Autumn Flowers for Cold Climates

Why do people think that autumn is a time when nothing blooms? One attendee said that my collchicum presentation inspired her to add color to her fall garden. My fall garden is full of color, even without looking at the trees. This is just a small sample of what I see when I walk around.

The ‘Ruby Mound chrysanthemum’ ( dendranthema ) is a rich, true red.

It has flopped as more buds have opened and the stems became top heavy. It’s because of the floppiness that I should pinch back the stems before July 4, but I am afraid this will delay blooming on a pretty late bloomer. I’ll pinch some stems, and leave others alone to see if it delays flowering.

The Fire Light(r), a sample from Proven Winners is almost as bright red as Ruby Mound.

Fire Light(r), flowers are white at first and then gradually darken. Many people asked me what this hydrangea was called when I opened my garden for the public to view colchicum last year. This is the same species of ‘Pee-Gee’ hydrangea but it’s a much better value. It’s hardy up to USDA Zone 3 people!

The flowers of the Talinum paniculatum are not the main attraction of the ‘Kingswood Gold” jewels from Opar.

This is what I grew from seed. It contrasts with the heuchera ‘Grape expectations’ and the colchicum ‘Glory of Heemstede. This is a problem for gardeners in warm climates. It seeds and spreads everywhere. I wonder how many seeds will germinate this week with the frost. I read that roots could be dug up and stored like dahlias over the winter. I plan to do that this year as well as collecting some seeds.

This year, I’m trying something new: monkshood.

I received some monkshood starts from a good friend who did not know what it was. I was worried that it had died because it took so long for the plant to bloom. It’s only just starting.

This mum’s name is Sheffield Pink but to me it looks more apricot.

It will bloom until November. I have been growing it for a few years. A hard freeze can knock back the flowers, but they will open up again with the next warm spell.

Frost has destroyed ‘Jindai,’ the Tatarian aster in previous years.

I dug it up, and gave it to my friends who have a longer growing season. It grows back from each little piece of root. I still have it and I am glad to have it this year. The flowers are really beautiful and there hasn’t been any frost.

You can make a real statement once you have a good supply of colchicums.

The ‘The Giant” colchicum attracts your attention to this bed where Little Quick Fire (r) hydrangea is a sample from Proven Winners Golden feverfew is a stinging flower that zings around the corner.