Summer Annuals Be Gone

It's at exactly this time of year when many summer annuals start looking out of place.  The blooms are not as plentiful, the colours not quite right.  Pull them!  Pull them all!

Enter fall plantings.

Sage, Japanese blood grass, and a hen with a few of her chicks

You can go the traditional mum, aster, ornamental cabbage and kale route, or, try something different.  Think about other plant material that can provide colour and form and will stand up to the variable weather that is our fall.  Grasses, anemone, perennial herbs.  Look for perennial flowers you can use in your fall containers that can later be dug in to your garden.  Echinacea, gaura, gaillardia may all still be blooming well into September and October and can look fabulous in containers with complementary foliage.

Winning combinations:

• Any of the yellow or orange echinaceas with imperata (Japanese blood grass) and perennial sage
• Any purple heuchera with gaura
• Anemone with ornamental blue or purple cabbages

Go with different leaf textures and plant forms for optimal drama.

And for those of you that can't wait for Halloween, find yourself a funky pumpkin to lay at the feet of your creation.  And it doesn't have to be orange!  White, grey, peanut.  Be creative!  Have fun!