Fall Color in the Garden

Have you ever noticed that autumn seems to have her own color palette? From the golden yellow leaves dotting the trees to the rich, dark purple berries hanging off the trees on the edge of the woods, fall’s palette is rich, deep and strong.

I’m enjoying the annual display of garden mums now. The bright pink daisy mums with the yellow centers are from plants purchased at the Cooperative Extension’s spring plant sale back in 2010. I bought a small 4″ pot and it’s turned into an enormous mum that people sometimes mistake for a shrub. Next to it, the smaller dark pink colored pom pom mums from Lowe’s, now in its third year in the garden, seems small by comparison.

I’ve still got zinnias blooming and marigolds, but most of the other annuals and perennials are finished. That doesn’t matter much now, as the understory trees crouched below the loblolly pines flanking the garden are all beginning their transition. Looking out from my office windows towards the garden is like looking at an impressionist’s painting, as if a master swirled a brush daubed in ochre, crimson, and burn sienna across the back of the canvas.

Even the vegetable garden gets into the act at this time of year. Have you ever noticed that fall vegetables are also richly colored?  I’ve got acorn squash, with dark hunter green skins and rich golden flesh, butternut squash, and many hued cabbages coming into their own now.

I love fall for its color.  I especially love Virginia’s fall season. It lingers longer than I thought it would. I thought the south would be low in color in the fall but boy was I mistaken.

What’s blooming in your fall garden?