Japanese Anemone, Asters, Sedum: The Stars of my Fall Garden

Japanese Anemone

In the first week of September, I went to a garden center which has a well-deserved reputation for correctly diagnosing all sorts of garden problems. I brought in some infested leaves and asked if the problem was aphids. I was fairly certain that was the case but wanted confirmation. Diagnosis confirmed—-I had a major aphid infestation.

I asked if there was something that wasn’t too toxic that would kill aphids. The only option was not terribly effective insecticidal soap. I briefly considered one of the powerful poisons, but resisted temptation and bought the insecticidal soap.

The man who sold it to me said: "Why don’t you just cut the perennial plants to the ground and throw out the annuals—-it’s the end of the season."

What? There’s a whole Fall season ahead of us. The Japanese anemones, now at peak bloom, are the stars of my Fall garden. They start blooming at the end of August and bloom until frost. The blend beautifully with the asters which are tough plants but unfortunately have a shorter season of bloom.


Aster

The sedum are in bloom all Fall and the seedheads persist into the winter, providing food for birds.

Sedum


In addition to the Fall blooming perennials there are the summer annuals which bloom non-stop into Fall, like the tough,always reliable Cleome
Cleome

And then there are the berries. They may not be fragrant flowers but they sure provide color.

Crabapple Berries

The season does not end in the beginning of September! (At least not in the Delaware Valley.)