Play with the Autumn Palette
The weather cools, the trees change and we cling to the warmth of those rich autumn hues: red, yellow and orange. Celebrate the season with its hallmark colors and plants, but you don’t have to say goodbye to variety, either. Freshen up your late-season garden! Thumb through the next pages for some inspiring plant combos that repaint the traditional look.
MUM FUN You see them all over town for a reason: Garden mums stand up to the dropping temperatures and shorter daylight hours and are prolific bloomers. In this combo, the crimson mum is a moody anchor in the evening sunlight, and a necessary foil for the surrounding flood of golden flowers.
For great mums, purchase plants in spring, pinch back the flowers that might be blooming and feed with a slow-release fertilizer when you plant them. When fall comes, the unassuming mounds of green bloom—even through some frost—and, because they’ve had all season to establish strong roots, they can usually make it through the winter for another great show next fall. This planting’s zigzag pattern loosens up their formal form so they blend in well with the airy textures of the butterfly weed and
