FALL COLOR FOR YOUR LANDSCAPE
Monday, October 06, 2014 | The Greenery, Inc.
Blog Post by Miles Graves, The Greenery, Operations Manager
This time of year our landscapes may be looking a little tired. Our summer was very hot and we had plenty of heavy afternoon rain storms. Annual flowers have completed their cycle, are producing seed and are on their last leg. Pinestraw and mulch is heavily weatherd and lost much of its color. Additionally, our area does not have a great deal of trees with beautiful fall leaf color. So what can we do to spruce-up our landscape this fall?
Mums are the normal flower everyone seems to rely on for the additional color they desire. While mums are good plants and have some wonderful colors, there are many more options out there. Many growers produce late crops of spring and summer flowers that will perform well for us up until a heavy frost. Plants such as Marigolds, Geraniums and Salvia are flowering summer annuals that you can find at retail outlets. There are also foliage plants such as Crotons and Coleus. You can even use permanent landscape plants such as Ginger Lilly, Stromathe and Dianella to really give your landscape some great color.
Another option to add some color to your landscape takes a little planning. Selecting permanent tree, shrub and vince species that have fall blooming sequences can add that pop you are looking for. Trees such as Pistachio, Chinese Flame and Japanese maple can give you some wonderful foliage color. These may be hard to find, but a good local garden center should carry them of be willing to order them for you.
If you just can’t find the time to do any of these things, then you may want to just put out a fresh application of pinestraw or mulch. It does wonders to refresh a landscape’s look. Be careful to not build up mulch on the base of plants as it causes disease and insect issues. We suggest using natural materials that readily breakdown and contribute much needed organic matter to the soil. This is especially vital in Sun City where our soils are so bad.
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