Fall Blossoms: Perennial Edition
Although most of the plants in the perennial border are powering down for winter, there are a few that are still blooming — or have bloomed for the first time this season. Here are the highlights:
This is the second White-Out rose bush I planted back in August, and it is still going strong! The first one has a few flowers left, but I think it may be done for the season.
Brand new blossoms: pinkish-white chryanthemums. These were rescued from the old border and moved to a holding bed; later in the summer I moved several of the back into their new spots along the brick path. They are tall, but I put these in the front because their blooms will last into December when everything else is dead, so they should be a good distraction from dead stuff right out in front. During the summer they are pretty compact and leafy, so they don't block the view of taller plants in the back. You can see in the photo that when they open they are almost completely white, but before they open they are kind of a dusty pink. I am not a huge fan of pink, but this tannish shade I like because it blends in with other fall colors well.
A freebie delphinium I got and popped in a back corner is also blooming. In real life it's a little lavender rather than pure white, so I may not keep it. I've also heard that these are terribly finicky about climate, so it may not survive anyway.
These are the dried heads of my white hydrangea. They turn pink as they get old, but (again) it's a shade that I like, with no purple in it. Because of that, it looks quite good with red flowers, and plays well with the leafy heucherella next to it. In real life it is more muted than it appears here in the photo.
Finally, these are the teeny tiny leaves of my stonecrop. This is planted right along the edge of the wall, and it has done so well it is starting to spill over the flat stones, just as it is intended to. The leaves are outlined in white, but when temperatures drop it turns to pink. Again, it turns out I can live with quite a bit more pink than I thought — it just has to be a clear shade, with no purple mixed in. So the color theme of this garden maintains the whites, and the bright summer reds fade to dusty autumn pinks.
PS — Sharp-eyed readers will be wondering what's up with the bit of black netting in the upper corner of the last photo. All will be revealed next time in a saga pitting man against beast …
This is the second White-Out rose bush I planted back in August, and it is still going strong! The first one has a few flowers left, but I think it may be done for the season.
Brand new blossoms: pinkish-white chryanthemums. These were rescued from the old border and moved to a holding bed; later in the summer I moved several of the back into their new spots along the brick path. They are tall, but I put these in the front because their blooms will last into December when everything else is dead, so they should be a good distraction from dead stuff right out in front. During the summer they are pretty compact and leafy, so they don't block the view of taller plants in the back. You can see in the photo that when they open they are almost completely white, but before they open they are kind of a dusty pink. I am not a huge fan of pink, but this tannish shade I like because it blends in with other fall colors well.
A freebie delphinium I got and popped in a back corner is also blooming. In real life it's a little lavender rather than pure white, so I may not keep it. I've also heard that these are terribly finicky about climate, so it may not survive anyway.
These are the dried heads of my white hydrangea. They turn pink as they get old, but (again) it's a shade that I like, with no purple in it. Because of that, it looks quite good with red flowers, and plays well with the leafy heucherella next to it. In real life it is more muted than it appears here in the photo.
Finally, these are the teeny tiny leaves of my stonecrop. This is planted right along the edge of the wall, and it has done so well it is starting to spill over the flat stones, just as it is intended to. The leaves are outlined in white, but when temperatures drop it turns to pink. Again, it turns out I can live with quite a bit more pink than I thought — it just has to be a clear shade, with no purple mixed in. So the color theme of this garden maintains the whites, and the bright summer reds fade to dusty autumn pinks.
PS — Sharp-eyed readers will be wondering what's up with the bit of black netting in the upper corner of the last photo. All will be revealed next time in a saga pitting man against beast …
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