What's your favorite fall show?

Hello again,
Cool summers have brought us some outstanding fall colors this year. Things I haven't noticed fall color on before, such as Forsythia and roses, are looking magnificent. I didn't get a good picture of Flower Carpet® Amber, but if you have one in your yard, take a look. They have rich purples and mahogany with a little orange all mixed in. What a nice attribute for a plant that looks great almost all summer. Here are the pictures though. They tell the story better.
Hamamelis virginiana
Are native shrubs your thing? Not what I'd typically think of as a great fall color producing plant. They are currently flowering in our landscape, but it is hard to see through the yellow and green-veined leaves. I love to see leaves with these kind of markings. This is yet another native plant with great fall attributes.



Juniperus virginiana 'Blue Mountain'
Is fruit your thing? If so, 'Blue Mountain' will produce some mighty nice fruit. The plants in our landscape have been here a long time. But even in pots, fruit production is magnificent. The silvery-blue fruit are very nice in contrast with the gray-blue foliage. This is truly a specimen Juniper that not enough people use.

Agastache 'Blue Fortune'
Are seed heads your thing? If so, Agastache looks great long into winter. The swaying seed heads were dancing in the wind yesterday. They look great will all the fall colors in the background. And even in snow, the plants stand tall and look great against the white background of a snow filled landscape.


Hosta 'Regal Splendor'
Are Hostas your thing? If so, then 'Regal Splendor' is a nice plant to look at. Hostas aren't always thought of for fall color. But this year, the silky gold foliage looks quite nice. Most Hosta in the landscape are displaying these colors this year. 'Blue Cadet' is another one with maybe a touch more flare.



Molinia 'Heidebraut'
Are grasses your thing? If so, an underutilized plant is this Molinia. One of my favorite Midwest Solutions® is the combination of this plant and the Rosa Knock Out®. Together they are a striking combination. You can see the flowers of the rose behind the bright yellow foliage of 'Heidebraut'. The texture of 'Heidebraut' looks great all year in contrast with these roses and other plants such as Phlox 'Blue Paradise'.
Coreopsis tripteris
Are native prairie plants your thing? If so, then check out this Coreopsis. Every year I see this plant, I am amazed. The colors mixed in are fabulous. Of course, if you don't have a lot of room in your yard, then this probably isn't the plant for you. But if you have a spot in the back of the border, by all means, plant this guy!

Berberis Sunjoy™ Gold Pillar™
If thorns are your thing, then go with this fella. These plants are visible from a distance. The bright orange is remarkable. I'm not the biggest fan of barberry, but this plant does have a use.

Amsonia hubrichtii
Is texture your thing? If so, few plants can rival the texture of Amsonia. The fall colors of these plants are great as well. The plant itself can be chlorotic throughout the year, so yellows are almost always present on this plant. But as I've learned, a lot of people like the plant when it's yellow in summer. Even with this, the fall color is more pronounced and more beautiful then summer.

Viburnum prunifolium
Are birds your thing? This is a plant we have in American Beauties Native Plants™. This will attract birds because it a)gives cover to the birds from predators, and b) produces fruit that are delicious to the birds. The fall color is pretty nice too. If you are unfamiliar, please give the Blackhaw Viburnum a try.


Viburnum x juddii
Is fragrance your thing? If so, you'll have to wait for spring for this plant to give off its intoxicating perfume. But doesn't her fall color give reason to try? In my opinion, there is no plant with better fragrance than Juddii Viburnum. It's like a spicy lilac. But it's fall color is to die for too. I am a little biased, because this is the first plant I ever planted in my parents yard when learning about plants. But what a great plant to get started with right?
Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima'
Last week I spoke of the red chokeberry, but never showed how great the foliage can actually get. We did physical inventory on shrubs this week, and I was asked to help. I was fortunate to get to count the hoop house of Aronia. What a sight to see. And what better than to be surrounded by amazing fall color. It was definitely a treat!

Aronia melanocarpa 'Elata'
If your thing is Chokeberries, then you like the last two plants I've spoke of. This is just your common black chokeberry in American Beauties Native Plants™ pots. Aren't they great?!? Our native plants have such great fall color, it's amazing that we search out the other continents for other options. We have some outstanding plants right here in North America.

Allium 'Summer Beauty'
Last, but certainly not least, if your thing is contrast, then this plant is for you. There are so many reasons Midwest Groundcovers has gotten behind this plant. This is one attribute that we forget about most of the year. Look at the amazing yellow scapes contrasted with the bright green foliage. I bet your daylilies don't look this good! On top of that, the spent flowers dangle gracefully above the bright yellow scapes creating a magical display of color. Everywhere in the landscape we have this, it looks this good. I took many a picture and had a lot of difficulty deciding where it looks best. This is a highly sustainable plant because it requires little care.

Thanks again for reading. I hope you are enjoying the many pictures and posts that I've put up here. Soon we'll be on to winter interest. I'm hoping that I can get one more week of fall color before we go to the whites and grays of winter. Also this winter we will be unveiling our new plants for 2010. That will be coming soon! Until next time, have a great day!