My favorite part of Fall gardening? Planning for next year. It's the ideal time to break apart and transplant perennials, plant bulbs for next spring and fill in any gaps that we had over the summer.
The gardens this summer looked better than ever. A mix of colors and textures, tall plants in the back and short ones in the front. Things have filled in nicely for the most part and I'm really happy with how everything looks.
There are a few gaps though. Some things died (Morgan, winter, etc.) and some things just haven't filled in as much as I expected. I had a list of things I wanted to transplant and a few things I wanted to buy to fill things in. A friend took me to this amazing discount nursery a couple weeks ago that had HUGE fully grown gallon plants for $2.50 each. It was awesome and worth the long drive. I have several things on my spring wish list I want to go back for.
My shopping list:
1. 2 asters for under the dogwood tree (backyard) and fringe tree (front yard)
I had only one under each tree before and it was unbalanced because everything else was phlox. Now it's a nice balance of spring and fall blooms and should look great next year when things come back and continues to fill in - especially under the fringe tree.
Front yard fringe tree - ignore the power cord, we decorated for Halloween over the weekend...
Backyard dogwood tree - the new aster really blends well with the existing phlox and aster, and it flows nicely into Matt's little garden.
2. Another hosta for under the red bud tree, with variegated stripes
There's a gap where the huechera died, and only hostas seem to thrive here.S o I decided to make do with what works best (more hostas), but I wanted a variegated/striped variety for a little more visual interest. There are two here, one is from earlier this summer - this should fill in next year.
3. A blanket flower for the front yard in front of the boxwood
I planted a balloon flower seedling here in the spring, but it diedb. There's a gap in front of the shrub, a perfect spot for a low flowering perennial to bring in some more color. I love what we planted here (lots of evergreens), but sometimes it feels too green and needs more color. These bright blanket flowers do really well elsewhere in our yard and brings a much needed pop of color.
4. An echinachea/cone flower for the gap next to the black eyed susans in the backyard
There's a gap here that never filled in when I redid the garden beds, it needs something easy to grow. This spot is part sun, part shade due to the red bud tree and fence. Hopefully this is just what this spot needs.
5. Tulip and daffodil bulbs
They are so pretty in clusters, I want to add more. They bring so much joy in the spring.
Of course the only thing better than discount plants are free plants - aka splitting perennials I already have. I have some other gaps that can easily and nicely be filled in with things we already have, established perennials that can easily be split this month when the weather cools down.
Transplant list:
1. Phlox for in front of the thuja/boxwood in the front yard, transplanted from under the fringe tree where the aster went.
So this is just a transplant, not a split, when I made room for the aster under the fringe tree in the front yard. But a phlox (+ a couple other low perennials down the line) will bring a much needed layer of flowers to our front yard landscaping that's lacking color for most of the growing season (when the astilbe and azaleas bloom it's quite pretty, but it's over way too fast).
I also have a globe amaranth planted up front near the phlox, but it didn't take off like the one in the backyard did (see red globe flowers at the beginning of this post for the backyard version) and never bloomed. I hope it comes back next year because I think it will be very pretty here. There are more spots to fill in along the evergreen bushes, but it's a good start on adding more color.
2. Sweet autum sedum between my hydrangea and peony in the backyard
There has been a gap here since I redid the garden beds, I planted to hydrangea and the peony too far apart. I thought they would fill in, but they never did, so now I need something tall in between them to fill it in. I think the sweet autumn sedum will bring a nice variation in color and texture here.
3. Sweet autum sedum behind the black eyed susans in a gap
I planted irises back here, but they aren't doing well. or filling in. Just two little sprouts. Maybe I'm being impatient, but I don't like having the hanging basket here to keep Morgan out of the gap (where there's a gap, there's a temptation to jump the fence and bark at the neighbor's dogs, which leads to crushed plants around the gap). I think a fall blooming perennial will compliment the irises.
4. Bleeding heart in a shade garden gap
I have a bleeding heart transplant in the shade garden already and it's a nice addition. I don't love how they die back this time of year, but it's a nice tall plant that will fill in nicely here.
Raised Bed Garden - Planned Transplants:
In the NEW raised bed garden, I need to transplant my oregano from a pot into the herb bed in the back. I also need to transplant two of my lavender back there that had been squeezed into a side garden bed and are overly crowded waiting for the garden to be finished (and now waiting for the weather to cool down, because it's been too hot this month for transplanting. It's 90 here today!). The strawberries from side of the garage still need to be moved back there too, but they don't transplant well in the heat.
Left Side Garden (next to the driveway):
The left side garden along the driveway is a mess, I know I need to spend more time taming this area, but I'm hoping that next year some of the perennials I have in here will expand more. The violets here are aggressive, but I know anenomes, astilbe, and asparagus (if it comes back) can be bullies too. And in the meantime I can always fill in with more dahlias next year.
The sweet pea vines are pretty but then this time of year when they die back, they look like an ugly tangled bramble of brown mess.
There are a few things I'm thinking about for spring and next year in general as I look over the garden.
Future wish list
1. Clematis
I would love to get a clematis for the obelisk over here. The anenome would shade the roots and it could climb up the posts.
2. Pink, Yellow, Dark Purple Irises
The irises could use a little more variety - the pink and yellow didn't survive the transplanting I did a couple years ago. And I'd really like to add in a dark purple one as well.
3. Not sure yet
I made a new flower bed by the new raised bed garden next to the arbor for the climbing rose. There's a prime space in front of the climbing rose for a low perennial, but I have no idea what to plant there. The roses will be a soft pink, so probably something that will compliment that.
4. Ideas welcome
The GIANT bleeding heart dies back to nothing this time of year. It leaves a HUGE gap that's rather ugly. I'd love to plant something here that wouldn't be smothered by the bleeding heart from May through July, and would then fill in and take over the space (or at least help mitigate some of this vast emptiness) from August through October. That's probably impossible, but it would be nice.
5. Vine for raised bed garden pot
Right now I'm leaning towards a morning glory or a black eyed susan vine here. An annual I can grow from seed that I can change if I don't like it.
So those are all my big garden plans. Overall I'm so happy with how the gardens are coming along. Nine years ago we started with almost nothing in the backyard and it's become an oasis.
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