Does fall make you sigh with relief for the cooler temperatures? Do you feel more comfortable when it’s cool and breezy? But maybe you feel pretty glad that the ground is still warm beneath your feet?
That’s basically how your perennials feel (well, except for the feet). But, just like you, perennials enjoy the cooler temperatures and the ground that clings to its summer warmth. Their roots grow fast in warm soil, faster than if they are newly planted in the cold, hard spring ground, which tends to stress them. And those little roots continue to grow all throughout the winter!
It’s the process wildflowers follow. They bloom their mightiest in the summer, and then they “go to seed” and their seeds fall on the warm ground.
Just think: when it’s easiest for you to work the soil, it’s also easiest for the plant to establish itself.
So, as you take some time to enjoy fall, start dreaming about your perennial garden. Here is a tour of what we have right now.
Flowers: Meals for Soon-to-Be Migrating Monarchs
Holly Thorpe from our Garden Center was thinking of monarchs as she stocked fall perennials. She knew hatching monarchs would need nectar before their journey.
Platycodon (Balloon Flower)
Echinacea
Delicious for other pollinators as well!
Heliopsis, Helenium and Coreopsis
Hardy Asters
Salvia
Milkweed
Plus Russian sage, sedum, goldenrod and dappled willow!
Winter Interest
Camellia, Grasses, Red Twig Dogwoods and Heuchera
And Ferns, Glorious Ferns!
* * *
Need help getting started? Stop by our garden center! We’d be glad to answer questions or help you plan!
