USEFUL TIPS FROM Art That Grows
Useful Ideas, Tips and Best Practices concerning landscape and garden design, xeriscape and hardscape design, construction, installation and maintenance in the Dallas and surrounding North Texas area. For more information, call 214.987.0006.
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15 Suggestions for Beautiful 2022 Fall Color
OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL FALL it is…it’s time to add color and texture to this most colorful season’s landscape, along with just the right mulch and soil preparation to make a healthy, brilliant winter transition. Here are 15 creative and vibrantly striking suggestions for late October, November, and December that can add exciting variety, drama, and beauty to your landscape.
Alyssum (Sweet)
Easy to grow from plant or seed, sweet alyssum is a cool-season flower that can be set out in early spring once all danger of frost has passed. In frost-free climates, Sweet Alyssum can also be grown throughout the fall and winter. Most varieties will fade in the heat but bloom again in the fall.
Aster
It is drought tolerant and has no pest or disease problems. It is very easy to divide after blooms die back and plant throughout your garden for lovely fall color, late September until frost. It will bloom the season following division.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a petite flowering plant that has sweet-scented, small (1/2- to 3/4-inch) blooms on long stems that stretch up above the foliage. It is a tuberous perennial, meaning it dies down to its thick roots (tubers) during its summer dormancy period and then regrows quickly each fall.
Echibeckia
Echibeckia is a fast growing herbaceous perennial flower with long lasting blooms available in yellow, orange and brown. Grows well in sun and blooms late summer and fall.
Pansies
Pansies are the colorful flowers with “faces.” A cool-weather favorite, pansies are great for both spring and fall gardens! Pansies have heart-shaped, overlapping petals and one of the widest ranges of bright, pretty colors and patterns. Good for containers, borders, and as ground cover, they are a flower for reliable color almost year-round.
Marigolds
Marigolds are a popular annual flower that grow in nearly any soil types. They have large layered flowerheads and bloom in the spring, summer and fall seasons. Even though they are often thought of as spring through summer flowers, they really perform much better from late summer up until frost.
Tidal Wave Petunias
Petunia flowers are popular because they have large full blooms with color varieties in pink, purple, red, white, blue, lilac, rose and yellow. They grow well in landscape beds, container pots and hanging baskets. Tidal Wave petunias handle cold exceptionally well and often last through our winters here in North Texas.
Salvia
Salvia is a perennial flower available in various shapes and colors such as blue, green, pink, deep purple, cherry red, white and yellow. They are fragrant and attract hummingbirds and butterflies. These are an upright plant favoring a sun exposure that blooms spring, summer and fall.
Sedium
Sedum is an easy to grow semi-evergreen plant with green leaves that is virtually maintenance free. It delivers full mounds of dusty pink flowers that set the late-summer and early-fall beds and borders ablaze with color and beauty. Blooms deepen to rich bronze red with age.
Ornamental Cabbage
Ornamental cabbage is the term used for types with broad, flat leaves that are edged in a contrasting color. Ornamental cabbage and kale grow approximately one foot wide and 15 inches tall. The 'Osaka' series has fast growing, compact cabbage types with bluish-green, semi-waved leaves with pink, red, or white centers
Ornamental Kale
Technically, ornamental cabbage and kale are all kales (kales produce leaves in a tight rosettes; cabbages produce heads). But in the horticultural trade, ornamental kale is the term used for types with deeply-cut, curly, frilly or ruffled leaves.
Arugula (pictured) and Kale (edible)
Arugula can be grown most of the year, it's at its best with nutty flavors and less bitterness during the winter harvest. Don't worry if cold temperatures freeze back the tops, just cut back any damaged leaves and keep growing. Kale is a cool season edible and can usually be planted anytime from fall through around the middle of February in North Texas and can tolerate a hard frost.
Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is typically grown as a cool-season crop because it grows best in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. However, chard is quite tolerant of hotter temperatures, too. It features green foliage and multi-colored stems (Bright Lights variety) and is one of the prettiest plants in a winter garden.
Ornamental Mustard
This mustard green is so beautiful that it is often used just for its ornamental value and planted right beside the garden flowers. Gorgeous purple-tinted leaves have great texture. The leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked and have a distinct mustard flavor. “Baby” leaves can be picked when just 2” (5cm) long.
Ornamental Peppers
Ornamental peppers peak in the fall, and are a great choice for fall color! Splashy, colorful ornamental peppers add dazzling bursts of red, purple, yellow, orange, black, or white to the garden. And many cultivars display upright fruits that change color as they mature.
This season we'll prepare your beds for fall and winter. We'll add mulch and compost to your beds and fertilize for the best effectivity. We'll also set automatic watering systems or instruct you on the best irrigation practices for your landscape.
Fall is in full swing, and we are ready to make appointments for fall and winter color changes! Pansy, cabbage and kale crops will be ready in late October and we're scheduling appointments through November, so bring color and texture into your life with an email to Mark@ArtThatGrows.com or call to Art That Grows at 214-987-0006.