Seasonal Celebrations: Autumn 2013

We have a saying here "Fall is the Southerner's reward for surviving summer" and it has readily become my favorite time of year. Not only is the weather cool in the morning, warming up to gorgeous days but it is such a great time to enjoy all the colors and textures found in nature. Trees, shrubs and other perennial plants put on a dazzling show. It is time for acorns and pine cones, pumpkins and gourds, sunflowers and chrysanthemums, corn husks and dried fruit, and buckeye and cloudless sulphur butterflies. And who can't resist jumping in the leaves?

a view into our woodland garden taken fall

This year we are celebrating fall in our garden by tackling some major landscaping projects. The cooler temperatures certainly make the strenuous labor more tolerable.
This summer we expanded our front stoop and added a retaining wall to break up the slope in the front of the house. I always felt that the front entry was not very welcoming and over the years the shrubbery (which always needed pruning, a chore I hate doing) enclosed the area and the crape myrtle became too large for the space. This front bed is a good example of bad builder landscaping...sterile and always in need of maintenance.

Here is the entry before:

And here is the entry after.

I am really pleased with how it turned out and we use our front door so much more now! I am excited to decorate this area for the holiday seasons but for the remaining summer season I added a bench and pots.

One of the most important lessons I learned when I became a Master Gardener was that fall is the best time to plant. The soil is nice and warm and the cooler temperatures and increased rainfall allow perennials to establish themselves before they retire for the winter.  I held off landscaping the beds that shape this area so that we wouldn't have to continually water the new plants. Little did I know that we would have rain all summer long!
As you can see there is a significant slope on the left side broken by the new retaining wall. I want to use mostly native plants but these beds get full afternoon sun so I am finding it somewhat challenging to come up with some evergreens and structural natives that will provide winter interest. I would be very interesting in suggestions. The remaining shrubbery in the photo will all be coming out so I have a blank canvas from which to work.

Once we decide on the landscape plan it will be time to shop for plants. This upcoming Friday and Saturday is the Hall County Master Gardener Fall Garden Expo. Vendors from all over the Southeast come to sell their plants and garden art. It is a one stop shopping extravaganza. Our event includes door prizes and informational seminars where experts share their gardening knowledge. If you are in the area please come out and see us!
Since Fall is my favorite time of year to plant it goes to reason that it is the best time to attend plant sales. Another local plant sale I am attending is the Bluestems and Bluejeans Native Plant Sale at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia. (Note: Two other fabulous Fall events to add to the calendar for next year are: the Georgia Native Plant Society fall plant sale and the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park.)

(Click on the links to get event details)

I will definitely be celebrating when this bed gets planted.

This hill garden is on the lower side of the retaining wall. We began planting it last fall and early this spring. All the plants we chose are here to serve pollinators. Most of them are native with the exception of a few. This fall we will continue to incorporate wildlife friendly plants. Our future plans include adding steps from the path that runs in front of the retaining wall down to the path on the left side of the bed which leads to the back woodland garden.

 (fall blooming plants include goldenrod, ironweed, joe pye weed, purple coneflowers, beebalm, Georgia asters)

Another Fall project is installing a dry creek bed in this area of our side garden. When we get heavy rains, as we did this summer, there is a lot of water flow and wash out here.

After all this work I am sure we will welcome the winter to relax and recuperate and look forward to spring to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

I am joining Seasonal Celebrations at Gardens Eye View. There is still time to join in. A summary of all the posts will be available on the Equinox (September 22nd).