Fabulous Fall Flowers Now!

Plant selections and garden design tips are essential for your fabulous fall beds that will last you six months until April! October and November is the time in our area, North Texas, to plant pansies, pinks (Dianthus), sweet alyssum, ornamental Swiss chard / cabbage / kale, viola ( a relative to the pansy), snapdragons, fox glove, larkspur, cyclamen, dusty miller, petunia, pinks, and sweet alyssum.

Fall is also the best time for planting shrubs because it affords the root systems of plants, small to large, time to establish healthy root systems before the stress of intense over 100 degree summer heat.

Here's some information on my top three fall-to-winter annuals. All three are widely available in many colors in retail centers, and prefer sun to shade -so plant in the sun:

Pansies:

A great plant in our area for October through April. Few annuals last six months in our climate. Pansies are winter hardy annuals and will snap back to health after a frost when properly maintained. The mature height is 8-10 inches; space 10-12 inches apart.

 

Dianthus or Pinks:

A great plant in our area for November through April. Pinks are somewhat less winter hardy than pansies, but will snap back to health after a frost when properly maintained. The mature height is 8-10 inches; space 8-10 inches apart.

Snapgragons:

A great flowering plant in our area for November through April with thick stalks populated with floral spikes. Snapdragons can add height and layers to a flower bed when layered with pansies, pinks, kale/cabbage and Dusty Miller for example. The mature height varies by plant type from 12-16 inches; space 10-12 inches apart.

In general, apply fertilizer when you plant and subsequently every 6-8 weeks on warmer days during the fall and winter.

Exterior Design Tips:
Much like you design the interior of your home with a color scheme, do the same for your exterior. The color scheme may change by season. An example: you may choose warm colors in the fall/winter (gold, red) and cool colors in the winter/spring such as blues / purples and back to warm yellows/ orange for summer.

Maximize the impact of your design by:

• Using green as the foundation and consider it a neutral color in the design.

• Visually cool colors like blues and purples make an area appear larger because they recede. They are best seen close up.

• Bright warm colors make a bed ‘pop' so it can be easily seen from a distance. You could use hot pink, bright yellow or red to create this visually warm effect.

• Place your colorful annuals in front of evergreen shrubs and groundcovers to gain the most contrast.

• One color will have the most dramatic impact. Mass color in any one bed. At the most plant two colors. If you plant more it becomes busy to the eye and has the cottage effect.