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Bring Color and Colorful Visitors to the Garden
in Late Summer and Fall
by David Salman

As xeriscaping (water thrifty landscaping) is becoming a much more accepted way of gardening in arid climates found all across the western US, it has changed the look of our western gardens. No where is this more noticeable than in the in late summer and fall garden. Unlike more traditional English dominated styles of gardening practiced in the mid-West and East coast with a well established, almost standardized list of plants, xeriscaping emphasizes the concept of regionally suitable plants which includes a growing list of new and unfamiliar native and adapted plant species.

And when we make the effort to synchronize our xeriscapes with the natural world around us, we not only increase the diversity of colorful perennials and flowering shrubs in our landscapes, but we attract song birds (with fall ripening seeds), hummingbirds, butterflies and bees (with nectar and pollen) to become a part of our garden world as well. Become an eco-contributors by providing habitat with your landscape plantings!

I love planning for late summer/fall color in my home garden and my garden designs. This is because many of my favorite plants not only bloom during this time of year, but they also attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees to my gardens.

And remember, you don’t need to live in the western US to try these plants in your landscape. Cast off the conventional and experiment with the unfamiliar!

Top on my list of perennial favorites for late season color include;

And not to be over looked, a plethora of incredible ornamental grasses. But I’ll save discussion of these late season beauties for another article.

Fall perennial shipping resumes August 24, 2009. You may order now and choose the best shipping date for your region when you check out.

Keeping your Flagstone Patio Crack Fillers Looking Good

Flagstone (and Slate) are a very popular types of rock used to provide flat stone surfaces for walkways and outdoor patios. Typically these large flat stones are laid over a shallow bed of sand and spaced such that there are 1" spaces between them. To create a tapestry of color and texture with plant and rock surfaces, many varieties of small, flat growing, foot traffic tolerant groundcovers can be planted into the spaces in-between. Late summer is an ideal time to trim back the plants to keep them from covering the stone completely and maintain their vigor and neat appearance. With a pair of shears or old scissors, trim the edges of the stems that have spread over the flagstone back to 3 or 4 inch wide stripe of foliage as the plant follows the space between the flagstones. Also trim off faded flowers from the top cutting down into the foliage to allow the middle of the plant to re-grow its stems.

Low Growing, Foot Traffic Tolerant groundcovers for use as crack fillers:

Xeric Sun and part Sun conditions

• Veronica liwanensis (Turkish Speedwell)
• Veronica oltensis (Thyme leaf Speedwell)
• Thymus ‘Pink Chintz’
• Woolly Thyme
• Cotula ‘Tiffindell Gold’ (Golden Buttons)
• Peronychia (Nailwort)
• Penstemon davidsonii ‘Microphyllus’ (Mat Beardtongue)

Moist Shade conditions

• Bellium (Mat Daisy)

Deadheading
The removal of faded flowers and flower spikes is an important gardening technique. It’s easy to do; simply clip off old faded flowering parts just above the plant’s foliage. Deadheading will;

• prolong flowering or bring many perennials back into bloom
• help control re-seeding (if the plant spreads a little too vigorously in the garden) and
• prolong the life of short lived perennials by helping the plants to conserve energy used to produce seed and
• improve the appearance of the plant’s foliage.
  
  

Click Here
I got the system designed and delivered from DripWorks and it was all under $300! Simple tools and simple to install. I had the entire thing done in one day. This will be a life saver this year! --Patty Moreno, Host of the The Garden Girl TV website

A Mid-summer Perk up in the Garden

Mulching
Mulching is an essential technique for preventing water stress during the summer heat and reducing the growth of water stealing weeds. If you haven’t already done so, do it now to improve plant health and appearance.. By putting down a 2" layer of mulch around annuals and perennials (and a 3-4" layer around trees and shrubs), you shade the soil around your plants with a cooling, water conserving blanket. Use of natural, plant derived materials (such as composted bark, coarse textured compost, pine needles, bark or wood chips) will also gradually add nutrients and improve drainage and water holding capacity of the soil as the mulch slowly decomposes.

Boost the Soil fertility; Work smart. I always spread a thin layer of Yum Yum Mix natural fertilizer around the plants before laying down the mulch. Microbial activity in the soil is very high in the summer, rapidly breaking down the Yum Yum Mix to give the plants a reviving mid-season nutrient boost!

Nap Time for Oriental Poppies
This group of showy, late spring blooming perennials will be looking really ragged and tattered by this time of the summer. Why? As part of their lifecycle, Papaver orientalis plants go dormant in the heat of summer by shedding their spring foliage. No, they’re not dying, just taking a summer nap. Go ahead and cut off the browning foliage to just above ground level. The leaves will re-sprout as the weather cools off in fall. And don't forget, fall is the best time to plant oriental poppies; this way they will bloom for you next spring!



Learning More about Native Plants
Why this staggering diversity of summer and fall blooming native plants?
It is because many of these perennial plants are native to northern Mexico and the Southwestern states of Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas and southeastern Utah where they are brought into bloom in mid-summer and fall by our “monsoonal” rains (low pressure systems that swirl moisture north from the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico to form massive thunderstorms). Most all of the native species listed above originate from the Southwest. Yet they have proven themselves to be very adaptable and cold hardy, making them useful all across the western US and and eastward (particularly the mid-Atlantic states).