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Autumn berries bring color as well as birds
Grasses are in their glory in fall; conifers are filled with cones to provide next year's seeds
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Just as each homeowner has a different taste in home decor, each gardener has a different esthetic in landscape design. Some gardeners focus on a riot of colorful flowers and others on its symmetry and very formal greenery. Still others insist that their garden never be boring, no matter what the season of the year.
Autumn color
If you fall into this latter group, then come autumn you want your garden to be as beautiful and interesting now as it was in spring. There are many other ways to bring color and texture into the garden September through November.
Late blooming flowers — like black-eyed Susans and Montauk daisies — are always nice, as are colorful mums. Rose hips, especial from Rosa rugosa, are an intense red/orange color at maturity. Burning bush (Euonymus alatus) with its intense red leaves in October and November is eye catching, especially if more than one has been planted as a hedge.
Berries
I particularly like shrubs that are filled with berries in the autumn. If you choose your shrubs carefully you can have a rainbow of colorful berries.
• Viburnum. There are over 150 different species of viburnum, blooming and bearing fruit at different times of the growing season. Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur' has white blooms in spring and by late summer giant clusters of blue-black berries. Viburnum Blue Muffin (Viburnum dentatum or "Christom") also has blue berries which last into winter. Blue Muffin has the added advantage for the small garden of reaching just 4 feet tall and wide while other viburnum can reach two or three times that height. Viburnum grows well in full sun or part shade.
• Dogwood. Dogwood bears flowers in spring, to be followed later in summer by berries which tend to be a bright red color in autumn. Check the variety of dogwood you choose carefully. Cornus florida is more prone to anthracnose that Cornus kousa.
• Callicarpa. Beauty berry bush, Callicarpa, produces small iridescent purple berries in fall which last into winter, assuming that the birds don't eat them. The shrub generally grows 3 to 5 feet in height and bears small whitish flowers in late spring to early summer. There is just no other berry like it.
• Holly. While holly's red berries are stunning, don't forget that there is also a variety with yellow berries, also very striking in the garden.
While some holly plants are small, others will grow to the size of a small tree. Some varieties of holly are either male or female. If you want the beautiful red (or yellow) berries, you need to make sure that you have both male and female plants. Among holly, the male plant is usually smaller than the female. This is a useful piece of information to know if you need a small plant.
• Pyracantha. Firethorn, or pyracantha has beautiful orange or red berries in fall. The somewhat upright shrub must be used with caution as it does have very nasty thorns on it. Don't plant near children's play area, pools or walkways. The shrub is a slow grower but can eventually reach a height of 10 to 15 feet tall and nearly as wide. An evergreen, it makes a great impenetrable barrier.
Other garden interest
To add other interest to your autumn garden consider the following:
• Conifers. In autumn, conifers are developing the new cones which will provide the mature seeds for the tree. Expect the cones to be green in autumn, turning brown over the winter.
• Ornamental grasses are in their glory in fall as well and are stunning covered in snow or ice come wintertime.
Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener Program, call 727-7850.
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