Next Fall

January 25, 2010 at 8:35 pm (Color)
Tags: Color, Gardening

“Next Fall”, a copyrighted post, was written for my WordPress blog called Always Growing by Jan in Covington, Louisiana

It has been said that one of the signs you are still young is that you concentrate on the future. The future is where the young look. Well, that being said, I must still be young even though the calendar says a little differently. When it comes to gardening, I am always looking ahead. Spring it foremost in my mind right now, but after visiting my sister yesterday, I am tucking a few ideas of fall planting for winter color in the back of my mind.

The recent freezing weather has the garden pretty bare of color. While this bleakness is unusual, it is not unheard of either. I am going to take a page out of my sister’s garden and plan for cold weather a little more than I have been. I usually put out violas or pansies for color, and I have also used snapdragons and petunias. Throughout the winter, I will have the hibiscus blooming and a few other tropicals as well, but not this year with so many days of freezing temperatures. So, next year, for insurance of winter color, I am going to try a few of the plants that made it through the cold weather for my sister and are now giving a lot of color.

First, I want to put in some chard, like her bright red and yellow ones.

 

 

 

Several years ago, I tried ornamental kale, but it didn’t do very well; it wasn’t in an area with enough sun. I think it is time for me to plant it again.

 

 

 

Yes, even though I still will be planning for spring and summer, plans for next fall’s planting for winter color are still on my mind.