When planning out your landscape, don’t overlook elements for winter and fall interest.
Autumn is a time of great change as it augurs the slowing of the cycle of the seasons: the bounty of summer’s golden light sweetens into fruit and seed; green leaves that so eagerly caught the sun begin to reflect the reds and golds of senescence; the lush growth of spring and summer shows its desire to return to the earth. Then, the cold months of ice take hold, the realm of plants begins to sleep… and the bounty of water we hopefully receive waits to spur the growth of plants anew, as soon as winter departs.
Leaf it be
While many think of spring and summer as the best season to enjoy nature and the garden, there is a great – and often missed – opportunity for interest in the fall and winter months. For instance, it is common practice to cut back one’s garden in fall, just before winter, and while this might be appropriate, it is not the ideal time to perform the garden’s annual haircut.
Instead, wait until spring! Right around March, plan on cutting back your herbaceous plants to the ground. In the meantime, not only will the plants have a greater chance of overwintering with minimal damage, but cutting back plants in fall will deprive us of the show that the winter garden can provide. Additionally, many beneficial insects and other wildlife depend upon shelter and forage to get them through winter, so our gardens can provide a home and a food source for the other beings that need it.
Fall Interest: More than leaves
Most people anticipate the fiery blaze of fall foliage, but don’t forget all of the autumnal flowers, fruits, and seeds that can just as easily entrance the eye. There are many perennials, and even some trees and shrubs, that bloom their best in fall: monkshood, anemone, chrysanthemums, dwarf plumbago are just a few of the best fall-flowering perennials; and there are the trees, like Seven-Son Flower that blooms with fragrant white blossoms starting in September.
Some plants will have showy fruits or seeds that can persist well into winter, plants such as Hawthorns, Crabapples, Goldenrain trees, coneflowers, snowberries, and many ornamental grasses. There are many bright red fruits that persist into winter, lending a holiday feeling during a cold, dark season. Birds have evolved to be experts at spotting this small, red gem – after all, it’s there to attract them! Robins, cedar waxwings, and others will be very grateful to find forage on your plants.
Fall Interest: Texture
In fall, plants can express nearly every color of the rainbow, but more commonly found are the warmer tones of red, orange, and yellow. In winter, plants previously cloaked in greens may be rendered into tans, hazels, and nutty browns – not part of the typical palette of a “pretty” garden, sure – but nonetheless they are tones we should find room to embrace, for they can be just as rich and expressive as a summer garden, albeit more subtle in their beauty.
Texture is an undervalued trait that sees its heyday in winter, as there is less distraction in the form of vibrant color. Grasses are especially valuable for winter texture and movement. Grass sways gracefully in the wind, and its fine texture can contrast beautifully with a sheer blanket of snow. Switchgrasses, grama grasses, maidengrasses, and bluestems all have showy seeds that can persist through winter. Some grasses also have stunning fall foliage!
Fall is for Planting
Fall is also an excellent time to consider planting: the weather becomes more mild, we receive more precipitation, and the stress of transplanting is therefore somewhat reduced. By planting in fall, we can avoid the worst of the summer heat. However, we still need to plan for winter. Our snow is famous across the country – if we get any! We live in the second-driest state, and we don’t always receive reliable winter precipitation, so plants can dry out over the winter! As soon as your irrigation system is off, plan on watering with a bucket of water. For new plants, watering at least once a month during the winter season is recommended. Evergreen plants, in particular, still lose water, even when it is cold out. This becomes less of a concern once your plants are established.
Plants with Fall Interest
Here are a few plants with particularly noteworthy fall and winter interest:
- Sumac (Rhus species): Stunning fall color in reds, oranges, yellows. Three-leaf sumac even develops some purple tones. Red fruit can persist through winter.
- Dogwood shrubs (Cornus stolonifera, sericea, alba): Deep red foliage and stems that glow with bright red or yellow, becoming more vibrant in response to cold temperatures.
- Bigtooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum): Salmon-pink to orange, one of the first trees to color up along the Wasatch Mountains. ‘Mesa Glow’ turns reliably strawberry-red in fall. Samaras twinkle in the wind in winter.
- Crabapple (Malus species): Orange-red fall color; red or golden fruit that persists into winter, making very valuable forage for many bird species. Hawthorns (Crataegus species) fulfill many of the same roles, while also having thorns – these attributes, however, provide shelter and protection for birds when they can’t hide in foliage.
- Coneflower (Echinacea species): Can flower well into fall. Large cones provide shape and texture through winter. Seed-eating birds love these. Additionally, stems provide a home through winter for many beneficial insect species. Many perennials can provide shelter for bugs through winter – don’t cut them all back to the ground in fall!
- Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum): Fantastic fall color, ranging through purple, red, orange, and/or yellow, depending on the cultivar. Seedheads are light and airy, providing winter texture and forage for wildlife. Many grasses have plumes which can persist through winter. They also make for excellent cut arrangements if harvested before ripe.
Fall and winter offer a chance to reconsider some of the standards by which gardens are typically measured. With an emphasis on seasonal colors and textures and forms, they can help us find ways to extend our appreciation of the gardens we work so hard to create.
