If you haven't already it is really worth your while to go take a walk in Central Park, or in any major NYC park for that matter, and check out the fall color. I know for my friends north the changing leaves have mostly fallen by this point, but for us urbanites we are being gifted with a nice long fall. Of course, if you are in the city today you know it is rather craptastic out there, but maybe tomorrow or next week you can treat yourself to some of nature's brilliance. The following pics I took back on the 3rd of November, but hopefully they will inspire you to get out there and stroll among the myriad of colors. This is why I love the northeast and the fall and this amazing collaboration.
Lagerstroemia indica 'Tuskegee' is commonly known as a Tuskegee crapemyrtle. Crapemyrtles are probably my favorite small to medium sized trees. A late summer flower atop the foliage, fabulous strucutral bark with plenty of interest, and some slamming fall color. There are so many different cultivars out there and each one has specific characteristics - flower color, bark color, fall color, etc. This is a tree I could become a real collector of. I know an estate gardener up in Greenwich, CT, who has been working on his own crosses in order to create a salt tolerant line of crapemyrtles for estates like his, right on the Long Island Sound. A badass tree that is becoming more and more welcome up here as our winters get milder and milder.
Then there is Amsonia hubrichtii, commonly called Arkansas blue star or narrow-leaf blue star. A North American native, the thin blue star flowers emerge late spring or early summer on these three-foot fluffballs of foliage. Then the green foliage really begins to pop this time of year. This is the beginning of the fall color and is now even more glowing.
When I started in horticulture years ago I wasn't much for oakleaf hydangea, or Hydrangea quercifolia. Now, however, I have really come to love this more naturalistic woody shrub for its shade tolerance and exceptional fall color. Any shrub where you can get green, red, and purple in those big textured leaves would be welcome in my woodland garden or border. I am not sure of the specific cultivar but there are many great ones out there. The dried flower clusters I think too add character to this native powerhouse. When the leaves finally drop you will see the interesting exfoliating bark beneath.
A lot of the horticulture mags are doing awesome spreads of different grasses, and in the fall how could you not!? This is a new one to me that I will keep in mind for many years.
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' is commonly called black fountain grass, even though when I photographed it I thought it more purple in color. Anyway, the flower clusters of many different fountain grasses will stop you in your tracks when fall comes around. Only a couple feet tall you could use this in an annual or perennial garden with ease. Rumor has it this grass can seed itself around like crazy, and with that many flowers on those tall spires I would not be surprised. Guess I will have to keep my eye on it.
Solomon's seal (
Polygonatum biflorum) is also native, an upright herbaceous perennial that establishes well in only a couple years time thanks to spreading rhizomes. If you are a shade gardener chances are you know this plant very well along with your hosta, astilbe, hellebores, and brunnera. The small bell-shaped flowers that bloom along the stems under the foliage come out late spring and are very delicate, and can sometimes be missed. If you have a set of stairs somewhere that would allow you to plant this up at waist- or chest-height it is great because then you can really get at eye level with the plant and really appreciate its form. The white flowers mature to dark seed pods that almost look like very bue/purple grapes. There is also giant solomon's seal,
Polygonatum commutatum, and that guy can get to be real big (5', 6'+). In the fall I love how solomon's seal turns a dusty light gold before the foliage falls and becomes almost translucent on the wet ground.
I admit that I usually focus more on the trees and shrubs, but here is balloon flower,
Platycodon grandiflorus, an upright herbaceous perennial that also proves its worth in the fall landscape. Late summer big, rounded buds pop open to purple star/cup shaped flowers that you will enjoy a lot. A couple months later you get the fall color. With the contrast of bright yellow and and earthy near-purple foliage all on one plant it can hold up very well, even on its own.
Lagerstroemia indica 'Tuskegee' is commonly known as a Tuskegee crapemyrtle. Crapemyrtles are probably my favorite small to medium sized trees. A late summer flower atop the foliage, fabulous strucutral bark with plenty of interest, and some slamming fall color. There are so many different cultivars out there and each one has specific characteristics - flower color, bark color, fall color, etc. This is a tree I could become a real collector of. I know an estate gardener up in Greenwich, CT, who has been working on his own crosses in order to create a salt tolerant line of crapemyrtles for estates like his, right on the Long Island Sound. A badass tree that is becoming more and more welcome up here as our winters get milder and milder.
Then there is Amsonia hubrichtii, commonly called Arkansas blue star or narrow-leaf blue star. A North American native, the thin blue star flowers emerge late spring or early summer on these three-foot fluffballs of foliage. Then the green foliage really begins to pop this time of year. This is the beginning of the fall color and is now even more glowing. 
When I started in horticulture years ago I wasn't much for oakleaf hydangea, or Hydrangea quercifolia. Now, however, I have really come to love this more naturalistic woody shrub for its shade tolerance and exceptional fall color. Any shrub where you can get green, red, and purple in those big textured leaves would be welcome in my woodland garden or border. I am not sure of the specific cultivar but there are many great ones out there. The dried flower clusters I think too add character to this native powerhouse. When the leaves finally drop you will see the interesting exfoliating bark beneath.
A lot of the horticulture mags are doing awesome spreads of different grasses, and in the fall how could you not!? This is a new one to me that I will keep in mind for many years. Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' is commonly called black fountain grass, even though when I photographed it I thought it more purple in color. Anyway, the flower clusters of many different fountain grasses will stop you in your tracks when fall comes around. Only a couple feet tall you could use this in an annual or perennial garden with ease. Rumor has it this grass can seed itself around like crazy, and with that many flowers on those tall spires I would not be surprised. Guess I will have to keep my eye on it.
Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum) is also native, an upright herbaceous perennial that establishes well in only a couple years time thanks to spreading rhizomes. If you are a shade gardener chances are you know this plant very well along with your hosta, astilbe, hellebores, and brunnera. The small bell-shaped flowers that bloom along the stems under the foliage come out late spring and are very delicate, and can sometimes be missed. If you have a set of stairs somewhere that would allow you to plant this up at waist- or chest-height it is great because then you can really get at eye level with the plant and really appreciate its form. The white flowers mature to dark seed pods that almost look like very bue/purple grapes. There is also giant solomon's seal, Polygonatum commutatum, and that guy can get to be real big (5', 6'+). In the fall I love how solomon's seal turns a dusty light gold before the foliage falls and becomes almost translucent on the wet ground.
I admit that I usually focus more on the trees and shrubs, but here is balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus, an upright herbaceous perennial that also proves its worth in the fall landscape. Late summer big, rounded buds pop open to purple star/cup shaped flowers that you will enjoy a lot. A couple months later you get the fall color. With the contrast of bright yellow and and earthy near-purple foliage all on one plant it can hold up very well, even on its own.
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