Derek Fell
Avante Gardener
by Derek Fell
The Fall season is a beautiful time of year to visit Bucks County gardens. After the middle of August days begin to cool off and rainfall becomes more frequent, creating good conditions for new plantings of hardy woody plants and to enjoy the vibrant colors of some late performing perennials such as blue asters, dusky pink stonecrop and silky plumes of ornamental grasses. Two favorite planting schemes at my home, Cedaridge Farm, are a tapestry garden using mostly trees and shrubs to fill the skyline with dramatic russet colors, and a late-performing perennial border that can be even more dramatic than summer or spring displays. Also, don’t overlook the fact that if you need a new lawn then late summer and early fall are good times to establish one, especially using new types of improved perennial ryegrasses such as Manhattan II. These are as good looking as bluegrass but hardier and more drought resistant.
An often-overlooked aspect of fall gardens involves shrubs and small trees that produce impressive berry displays. Although the fruits of crabapple and firethorn are familiar to most people, also consider native plants like winterberry (Ilex verticillata), American holly, and beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). I especially recommend winterberry because over-feeding by deer has severely reduced wild strands, and these are important food crops for the welfare of cardinals and bluebirds, which do not migrate south for the winter and rely on berries for survival.
Although winterberry will take a site with good drainage, it also tolerates moist soils, even swampy areas where shallow water can remain for most of the season. They can still be seen in local hedgerows; the masses of red berries becoming evident after the leaves drop in late September, persisting into the New Year. The plant forms a dense shrub and will even make an attractive hedge. The berry display is dramatically improved if a male pollinator is planted among berry-bearing females, although an American or English holly will also provide pollen if planted in the general vicinity, since these plants are closely related and the microscopic pollen can travel for miles on the wind. Branches pruned after the leaves have dropped can make beautiful long-lasting Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations. In addition to the red, there are orange and yellow-berried varieties.
To continue reading Derek Fell’s article, turn to page 42 of the Fall 2014 issue of bucks County Magazine.