When I was still teaching (before I became a stay at home dad) we lived in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and let me tell you that that area is one of the most beautiful places for fall scenery. I didn't get to hike in the Smokies as much as I would have liked (too many school duties on the weekends, yep on the weekends) but when we did the fall foliage was spectacular.
Since those days I've tried to fill my garden with plants that will give us that sense of brilliant fall color. Now every fall I check the progress of my plantings as they grow and become larger focal points of fall color. I've planted maples, lots of maples. 'Red Sunset' was our first maple planting but other red maples (Acer rubrum) have followed including a 'Brandywine' and three non-named maples. Japanese maples have been planted too including 'Sango Kaku' and two others. I also have several Japanese maples that were grown from seed but haven't been planted in the ground yet. Crape myrtles also provide a good amount of fall color.
The native trees around us provide most of our fall color. Sassafras, maples, oak, and hackberry trees are all common around here and frame our yard. They give us the impression that we are all alone in our yard, at least until the leaves drop and we can again see our neighbors. I would love to have a nice stand of pine trees just on the other side of all our deciduous trees!
'Shasta' Viburnum Fall Color |
'Shenandoah' Switchgrass |
I've planted a lot of trees and shrubs but grasses are great for fall and winter interest. I have a definite preference for the switchgrasses since they are native. If you don't worry about planting natives switchgrasses are spectacular choices anyway. 'Shenandoah' is my fall color favorite with its beautiful red hues but the garden also has 'Heavy Metal', 'Northwind', and soon will have a few more varieties.
It's a fun time of year to be a gardener. It's almost as if the fall foliage becomes a canopy of flowers. The colors are changing and it is most definitely fall!
Are you looking forward to the slower pace of gardening in the offseason?