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The Fall Flower Garden

© Marilyn Burns

Fall is an often overlooked time in many flower gardens. Many gardeners concentrate on the first flush of the late spring and early summer gardens, only to find little in bloom or the perennial border looking pretty sad by the time late summer and fall arrives. Perhaps it is because gardeners are unfamiliar with the many wonderful plants that are available for extending interest in the perennial border at this time of the year.

We can plan to change that fairly easily. By planting a few perennials this year, in a year or two gardeners in our region can continue to provide interest in their perennial borders through the time of killing frosts in our region. Let's look at a few possiblities for the late season garden:

The most obvious choice for the fall garden is the chrysanthemum. There are many varieties of mums, but one crucial point I need to make: Be careful when choosing cultivars and varieties. Many mums are not hardy enough for our region. Be sure to select only those mums that will do well in our growing zones. Two good types of mums for our region are The Prophets series of mums and the Maximums, developed by the University of Minnesota.

Mums do their best when planted in the spring, kept fertilized, and then pinched or pruned until July the 10th. By pinching the growing tips back, the plants will fill out and set many blooms for the fall display. Depending on variety and cultivar, mums will bloom from the end of August until late fall.

Asters are another good choice for the late summer into early fall garden. Depending upon variety, these plants will bloom from July until October. Some of them can get quite tall and leggy, so plant supports can help keep the taller varieties from drooping over.

Goldenrod, or Solidago, is one of those wonderful plants that can be grown in our region. Blooming from late summer into early fall, there are many good cultivars to choose. Size can range from 18 inches to 4 feet in height. One fact to point out: Goldenrod has received bad press for causing hay fever. It is not responsible for common hay fever. It does blooms at the same time as ragweed, so many people associate this plant with allergies.

Joe Pye Weed, or Eupatorium, is a great plant for moist sites. Blooming in late summer to early fall, the purple, white and blue whorled flowers add a great tall accent to the perennial border.

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