Ondra Nancy J. - Fallscaping

FALL
SCAPING

Extending your garden season into autumn

NANCY J. ONDRA and STEPHANIE COHEN
photography by ROB CARDILLO

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Gwen Steege
Art direction by Alethea Morrison
Cover design, text design, and text production by Ben Shaykin

Watercolor illustrations Elayne Sears
Garden plans and plant identification diagrams by Alison Kolesar
Photographers acknowledgments appear on .

Indexed by Lina Burton

Text 2007 by Nancy J. Ondra and Stephanie Cohen
Photography 2007 by Rob Cardillo

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other without written permission from the publisher.

The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the authors or Storey Publishing. The authors and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. For additional information, please contact Storey Publishing, 210 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams, ma 01247.

Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396.

Printed in China by Dai Nippon
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Ondra, Nancy J.

Fallscaping / by Nancy J. Ondra and Stephanie Cohen.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58017-680-4 (pbk. with flaps : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58017-681-1 (hardcover jacketed : alk. paper)
1. Autumn gardening. I. Cohen, Stephanie, 1937- . II. Title.

SB423.4O53 2007
635.9'53dc22

2007017441

Simply stunning. Fall color doesnt come from tree leaves alone! Closer to eye level, you can enjoy an abundance of beautiful blooms and bright berries, as shown in this perfect partnership of Tartarian aster (Aster tataricus) and tea viburnum (Viburnum setigerum).

WHY IS IT THAT SPRING AND SUMMER GARDENS GET SO MUCH attention, while autumn gardens often seem like nothing more than an afterthought? Fall has so much to offer: not just an abundance of beautiful blooms, but a rainbow of foliage colors, flashy fruits and berries, and showy seed heads, too far more features than spring and summer gardens typically include. Fall temperatures tend to be comfortably mild, so its a pleasant time to be outdoors, and rainfall is usually more dependable, which means that you can spend time enjoying your garden instead of worrying about watering. Admittedly, fall can be a bittersweet season, too, with the threat of frost creeping in just about any time and the prospect of a long, cold, dull winter looming ahead. But why let that stop you from enjoying the many benefits of this glorious gardening season? If youre not actively thinking about fall interest when you plan and plant, youre missing out on weeks or even months of beauty you could be enjoying without any extra work on your part!

Most of you probably wont want to plan your garden specifically for autumn, although thats certainly an option if you want to pursue it. In fact, not so long ago, planting separate borders for each season was a standard bit of gardening advice. Trying to spread out the bloom times too much, the experts claimed, would dilute the effect of the entire border: Instead of looking absolutely glorious for the entire spring, or summer, or fall, it would look merely passable at any given point during the growing season. While there can be some truth to that, its also true that few of us have the time or space to plant beds and borders to look at for just a few weeks and ignore for the rest of the year. The trick to creating rewarding multiseason borders is to base them on workhorse plants that offer a long summer-into-fall blooming period along with good form and foliage, so they look attractive even when theyre not in flower. Adding in hardy bulbs or a few irresistible early perennials or some of both covers the spring season; then youre free to work in some fall-specific flowers and foliage to make the most of autumn as well. Its a simple recipe, but it really works!

When you think of flowers for fall, what comes to mind? Chrysanthemums, probably maybe asters and goldenrods (Solidago) as well and sure, these classic late-bloomers are key ingredients in many autumn borders. But theyre only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the dozens of fantastic flowering plants that can fill your beds and borders with color all through autumn: not just hardy perennials, but a wealth of annuals, tender perennials, bulbs, shrubs, trees, and vines as well. Some of them are exclusively fall-bloomers; others start earlier in the season and continue flowering straight through autumn, or else take a break during the hottest part of the summer and begin again when the more-moderate temperatures of fall return. Using a few time-tested gardening tricks, such as later-than-usual sowing, succession planting, and shearing, gives you even more ways to get flowers for autumn enjoyment. So, if you enjoy tucking mums into your gardens for fall color, go for it but dont forget to make the most of your many other options, too!

Look beyond the obvious. Dont think youre limited to just asters and chrysanthemums for fall flowers! Cannas, for instancesuch as the orange Pretoria shown hereoffer dramatic foliage all season, with a bonus of bold blooms through the autumn.

Have you ever heard someone say, Well, perennials are nice, but if you want dependable color all season long, you really need to plant annuals? Like the suggestion about creating separate spring, summer, and fall borders, that advice simply isnt all that relevant to todays gardens. Nowadays, we have access to many hardy perennials that bloom for just as long a period as many annuals sometimes with a little help from us, and sometimes all on their own!