By Lorraine Kiefer There was a frost last night — Oct. 18. That seems a bit early to me, but then this is different every year. The hours of daylight get shorter each day and we watch for leaves to color and drop. Remember, they are compost waiting to happen. Either rake them under trees and shrubs in natural borders or pile them...
By Lorraine Kiefer
There was a frost last night -- Oct. 18. That seems a bit early to me, but then this is different every year. The hours of daylight get shorter each day and we watch for leaves to color and drop. Remember, they are compost waiting to happen.
Either rake them under trees and shrubs in natural borders or pile them in rings of chicken wire with grass clippings, kitchen scraps and a layer of manure or fertilizer, which helps to compost them quicker. Run over oak leaves with a lawn mower to break them into smaller pieces. In nature leaves decay and make soil, they are the only food wild flowers and woodland trees and shrubs use.
There are still some perennials in bloom, especially those that are reblooming because they were cut back in mid summer. I am surprised that there are still red monarda blooms, but we cut the dead ones off in mid July. Black-eyed Susan's and coreopsis are showing color a second time around and so are the butterfly bushes. Not sure if this frost got them yet.
Firethorn is an evergreen plant that is easy to grow and provides seasonal interest and berries. My favorite late fall color is found in berries. The pyracantha or firethorn is bright orange, a real autumn treat. I love to use these in flower arrangements and to place around pumpkins used for centerpieces. The pair of blue birds that sometimes nests in our garden gobble them up and friends tell me their bluebirds love the pyracantha berry too. I do know that cardinals are fond of nesting in these very protective shrubs. They need almost full sun to do well and look really great against a brown, beige, green or white building. They also will make a nice privacy hedge and if allowed to grow naturally they look awesome.
Firethorn is an evergreen plant that is easy to grow and provides seasonal interest and berries. They do well in full and part sun. Although they will adapt to a dry situation a good soaking every few weeks will make for a better looking plant with more berries. Constant wet soil is not good and may promote disease. Moderate feeding in early spring is good for them. If you need to cut them back do so before they bloom with that year's berries. I often trim the berries to use in arrangements and this is perfect. Firethorn is hardy in our area, but a light mulch over the winter is a good measure to take.
A little used, but very easy to grow, native plant is Aronia or chokeberry. It is so very hardy and colorful. A deciduous shrub it is usually about 4-5 feet of height. It might grow a bit taller if in rich, moist soil but will adapt to almost any soil type. The beautiful white blooms in spring produces profuse red or black fruits in fall as well as excellent red fall color foliage. Aronia has the most flowers and fruits. The bright red fruit of the red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) is another good source of winter food for birds late in the winter.
Most fruits or berries in not only look pretty in your garden but they also attract birds. Bluebirds. finches, game birds, mockingbirds, thrushes, waxwings, cardinals, woodpeckers and many others relish them.
Another colorful native shrub that is among my very favorite is the deciduous holly called winterberry (ilex verticillata). These shrubs lose their leaves following the frost. This seasonal change however reveals outrageously beautiful red (or orange) berries.
The most handsome stand of winterberry is across the creek and only accessible by canoe (For years when our sons were growing up they would take turns on wintry days paddling a canoe over so I could precariously lean over into the shrubs and cut branches for Christmas wreaths and arrangements! Luckily we never capsized. ) Now we planted them along this side of the stream, as well as in our other gardens.
By the looks of the ample berry crop the bees are bringing lots of pollen from the nearby swamps, even to the gold berried shrub out by Delsea drive that is planted in a low, damp spot near the old swamp maple in our driveway.) Although they often grow near a stream in the wild, these plants adapt well to most any garden situation as long as they are watered well during a dry spell. These are one of my very favorite winter plants as the colorful berries last long into late winter, giving beautiful color to the garden. I pick bushels of them here, at my son's nursery in Greenwich and at friends nursery in Millville. We use all of these piles of branches in our fresh floral arrangements, wreaths, swags and vases.
Also, there are witch hazels (Hamamelis) that have flaming fall colors and unusual blooms from late January to March. These are really a nice shrub to have for both fall color and winter bloom. There are also other plants that are often underused.
Visit an arboretum and make a list of plants with great fall and winter color. From variegated or gold or blue evergreens, to red twigs and berries or brilliant leaves. They all add beauty to your garden. Watch for our wreath and arrangement classes that use these berries in all in November and December. Email garden questions to lorrainekiefer@gmail.com or visit tripleoaks.com.
Lorraine Kiefer is the owner and operator of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville. She can also be reached by e-mail at Lorraine@tripleoaks.
