grasses make terrific fall containers plants, and
Autumn Joy sedum is one of my favourites. This
plant has lovely green foliage throughout the
summer, and as fall begins, it bursts into bloom. The
deep pink to burgundy blooms are large in size and
add a dramatic effect to the fall container garden.
As the flowers fade, they turn an attractive brown
colour that lasts throughout the winter, adding
texture and colour to the winter garden.
My other favourite fall plant is purple fountain
grass with its arching purple plumes coming out
of burgundy foliage; a real fall star. This grass
is hardy to zone 9 so I treat it like an annual,
but I really enjoy its addition to the fall
container lineup. After the grass
has been touched with frost, the
plumes continue to look good
into the winter. The same can be
said for the feather reed grass
Karl Foerster. This grass, with its
upright plumes, remains erect even
with heavy snow, making it another
great choice for a fall and winter
container. Karl Foerster is hardy to
zone 4.
Along with colourful fall plants,
give some thought to combining
them with a
complementary container. One example of an eyepopping
combination would be Autumn Joy sedum
with its pale green leaves and pink/burgundy
blossoms in a jet-black container. Another example
might be two containers of varying heights, with a
dark blue container housing the Karl Foerster grass
and a yellow or orange container housing the purple
fountain grass. That combination could stay in place
all winter long for a blast of colour.
Pushing the envelope in gardening can be an
exciting experience. Extending the enjoyment of
your container garden into the fall is a great way to
push that envelope. For me, gardening is all about
vision and enjoying that
vision; don’t be afraid
to try the new and
daring.
A member of the
Garden Writers
Association of
America, Gerald
Filipski has
been writing
for us for four
years, but he’s
been a gardening
columnist for the
Edmonton Journal for
several decades. When
submitting this article
to us, Jerry noted, “I have
found that people’s focus
seems to be on returning to
the basics, and one of those
basics includes gardening.
I have never had so many
gardening questions in
all the more than 35
years of my writing for
the Edmonton Journal.”
news&views AUTUMN 2020 | 21