Autumn’s Subtle Charms

As the season winds down, these combos prove that it’s the understated details that matter most

Fall is the season to start paying close attention to your garden . Most of us are watching our gardens wind down , and if you ’re not thrifty , you may have this downward declination get you down , too . But if you turn back , take a deep hint , and look a little closer , you ’ll begin to see the stunner in fading flowers and get on foliage . If you want to spend autumn glorying in your garden and not weeping in your wellies , take charge and take vantage of the subtle appeal that your plant have to offer as they fade .

work up their colors , give them backgrounds that make them shine , and pair them with some classic gloaming performer . Once you begin to see the potential , fall will become mythic . Here are a few combos to give your creativeness a jump start .

Waiting for a turn in the spotlight

During the season , this out - of - the - way corner of the garden serves as a backdrop for the more extravagant recurrent borders in full blooming nearby . But as the season wrap down , this jazz group of shrubs starts to shine . The oakleaf hydrangea set out to reverse a scarlet red around the edges , highlighting the subtle flushed stems of St. John ’s wort , and the pea green hints throughout get to glow in the fall sunshine .

Conditions : Full sun to partial wraith ; moist , well - drain soil

Complex and compelling

This arras of fall loveliness swear on a lot of plants to attend so intriguing . Bold and fine textures combine to create an understated sketch that comes into its own as the temperatures cool down , the aster begins to blossom , and the bergenia begin to turn . Even the hosta , as it begin to wane , lends a lacy effect .

Conditions : Partial spook ; moist , well - drained soil

Keep the garden awake with annuals

By the remainder of summertime , most annuals are played out and look bedraggled but not these sweetheart . Their bold , counterpoint colour and widely differing forms are an exuberant reminder that the garden is not quite done yet . The pale green flowers of the cockscomb , especially , are a freshening force-out in a garden that ’s getting sleepy-eyed .

condition : Full sunshine ; well - drained soil

Three jazzed-up versions of classic plants

trusted , coneflower , otherwise cognize as black - eyed Susans , are the image of fall , but watch out — Susan just develop a lot more interesting . ‘ Henry Eilers ’ , with its flared tubular flower petal , create a constellation of golden starbursts that wows even from a distance , while dark - hued Diabolo ® ninebark and wrinkled - leaved bloodtwig dogwood create an unostentatious yet challenging background .

Conditions : Full Dominicus ; moist , well - drained soil

The darker side of coneflowers

In their subtlety of pink and majestic , coneflowers are bright and pollyannaish in belated summer , but by fall , just their cones stay : tall , dark , and handsome silhouetted against the sulphur yellow blooms of goldenrod . These sturdy , upright stems will hang on through winter and feed in the local birds , so do n’t cut them down until they in the end succumb to the free weight of sound snowfalls .

A fall fireworks display

While this spectacular group is made up of plants that wo n’t come back in leaping , it just might be worth the money and effort for its spectacular impact . The papyrus blossom may not be colourful , but their firework - similar fountains are dramatic . The colors of the cuphea and the fountain grass harmonise absolutely , while the bright yellow – flowered mums scream “ fall . ”

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