Just because the sun goes down early, don’t put your garden to sleep yet. Make sure you have flowers blooming in the fall, as well as fiery foliage to perk up the view outside your windows.
Some of my favorite shrubs for the fall garden have orange flowers. If you have a spot at the back of the garden for a showy 4- to 6-foot shrub that requires little or no water, add a lion’s tail and enjoy whorls of tubular, 2-inch-deep orange flowers that bloom from summer right through fall.
For a shorter orange-flowering shrub, consider a dwarf pomegranate. This ornamental reached 3 feet high and 6 feet wide. Blooming when only 1 foot tall or less, their showy orange-red single flowers are followed by small, dry red fruit that is also decorative. You can use this little shrub in borders, edging or even containers. When established in the ground, they require only moderate watering.
The vibrant orange flowers of these shrubs absolutely glow when planted near purple flowers. Blooming now is Purple Pastel salvia greggii. Also called autumn sage, this evergreen shrub typically grows 3- to 4-feet high and just as wide.
Remember to shorten and shape plants before new growth begins in spring to keep them tidy. Hummingbirds love salvias, as do bees, so planting them near the vegetable garden can help increase your harvest.
A groundcover for sun or partial shade that is striking in early to late autumn is dwarf plumbago. At this time of year, the intense, dark blue flower clusters contrast with its red fall foliage. This 6- to 12-inch-high groundcover tolerates inconsistent watering and is grows well under oak trees.
Another drought-tolerant groundcover blooming now is Huntington Carpet rosemary.
Unlike some of the older varieties of creeping rosemary, this one spreads quickly, yet maintains a dense center. Growing to 18 inches high, it’s covered with pale blue flowers through the winter and into the spring.
Good drainage is essential for rosemary. Lighten dense soil with plenty of organic matter. Heavy feeding and too much water result in leggy growth. Rosemary also responds well to frequent pinching. Prune older plants frequently but lightly, and don’t cut into bare wood.
This last show-stopping fall-blooming combination is not orange but red, purple and white. You may have Mexican bush sage, Hot Lips salvia greggii and Santa Barbara daisy in your garden already. They are popular, easy-to-grow, low-water-use plants.
Combine them and step back. You’ll love the way the white of the daisy brings out the intense red and purple hues of the other two. This vignette really pops.
If you garden cries out for more fall flowers, consider adding some of these plants.
• Jan Nelson, a California certified nursery professional at Plant Works in Ben Lomond, will answer questions about gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains. E-mail her at [email protected].
