Planning a Colorful Autumn Garden
Page 2Shrubs
Shrubs are a vital part of our fall gardens. Deciduous shrubs with bright fall leaves add to the under-story beneath the larger deciduous trees' colors. Broadleaf evergreen shrubs contribute the "bones" in the garden, along with a few shrubs contributing a flower display in fall. Careful selection and placement of trees and shrubs in your garden can make it a year round garden with all the elements of foliage, color, texture, and even flowers.
The first deciduous shrub that comes to mind is Enkianthus. Placed in full sun, its leaves take on hues of scarlet, orange and burgundy. In spring its pendent racemes (or umbels depending on the variety of shrub) of bell-shaped flowers add to this shrub's ornamental use in the garden. At 12 to 15 feet tall and about as wide, Enkianthus can get as tall as a small tree, so give it room to grow.
Blueberry is a deciduous shrub for the edible garden, yet fits in well in the ornamental garden. You can fit tall varieties into the back of your mixed border. In small spaces select a dwarf variety. I recently transplanted a 1½ foot tall Vaccinium 'Northsky' blueberry to the top of my newly built rock wall, and it is cascading down over the side. Its bright red fall foliage is a pleasant contrast to the charcoal colored rocks. Under planted with Thymus 'Elfin', it brings a colorful and textural effect to the wall. I plan to duplicate the planting along other parts of the wall.
Deciduous azalea hybrids put on a spectacular fall display. One variety that I selected for its winter bloom-time, Rhododendron mucronulatum, does double duty in the garden with its colorful leaf display during the fall season. I have a six foot tall lavender flowering one, as well as a dwarf species that reaches no higher than two feet in height. I plan to add R. 'Cornell Pink' which reaches six feet tall when mature, and a few more of the dwarf species. There are also many other azaleas that can add bright fall leaf hues of orange, red and burgundy.
I also chose Arbutus unedo 'Compacta' with the common name of Strawberry Tree, coming from the strawberry-shaped red fruit that hangs on this tall shrub in autumn. I grow a dwarf form that gets no taller than five feet . In fall, both flowers and fruit hang from this shrub at the same time. Some varieties of this broadleaf evergreen can grow as a tree reaching 35 feet tall, while other dwarf varieties can be maintained as a shrub. The exfoliating red-brown bark adds great texture, as it ages with twists and gnarls up and down the trunk.
Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus' blooms in October and November, filling the garden with its fine fragrance. Although I like the flowers, the beauty of this shrub is its variegated leaves that give a holly look-a-like presence in the garden. This six foot tall shrub, with its creamy white-striped leaves, brightens my fall and winter garden. I plan to add Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Purpureus' to the garden for its holly-like leaves, with dark purple new growth in spring and fragrant autumn flowers. These two shrubs produce black fruit following the flowers, which is yet another reason to introduce them to your garden.
Hydrangeas are not normally thought of for the fall garden; yet so many of the flowers hang on during the early part of the season. The one I enjoy in autumn is the Oak-leaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia. The flowers reliably hang on for a time, but the burgundy and red tints the foliage takes on make this shrub worthwhile to grow for year round interest. H. 'Blue Bird' (left photo) has beautiful fall colors and their lacecap flowers hang on into fall.
This list of great shrubs for the fall garden is far from complete. I hope this at least gets you thinking about shrubs for your autumn garden pleasure.
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
Copyright Notice | Home | Search | Archives