are Mammoth Mum series which are a type developed by the University of Minnesota meaning you know they are hardy. I noticed some types bloom rather early, like the yellow quill starts blooming in Mid-July and lasts through fall. Red Daisy just started to flower now, which the plan was for fall color so the later bloom tends to be favored for me.
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| Gentian Flower |
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| Bottle Gentian |
The Odd
Now going into the more uncommon types here we have two different types of Gentian, one is called Bottle Gentian which always have the appearance of being "closed" it has specialized flowers that only allows certain bees to are are strong enough to access its pollen to ensure little chance of cross pollination with the wrong flower types. The other type is a open-flower variety kind which I cannot remember the kind. This is another flower which I intended for fall color but it actually starts blooming in July and keeps going until now.
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| Hardy Cyclamen |
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| Toad Lily |
& Unique
Here are some fall bloomers for more-shaded sites. Cyclamen which is not known to be extra hardy for our area mine had done very well the past few years and has multiplied well in its shady location in rather poor- dry soil its in. I've since added other types of fall blooming Cyclamen and also trying some spring-blooming types. I'm just a real fan of their little delicate blooms. They other flower here is called Toad Lily and it blooms well in the shade. It takes a very long time for the flower to appear but its very worth the wait because the blooms are quite unique and not like any other fall blooming flowers.
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| Fall Displays |
Final stop is the fall display on my front porch which includes Kale and Pansies in the pots because I feel I never know what fall weather will bring and these two plant types will survive any frosts or freezes weather can throw at it and make it easily into November sometimes all the way to Thanksgiving. Also added some fall pumpkins to finish it off much a fan of the golden one, such a nice warm creamy color and not so "traditional"
