The Ontario countryside in the fall is a spectacular colourful landscape that we all admire and enjoy.

Many of us make special trips to view the brilliant colours of maples, and waysides adorned with fall wildflowers.  But where is the colour in our own gardens?

In planning our gardens, we very logically begin at the beginning.  Spring flowering bulbs are followed by the early flowering shrubs, and then summer is filled with Roses, Weigela, and Mockorange among many others.

Soon our garden is fully planted and only in September do we realize we could use some colour with late flowering shrubs and those with brilliant fall foliage.

Burning Bush is the most popular shrub that is widely used for fall colour, but there are many more that can enhance your garden in the fall and extend your season of colour to the fullest.

Here is a list of trees and shrubs that we think will bring amazing colour to your garden:

Burning Bush…………………………………………Red foliage

Butterfly Bush………………………………………..Purple/White/Pink blooms

Cotoneaster…………………………………………..Red berries

Dogwood……………………………………………….Reds and orange foliageBlack berries. Red/Yellow Twigs

Ginkgo…………………………………………………….Yellow foliage

Holly………………………………………………………..Red berries

Hydrangeas……………………………………………Pink/White/Red blooms

Katsura……………………………………………………Orange and Red foliage

Maple Red………………………………………………Red foliage

Maple Sugar…………………………………………..Orange and Red foliage

Oak Pin……………………………………………………Red foliage

Oak Red………………………………………………….Red foliage

Serviceberry……………………………………………Yellow and Orange foliage

Sumac…………………………………………………….Orange/Red foliage

Viburnum……………………………………………….Orange/Red foliage and black berries

 

 

Perennials for Colour

Anemone Japanese…………………………….Pink/White blooms

Anise Hyssop………………………………………..Lavender -flowering since late May and fragrant

Aster……………………………………………………….Blue blooms

Cardinal Flower…………………………………….Scarlet blooms

Chrysanthemums…………………………………A wide variety of colourful blooms

Coneflower……………………………………………Purple/Yellow/White/Raspberry/Red blooms

Coral Bells…………………………………………….Red/Pink/White- flowering since June.  Available in many foliage colours.

Coreopsis …………………………………………….Yellow/White -flowering since June

Gaillardia……………………………………………….Red/Yellow/Orange- flowering from June

Globe Thistle………………………………………..Blue blooms

Hibiscus (Mallow)…………………………………White/Red/Pink/Maroon blooms

Liatris (Gay Feather)…………………………….Purple/White blooms

Phlox……………………………………………………..Purple/Pink/White- flowering since July and fragrant

Rudbeckia……………………………………………Yellow blooms

Sedum………………………………………………….Pink/Mauve blooms

Sneezeweed……………………………………….Bronze/Yellow/Red blooms

Yarrow…………………………………………………..Yellow/Pink blooms

 

 

Vines with Fall Interest

Colourful vines such as Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper (Engelmann’s Ivy) are highly colourful in fall. Virginia Creeper bears a heavy crop of black berries.

Think container fall gardening too with arrangements of ornamental cabbage and kale, along with Mums, and ornamental grasses. A fall perennial arrangement is spectacular in colour.

The plants listed will let you take advantage of the change of season and keep your garden interesting and colourful until the heavy frosts and first snow of winter.