Great Late-Summer Color - perennial flowers in Northern California gardens

Sunset, Sept, 2001 by Sharon Cohoon

Many perennials deliver dazzling blooms late in the season, when Western gardens need them most

"The fullness of late summer and early fall ought to be one of the richest seasons in the garden," says Mary McBride, a horticulturist at Tom Piergrossi Landscape Nursery in Vista, California. But--and this is one of McBride's pet peeves-that's when most gardens look their worst. Summer annuals and vegetables are spent; spring-blooming perennials are growing leggy and are in need of cutting back, This time of year, when the weather is often at its most glorious and we're most inclined to linger outdoors at day's end, what do we see? Hardly a flower.

Don't blame it on Mother Nature, chides McBride. Plenty of perennials peak during this period. Their flowers come mostly in colors with character: Golden yellows that stand up to strong sun now, then later in the season burn like embers under gray skies--gloriosa daisies, coreopsis, and goldenrod, for example, Coppers, rusts, and wine reds that forecast the shades of falling leaves, such as the flowers on Sedum 'Autumn Joy', purple coneflower, or sneezeweed (Helenium) hybrids. And lots of soulful violet blues-asters, Russian sage, salvias, Colorado garden writer Lauren Springer calls this palette of burnished tones and blues "the colors of autumn in America."

Why don't we see these beauties in more gardens? Call it the catch-22 syndrome. If you saw them, you'd want them. But to see them, you have to visit nurseries now--not next spring, If you buy and plant some of the perennials listed here this month, you'll get pleasure from them immediately (on the following pages, we give plans for beds, borders, and pots, as well as a list of champion bloomers for your region). Then, next year, promises McBride, your garden will be even better: "Plants will be twice the size, so you'll get twice the display."

The special joy in planting late-season bloomers is the immediate reward...

...in beds

The bed pictured here, planted in Menlo Park, California, shows what you can still achieve this season. Sunset test garden coordinator Bud Stuckey designed and installed this border late last summer; we photographed it a few weeks later. Since the bed was already shaped and the soil already amended, all we had to do was plant. That took less than three hours. Deciding what we wanted in the border and shopping for the plants took longer. But does anyone really consider that part work?

The free-form bed measures about 22 feet long and 10 to 12 feet wide, and it contains 29 perennials--most purchased as 1-gallon plants. Perfect partners for these late-blooming plants are 11 ornamental grasses (including purple fountain grass), several nandinas, and one spectacular red Japanese maple.

The color scheme is rich yellow and dark red, from plants such as coreopsis, creeping zinnia, 'Garnet' penstemon, pineapple sage, rudbeckia, and yarrow. As an accent, we added a few traces of the cool violet blue of Salvia 'Purple Majesty'.

A single pot can add a splash of color by a path or, for a garden look on a patio, cluster three pots together. Pictured here are five sample plantings, designed by Bud Stuckey, to give you inspiration. Create your own combinations from the listings for your climate on page 116. Use large containers (18 to 24 inches across and as deep) and a good potting mix; buy blooming perennials in gallon cans.

Before planting, put the container where you'll display it, since finished pots can be heavy to move. Fill it about halfway with potting soil, then set the plants, still in their nursery containers, atop the soil--tallest ones in the back or center, lowest ones around the edges, adjusting the design as necessary. Remove the plants from their nursery pots, and plant. Fill in around rootballs with additional soil; firm the soil with your hands, then water.

For Northern California

Unless otherwise noted, all prefer full sun.

* Aster. A. x frikartii 'Monch' is on everyone's top 10 list of lavender blue perennials; plants grow to 2 feet. Sunset climate zones 2e-24. New England aster (A. novae-angliae) has mostly blue flowers. 'Alma Potschke', an old favorite, bears salmon pink blooms, Grows to 3 feet tall. Zones 1-24. Flowers of Michaelmas daisy (A. novi-belgii) come mostly in shades of blue; 'Climax' has true blue flowers. Grows 4 to 6 feet tall. Zones 1-24,

* Boltonia asteroides. Bears white, pink, or blue flowers on plants 5 to 6 feet tall. Zones 1-24.

* Chrysanthemum. Florist's chrysanthemum (C. x morifolium) has flowers in many colors, from rust and wine red to orange and golden yellow. Grows 1 to 6 feet, depending on variety. Zones 2-24. C. x rubellum flowers come in various colors; 'Clara Curtis' is bright, clear pink. Grows 2 feet tall, Zones 1-24.

* Coreopsis. C. Ianceolata bears yellow flowers on plants 1 to 2 feet tall. C. verticillata has yellow, daisy-like blooms; 'Moonbeam' produces pale yellow blooms, Grows 2 to 3 feet tall. Zones 1-24.

* Daylily (Hemerocallis hybrids). Comes in various colors; look for reblooming or late varieties. Takes partial shade in hottest climates. Standard kinds grow 2 1/2 to 4 feet tall. Zones 1-24.