A change of seasons is always an imperative time for any landscape or garden. As we move from summer to fall and fall to winter, Jess Zavaglia of Zavaglia Associates shares her best tips for creating a successful garden.
Adding Color
When planning your initial landscape design, Zavaglia says to consider your palette. “It’s best to keep in mind what fall colors you want to dominate your landscape during the autumn months,” she says. “Once you have that in mind, you should be aware of the individual plant’s foliage, what it looks like, and its flowering and dormancy periods.”
For color, she suggests the following plants:
Kale or cabbages: They tend to bloom in white and shades blue, purple, and greens.
Mums: The quintessential fall flower.
Chrysanthemums: You can find them in white, yellow, pink, orange, red, burgundy, cream, salmon, and sometimes bicolor blooms.
“Pair these plants with pumpkins and ornamental grasses, and you can create some eye-catching, fall-themed accents to flank your front door or walkway or anywhere else on your outdoor landscape where you crave a bit of color,” says Zavaglia.
Other plants that work well in our area for the fall are:
- Asters
- Ornamental grasses (such as Karl Foerster)
- Sedums
- Oakleaf
- Hydrangeas
- Amsonia Hubrichtii
- Black-eyed Susans
“The plants mentioned here are not only great examples of plants that could bring various color and texture to your property in the autumnal season, but some of the plants mentioned above also happen to be native to the area,” says Zavaglia. “We strive to incorporate native plantings to our designs when we can. Native plants have long-lasting hardiness because of their acclimation to the environment. They also tend to be more environmentally friendly, creating natural habitats for native wildlife as well as being lower maintenance for homeowners because they tend to not require excessive watering or pesticide control.”
Prep Work
To get ready for fall you should do a cleanup of the property. “This should involve cutting down any perennials as well as removing annuals so they can be replaced next planting season,” says Zavaglia. “It’s also imperative to remove the debris from flower beds, such as fallen leaves. A liberal application of mulch would be good to consider [for] protecting the root systems in the coming colder weather.”
She suggests starting your cleanup in September with an aeration of the lawn and reseeding in spots where it is needed. After that, you can start to clean up and dispose of fallen leaves and debris. “Not only will this give your landscape a clean and aesthetically pleasing appearance, it has the benefit of also encouraging better growth come spring.”
There are also a few things you should not do in the fall. Zavaglia says not to do any hard pruning of the evergreens and be careful when planting any bulbs in the fall.
“Pruning encourages new growth, and one does not want that to happen as the months get colder,” she says. “By pruning in the fall, you are leaving the plants open to further damage and weakness, especially once the first frost occurs.”
For bulbs, she says don’t plant them too early. “If done so, the bulbs can be susceptible to rot, but also may end up flowering earlier than intended,” says Zavaglia. “As a rule, we often plant bulbs after the ground temperature is below 55 degrees [Fahrenheit].”
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