To get into the Halloween spirit, pick up a decorative pot of Physalis alkekengi, a.k.a. liv’n lantern, Chinese lantern plant, strawberry ground cherry or bladder cherry, from your local nursery. Similar to tomatillos, this plant produces showy paper-like husks that wrap around ripening fruit – and in the case of P. alkekengi, they turn from green to bright orange, just in time … [Read more...] about Physalis alkekengi: 4 facts about this decorative fall plant
Fall
‘The Fairy’ rose keeps on blooming
My garden hasn’t had a frost yet, but it certainly is coming in the next two weeks. This is when I begin looking around to see what might keep blooming, despite a few nights of light frost. Any plants that can keep showing a flower into November are well worth having in duplicates. Of the three plants that keep blooming well into November in my Zone 6a garden, the most … [Read more...] about ‘The Fairy’ rose keeps on blooming
Gaura and goldenrod: An autumn marriage
Last spring, I bought three pots of ‘Blushing Butterflies’ gaura (Gaura lindheimeri ‘Blushing Butterflies’, 24 x 18 inches / 60 x 45 cm, Zone 6), a compact cultivar with clouds of soft pink flowers and darker stamens. This short, bushy plant has a long blooming season, more flowers than foliage and is perfect for containers. Gaura is borderline hardy in my Zone 6a garden, and … [Read more...] about Gaura and goldenrod: An autumn marriage
Best fertilizer for lawn in autumn
The cool nights and mild days of early autumn are just what grass needs to repair itself from the strains of a long growing season that began last April. This is the time to look in garden centres for bags of autumn turf fertilizer, and October is the month to get it spread across the lawn. If I’m able to fertilize the grass only once a season, autumn is the most crucial time, … [Read more...] about Best fertilizer for lawn in autumn
Ornamental grasses in bloom
I’m glad to have both roses and ornamental grasses in the front garden, where they continue to bloom and prolong the seasonal display. It never occurred to me that they would possibly be most appreciated in autumn, when so many other perennials and shrubs are finished blooming. The one rose shrub is fluorescent red Double Knock Out, back in bloom now that the Japanese beetles … [Read more...] about Ornamental grasses in bloom
