Garden Splash of Fall Colors
Fall sneaks its way in here at Ocean Shores as nighttime temps dip into the 40s. It’s still dry though and will generally stay dry through September and sometimes into October. We even have a promise of crisp, sunny, dry fall days. I’m writing this on one of those perfect days that show off the best of our little seaside town. Oh, those lovely fall colors — oranges, yellows, whites, a few greens, and reds as well. See them all here, before the rains of winter set in.
Look for chrysanthemums, calla lilies, dianthus (carnations,) echinacea (coneflowers), rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), sweet alyssum, tagetes (marigolds), or nasturtiums. All these are fall bloomers or re-bloomers that manage our marine climate well.
All except chrysanthemums are listed as deer resistant (although the deer in my yard didn’t get the message as they chowed down on my dianthus until I repotted them and moved them up onto my deck.) I haven’t tried zinnias, but the deer didn’t show any interest in any of the others, so I can vouch for them — at least for the last few seasons. (We need to add to that list the Ocean Shores deer resistant standbys of fall and winter bloomers: lavenders and heathers, which you can see these days too.)
Chrysanthemums are the quintessential late summer/fall flower. There are over 160 species in a huge variety of colors and forms. They make a great cut flower, add color and texture to containers, fill in holes left by end of season flowers in your garden, and of course make classic corsages for fall events. They are easy to grow (but more difficult to get prizewinning forms and sizes that you’ll see if you purchase a pot of them now). I’ve never been satisfied with my own chrysanthemum green thumb, so I just wait for them to come in at the nurseries and keep them on my deck for the season.
In just the last two seasons I have discovered calla lilies (also called zantedeschia or simply callas.) Although you can get them in yellows, oranges, pinks, maroons, and even black (I currently have all of these in my yard garden), the huge white ones grow especially well around here and in Aberdeen. Plant them fall through early spring (for blooms NEXT fall) either in moist to boggy soil or in pots in sun or light shade. You will be delighted with long lasting end of summer to fall blooms.
Dianthuses are especially great for their spicy carnation scent and clear red, pink or white color. Most garden directions say to plant them directly in the ground and not to worry about their becoming deer or rabbit salad due to their strong scent. But as I noted, mine did better in containers kept on my deck away from the deer, and where I could more easily control their water supply. From November on I found our rains a little too much for those planted in the open away from the protective cover of my deck. And besides that, I loved the scent as it wafted into my bedrooms, especially in the evenings.
The others, echinacea (coneflowers), rudbeckia (black-eyed Susans), sweet alyssum, tagetes (marigolds) and nasturtiums, are easily planted in the spring in the ground or in containers and all of them do a pretty good job of confounding the deer. The perennial echinacea and rudbeckia took over as my tall daisies were giving way and joined the daisies in providing permanent continuous flowers that I don’t need to worry about anymore. The lovely, little white sweet alyssums began blooming in late spring and are still covering bald spots in the garden.
Tagetes or marigolds come in a huge variety of color, shape, size and bloom times. All are long lived. Most are reseeding annuals that reappear in the garden each year. Mine this year began blooming in spring and are still vibrant and bright. A bonus is that their harsh scent helps to keep down aphids and other garden nasties.
Nasturtiums are annuals that are best replanted each year. They also keep garden invader bugs at bay, and if you clean them well, they make a colorful and peppery addition to fall salads. You can keep them blooming longer by dead-heading the spent blooms. You can get seed packages that are mixed, or like I did get packs of single colors. I have brilliant red and a pale yellow, but my neighbors have a bright yellow and one that is close to black.
If you haven’t planted any of these flowers last spring (their normal planting time), you can get many of them potted, in bloom and ready to plant out in your garden or grace containers for your deck.
Check out Garden by the Sea, Ocean Shores community garden, behind Galilean Church at 824 Ocean Shores Boulevard where you will find a productive maritime community garden and enthusiastic, experienced gardeners to share information, inspiration, and garden stories with. For questions, comments about this article, gardening in general or to share your gardening experiences, please email Info@GardenByTheSeaOceanShores.org
This article was originally printed in The Ocean Observer, September 2021.
