<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2GWV12_0wEhWyaQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2GWV12_0wEhWyaQ00" width="678" height="381" ><figcaption>Autumn leaves (Photo courtesy Pexels.com)</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Falhv_0wEhWyaQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Falhv_0wEhWyaQ00" width="1280" height="720" ></figure>Indigo Deany | North Forty NewsSummer daytime temperatures are still lingering, but there is no denying that fall is squarely upon us. While you may associate fall gardening with tedious cleanup and mourning for plants that didn’t make it through the heat of summer, it doesn’t all need to be heavy sighs and “getting to it.” Autumn is my favorite season of the year and I prefer to give myself grace and enjoy the fall garden for its changing beauty. Witnessing the transformations of color and form into more subtle but no less dynamic iterations is, after the riotous chaos of spring and summer, a balm to the weary gardening soul. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1j8s68_0wEhWyaQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1j8s68_0wEhWyaQ00" width="1280" height="854" ><figcaption>Autumn leaves (Photo courtesy Pexels.com)</figcaption></figure>When observing your changing fall garden, notice what plants are doing after the flower show. What do they look like as they enter dormancy? Do they disappear almost completely, to nothing more than a root crown and bedraggled brown leaves? Do they leave behind a twisting, upright skeleton of woody arms and seed head hair? <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Q5kid_0wEhWyaQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Q5kid_0wEhWyaQ00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>Autumn leaves (Photo courtesy Pexels.com)</figcaption></figure>Are they golden brown or charcoal black? There is no wrong way for a plant to be dormant in the garden, but an entire garden bed that dies back to the ground can look desolate in October, let alone February. The addition of low-growing woody plants, such as Pawnee Buttes sandcherry, not only promises architectural interest through winter, but can put on a spectacular display of fiery autumn color even after your perennials have finished blooming. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=12pdL1_0wEhWyaQ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=12pdL1_0wEhWyaQ00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>Autumn leaves (Photo courtesy Pexels.com)</figcaption></figure>In fact, planning your garden design around fall performance can improve your garden year-round. You’ll be thinking about structure and texture more intensively than just bloom color, which is a trap we so easily fall into. Considering texture and form will always improve the overall effect of a garden, even the bloomiest one. Ornamental grasses, woody shrubs and trees, and a variety of sturdy herbaceous perennials are key elements of the autumn garden that will improve your overall garden design. Even in an established garden, you can always add one element that will shine in the fall. Some plant combinations that look good year round and outright stun in the autumn include:<ul><li>Autumn Brilliance serviceberry, Powis Castle artemisia, and Snow Flurries aster </li><li>The serviceberry has graceful architecture and beautiful red leaves, the artemisia has soft, silver foliage that shimmers in the breeze, and the asters form a fall carpet of charming white daisies. All three plants have attractive foliage and structure all year, and can be interplanted with spring and summer bloomers like iris and verbascum.</li><li>Plum Dazzled sedum, October Skies aster, and Apache Rose switchgrass</li></ul><ul><li>The deep purple, succulent foliage of the sedum is covered in vibrant dark pink blooms throughout autumn, which complement the cool lavender, airy blooms of the aster. Stay in the world of soothing purples with the burgundy switchgrass and you’ll have a visually cohesive planting that provides structure and habitat all year.</li></ul><h2>Support Northern Colorado Journalism</h2>Show your support for North Forty News by helping us produce more content. It's a kind and simple gesture that will help us continue to bring more content to you.BONUS - Donors get a link in their receipt to sign up for our once-per-week instant text messaging alert. Get your e-copy of North Forty News the moment it is released! </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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Fall Garden Design for Year-Round Beauty

Summer daytime temperatures are still lingering, but there is no denying that fall is squarely upon us. While you may associate fall gardening with tedious cleanup and mourning for plants that didn’t make it through the heat of summer, it doesn’t all need to be heavy sighs and “getting to it.” Autumn is my favorite season of the year and I prefer to give myself grace and enjoy the fall garden for its changing beauty.