Symbols of Fall in the Garden

All the telltale signs of fall are upon us. The leaves are beginning their changes and one of the first to highlight the season is the sassafras. It’s a beautiful fast growing native tree here in Tennessee and as you can see sets up the wild areas of our yard with some fiery color.

But leaves aren’t the only signs of fall in the landscape. Flats of pansies are beginning to arrive. Well one flat. I buy pansies when they reach the discount rack simply because I refuse to spend much money on something the deer or rabbits are likely to munch for dinner.  I’m also experimenting with taking a few pansy cuttings to see if I can increase my pansy population.

Of course you know you are well into fall when the goldenrod is almost finished blooming.

And we can’t forget about the mums in bloom either. These red ones are bursting with color along our front sidewalk. I have to confess – I never did the periodic trimming you are supposed to do on mums over the season. I just let them go – I know, I’m just completely wild, reckless, and dangerous!

Here they are in their natural surroundings. On the left the basil is still thriving despite the frost the other day. It’s a spicy globe basil which seems to hold up better against the cold. The nandina that saved my garage from my lawnmower is on the right along with some densiformis yew. 

The berries are looking good too! The pyracantha berries are turning a bright orange. Unfortunately the birds have already devoured the blue viburnum berries – they sure don’t last long!