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Looking for fall color in unusual places

October 29, 2019

I might whine about winter and therefore autumn, which is guilty by association, but last weekend we had one of those magical fall days. The sun was bright and warm, the sky was that deep sapphire blue you only see in the last quarter of the year and every bit of foliage seemed to be doing its best to outshine the leaves next to it. 

It was enough to make this fall-begrudging gardener admit that autumn maybe isn’t so bad after all. While I was cranking through some garden cleanup, I took note of how many plants looked beautiful dressed for fall that are not known for their fall color.

We expect vivid autumnal hues from trees like maples and in fact many people plant them for that reason alone. Acer japonicum ‘Acontifolium’ is the star of the entire yard this time of year. I’m so thankful I had the smarts to plant it in full view of the living room window.

Acer Acontifolium

But that maple wouldn’t look nearly as good without its supporting cast. This beech tree is my favorite tree in our yard and its leaves are golden this year, pausing long enough to enjoy the color before they move on to the less appealing brown I usually see. 

Beech tree

Speaking of golden, let’s just take a moment to talk about hostas. Why don’t people talk about the great fall color that some hostas develop? I think these are ‘Blue Angel’ hostas (they were some of the first plants I plunked in the ground here and I, of course, failed to label them). Yes, I know they will be mush soon, but all those beautiful tree leaves will be on the ground soon too. Nothing could compel me to cut these back early.

hosta fall color

hosta fall color

And then there is the fiery orange of Glow Girl birchleaf spirea (immortalized in this rather gushing post). It is positively unbeatable.

spirea glow girl

I’m not sure how to describe the deep maroon color of Viburnum plicatum ‘Mariesii’, but they line up like little soldiers on the branches, standing out against the gold hues of the woods behind them. 

I guess I can admit that I’ll never remember the name of the shrub on the right, below. The name of it comes and goes for me (and I’m going to go back and edit this post as soon as it comes back), but its shiny leaves in a range of colors from faded lime to yellow with blushed tips is a great juxtaposition to the beautiful but deadly Aconitum aka monkshood beyond.

The monkshood wins my award for the most unusual fall color, but you can’t deny that the blueish-purple flowers were meant to be in the sea of sunny fall hues. The climbing hydrangea is turning bright yellow now and it really couldn’t be better.The Hydrangea petiolaris growing on the north side of the garage is much later to show show color than this one, which receives much more sun at this time of year.

The most unexpected fall color I found over the weekend was this bouquet of beautiful dahlias, some of which were still going strong at the end of October, an unusual occurrence that made me love that beautiful autumn day even more.

fall dahlia bouquet

climbing hydrangea dahlia fall fall color monkshood
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
8 Comments

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Comments

  1. Deborah Makarios says: October 29, 2019 at 6:14 pm

    Gorgeous! The beech, the viburnum – wow.
    We don’t get so much autumn colour here in New Zealand as the vast majority of native species are evergreen…but I do have a Japanese maple in my garden and honestly, it’s beautiful three seasons out of four. (Winter…not so much.)

    Reply
    • Elaine says: October 29, 2019 at 10:40 pm

      Oh I love my monkshood!! But so hard to find ideal location for them! Where do you have success?

      Reply
      • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: November 17, 2019 at 11:06 pm

        Mostly sunny, well draining-soil. I think the well-draining soil may be the key. They seem to work in a lot of place for me.

        Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: November 17, 2019 at 11:06 pm

      I lived in New Zealand for a year and saw some Japanese maples that were all stunning. And the native fauna is so beautiful!

      Reply
  2. Rhonda Bunn says: October 29, 2019 at 8:56 pm

    So pretty. I love this!! Fall is so beautiful all the way around.

    Reply
  3. Julie Culshaw says: October 30, 2019 at 7:31 am

    I agree totally with you about climbing hydrangea. I first met this vine in Nova Scotia where it grows so well, in one case completely covering a three- storey house on the north side. When it flowers, it is incredible to see. I have planted one here in Ontario, now in second year of slow start, but I look forward to its covering the deck.

    Reply
    • Erin @ The Impatient Gardener says: November 17, 2019 at 11:05 pm

      That is going to be beautiful once it gets going.

      Reply
  4. Francesca says: November 18, 2019 at 2:24 pm

    Brilliant blog. Your photos are gorgeous and your enthusiasm is contagious. Lovely how you’ve included colours we might not usually associate with autumn too. Oranges and purples work well together.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Have I mentioned that Hydrangea serrata is trying very hard to become my favorite hydrangea? This is @pwcolorchoice Tiny Tuff Stuff and I do treat the soil to try to blue it up. This gradient effect was nothing I intended but I just loved how it turned out. Hardy, small in stature, beautiful blooms, it really does tick a lot of boxes. 

#tinytuffstuff #mountainhydrangea #hydrangeaserrata
My pre-sprouting sweet peas are already starting to presprout, which means bouquets like this are in the cards once again. I’m working on a sweet pea growing guide. I know some of you are way ahead of me but I’ll try to cover all the things so even if you’ve already got them going it may help. Side note: Damn that’s a pretty little bouquet. 

#sweetpeas #lathyrusodoratus #growyourownflowers
I’m really determined to have a good rose year. I go back and forth on having these in the garden. No matter what anyone else says, I do find them to be more work than other plants in our climate. But then I see this (Alnwick rose) and I get all melty and think, “Yep, totally worth it.”

#davidaustinroses #alnwickrose
A year ago today (sort of ... it was Feb. 29) we were fortunate to have @fergusmustafasabrigarrett and @nickmccland come to Wisconsin to talk gardening and drink old-fashioneds. I think it was the last big event for most of us. At least we locked down on a good note.

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