Brian Minter: Hitting refresh for fall and winter

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After a very hot dry summer, with higher level water restrictions, many of our gardens could use a late summer refresh.

We’re still in late summer and hopefully we will get a few days of rain to help green things up, but it’s important to be thinking ahead about fall and winter colour. When we do get a weather change of shorter, consistently cooler days, hopefully with good moisture, colour makes a difference in raising our spirits.

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Winter pansies and violas make a pleasant change, and with now cooler nights, it’s good to get them established early for the best fall and late winter displays. The smaller flowered pansy Matrix series is the most rain and cold tolerant. There is a shift taking place over to the smaller bloomed violas because of their excellent weather tolerance and ability to combine so effectively with other fall and winter plants.  The sooner they become established the more quickly they begin to make a showing in ground beds and containers.

Evergreen grasses are now becoming a staple winter colour because they look great even in the coldest days of winter. Blue fescue grasses, especially Beyond Blue, enliven the landscape and the many new varieties of carex grasses, like c. Everglow and c. Everest, add a new dimension to the fall and winter colour spectrum.

Late summer and fall blooming perennials always seem to add such an invigorating touch to the garden and my favourites are the beautiful Japanese anemones, which are just beginning to flower. Although they prefer morning sun and afternoon shade, they are so versatile they will perform well in most locations. Once established, they will flower well into October and even November. Colours range from pure white to shades of pink, and they are such an elegant plant with beautiful leaves and multi-flowered stems that stand well above the foliage. They now come in both taller 30 cm plants as well as compact varieties.

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I’m seeing the old Michaelmas Daisies, aster amellus, often being replaced with more compact varieties like the Woods series of fall asters which come in colours from blues and purples to pinks and white. They are very weather tolerant and hang in there until November. If you still want a taller grower, Grape Crush, is a great choice.

For long lasting summer and fall colour it’s hard to beat the large family of hardy rudbeckias. There are many new varieties like r. Gold Blitz, r. American Gold Rush and r. Glitters Like Gold which are very hardy, but its still tough to beat r. Goldsturm, and its shorter cousin, r. Little Gold Star for that continuous, rich golden colour which lasts well into fall. Many folks are now combining them with shorter herbaceous grasses like miscanthus sinensis Yaku Jima and new penstemons like p. Red Head and p. Hameln. Other grasses like andropogon geradii Holy Smoke, schizachyrium scoparium Blue Heaven and panicum virgatum Northwind not only have beautiful fall foliage, but attractive seed heads as well.

This is the time of year to enjoy the late summer blooming callunas, many of which not only have richly coloured blooms, but nicely contrasting yellow and gold foliage also.  The newer Bud Bloomers have a much longer flowering period as the buds never quite fully open, but they look beautiful even into late fall. They’re great for both your containers and in-ground plantings.

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Believe it or not, it’s time to plant fall blooming bulbs. The well-known and much-loved Saffron Crocus, crocus sativus, are already available in some garden stores. Planted now, they will bloom in just a few weeks. Their lavender flowers add a fresh touch to any garden, and in well-drained soils, will return each year.

The more spectacular autumn crocus, colchicum autumnale, can also be planted now for a fall display. The purples are nice, but the white ones are remarkable because they show up in the evening as the days shorten. They, too, repeat bloom each year with an even more striking display.

With the few cooler evenings we’ve enjoyed, ornamental kale and cabbage are just beginning to colour with their pink, purple and white and green variegated leaves. Although they don’t winter over, their addition to fall decor is appreciated, especially in containers.

It’s also time for perennial herbs to be planted which will bring added flavour to all your fall and winter meals. Chives, parsley, sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and all the many varieties of mint are hardy perennials which can be enjoyed year-round.

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It’s quite late for planting winter vegetables now, but all the leafy varieties like winter lettuces and kale can still go in and be harvested over winter.

So, no matter how you feel about summer, this is an important time to refresh and recolour our gardens for the next two seasons. Come the middle of fall, when you need a little pick me up, you’ll be glad you did.

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