As the summer winds down and kids go back to school, our gardens begin to go back to mums. Planting everyone’s favorite fall flower goes hand in hand with buying school supplies. Along with beautiful mums, asters, kale, cabbage and rudbeckia are in their full glory this time of year. There’s lots left to plant and enjoy.
Mums are a beautiful perennial that you can use in your garden or containers. Mixing together varieties of early and late blooming mums gives you loads of color the whole season long. They also coordinate well with the other fall favorites.
Cabbage and kale come in many varieties to accent your planters this time of year. They come in different shades of green and purple, and in many different foliage shapes. Mixing these in with your mums, or in a combination on their own, cabbage and kale are low maintenance and add beautiful texture to your fall planters.
Along with mums and cabbage, ornamental peppers are unique to gardens this time of year. These smaller little peppers come in a variety of colors, from red, orange and yellow to deep shades of purple. The foliage even varies from green to purple to speckled white and purple leaves. Peppers also vary in shape, from long, skinny peppers to round cherry peppers. Just keep in mind that these peppers should not be eaten.
Asters are another great perennial that thrives in the fall. These small daisy-like flowers come in a variety of colors like white, red, pink and purple. There are many varieties available that have different blooming periods and heights, so you can virtually plant them anywhere to get the bold burst of color in the fall.
Other flowers that look their best this time of year include pansies and violas. They give pops of color to pots and beds and continue to bloom all the way through the first few frosts. Golden rudbeckia flowers also look great this time of year. The perennial in the ground is showy and using shorter varieties in your pots gives you the same effect.
Despite the warm weather beginning to wane, there’s still plenty of gardening left to do. Re-energizing your garden and containers with these fall beauties can keep your spirits high while the temperatures fall.