Designing Fall Flower Beds

Do you know that fall is the best time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials? It’s true! For show-stopping color in the garden, annuals are the most colorful and longest lasting (for that season). The key to designing a beautiful annual bed is to limit the color theme to two or three colors, with an even balance of flower shapes, textures and heights. Adding a few evergreen plants will anchor the bed and give your bed additional interest throughout the year. Put your tallest plants in the back or center of the bed and gradually reduce the size of your plants as you work your way to the front of the bed, making certain the smallest plants are in the front.

Once you have your bed prepared, place your plants (in the plastic containers you bought them in) in the planned areas until you come up with a design you like (make sure to leave room for the plants to grow!). Once your design is in place, plant away!

We have come up with a design for a fall flower garden, which follows a red, white and yellow theme. Feel free to use this garden plan in its entirety or simply use it to get ideas from. Note that this garden includes some special surprises for early spring, when most of us are anxious for a little color!

How to Prepare a Flower Bed
Outline the shape of your bed using a garden hose, adjusting as you go to ensure a shape you like. Try to keep your bed between 3 feet to 4 feet in width; doing so will make it easier for you to tend to the garden later (weeding, etc.). Dig a trench around the outline, to a depth of approximately 6 inches; Use this dirt to help raise the center of the bed. The soil in the bed needs to be at least 6 inches above the ground level. You must amend the soil with topsoil, compost, manure or soil conditioner to improve the soil quality to ensure success of the new plants. If you have clay soil, you should use Permatil to allow for better air circulation and to help with drainage. This will also prevent voles from attacking the root systems of the new plants. Smooth soil surface when you have all of the soil in place. Finally, you can start planting. Remember to slightly break apart the root ball (tease the roots) before planting.

Fertilizing
When planting trees or shrubs, you should use Bio-tone Starter Plus. This is an all natural plant food with beneficial bacteria that helps plants establish faster, promotes deeper roots, better blooms and helps to improve the overall soil structure.

For bulbs, Bulb-tone is an organic blend developed especially for bulbs and tubers. It conditions the soil and adds vital feeding nutrients to promote prize winning beauty and healthy growth.

Ferti-lome Premium Pansy Food will keep your pansies, bedding plants and perennials happy and healthy all winter long.

Fairview’s Favorite Fall Plants

Annuals: A plant that completes its life cycle in one year or less. They die back after first frost.
Asparagus Fern, Celosia, Marigolds, Coleus, Dusty Miller, Zinnia
Pansies & Violas: Winter annuals that last from fall to late spring.
Snapdragons: Blooms in fall, dies in winter, comes back in spring.
Ornamental Veggies: Winter annuals that last through spring. They include cabbage, kale, mustard greens and pak choi.

Perennials: Depending on the plant, perennials usually come back every year or every other year.
Asters, Mums, Ajuga, Chrysanthemum Pacifica, Solidago, Nipon Daisy, Rudbeckia, Icicles, Autumn Joy, Leadwort

Deciduous Trees & Shrubs: Lose their leaves in cooler months.
Knock Out Roses, Spiraea, Burning Bush, Japanese Maple, Plum Trees

Evergreen: Maintain their leaves/foliage during the cooler months.
Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, Creeping Raspberry, Acorus, Mondo, Liriope Grass, Carex Grass, Sedum, Camellias, Gardenias, Sky Pencil Holly, Alberta Spruce, Ligustrum, Heuchera, Creeping Jenny, Azalea, Nandina

Bulbs for Early Spring Color: Tulips, Daffodils, Hyacinth, Iris & Crocus

Good Luck!
Pegi R., Greenhouse