SINCE FALL WILL arrive on the Peninsula this coming Saturday at 6:54 p.m., its warm and earthy tones are now starting to appear in your flower pots, window boxes, baskets and flowerbeds.
To this end, let us focus on great plant picks for autumn as we explore the offerings from the annual and perennial plant realm.
Fall kale, not to be confused with fall cabbage, is a non-head-forming brassica known for its feathery look and extremely ruffled leaf.
On the Peninsula, kale planted now will not only grow in size but look marvelous until next April.
The Russian types can get 3 to 5 feet tall and are great as the centerpiece to a fall/winter display.
Fall cabbage, another brassica, also flourishes in our unique climate.
Cabbage and kale both need deep rich, black, organic topsoil to grow properly and will most definitely do so through to next spring.
Cabbage heads give a fantastic cluster effect to the planting and transition very well into the winter display.
They come in shades of white, pink, purple and red.
Swiss chard is a unique vegetable that is nutritious as well as extremely bright and colorful as its various stalks trade off being either yellow, gold, orange, pink, salmon or red.
Its deep, rich, dark green, ruffled foliage plays well with kale and parsley for a novelty look.
If you can find it, cauliflower is a real attention getter, especially being set up by its silvery foliage.
It is a brassica as well, so you can use the same specially prepared soil made up for the cabbage and kale.
Pansies and violas are two types of flowers that have long been a staple favorite of Pacific Northwest gardeners because of their year-round ability to bloom well.
Both demand to be dead-headed regularly in order to reflower, and both need to be cut back quite severely a couple times a year as their centers open up and flop over.
As a bonus, pansies and violas do well in somewhat shady conditions or full sun.
Asters and mums are very hardy perennial plants and are indeed worthy of being in your fall displays.
They are photoperiodic, which means they bloom depending on the length of daylight, so you can easily find early, mid- and late-flowering varieties.
Buy and plant them this week for sure, so they can root in. Be careful to purchase only ones with tight buds, not flowers, so the blooms will last for weeks rather than days.
Fall flowering sedum is another key fall perennial selection. They are superb for their neon colors, interesting succulent foliage and dried flower capabilities.
Mediovariegatum is unbeatable with its variegated yellow to green foliage and flushed pink flowers.
Autumn Joy has dense broccoli type pink blooms and the seeds feed the birds during the winter.
Purple Emperor has dark purple leaves that sport pink to purple flowers on deep pink stems, while Vera Jameson is a somewhat hanging, creeping version, having the same colorations.
If you haven’t gone yet to a nursery to get ideas for fall coloring plants and trees in your yard, this is a great time of year to do so. With the rains just beginning, color on the leaves will hang around for a couple more weeks before getting rained and blown away, so this is ideal for a road trip.
Whitney’s Gardens on the Hood Canal in Brinnon is a must-go-to favorite of many a local and newcomer, with a great selection of Japanese maples to view. Their colors are yellow, red and deep purples.
This is a great time to top mulch and rebark some of your garden beds and paths, if you’re able to move the 1.5 cubic bags from your vehicle when you return home from your favorite nursery.
If your wallet is a little light, be sure to take your cellphone for some photographs and electronic notes on your favorite fall-color varieties.
Take a look at some of your go-to nurseries for selections close to home, including asking them about fall classes they’re offering, as we go into Halloween and Thanksgiving. Learn how-to now, for table arrangements and door trimming decorations, for your visiting guests and trick-or-treaters.
This is the time of year to keep your garden boots and a rain coat handy in the car, as our fall weather is just beginning, and you might need it outdoors if caught in an unexpected shower or if the wind picks up.
From the indoors of my home at night, I’m glad I cleaned my gutters as I hear the flurry of raindrops blow against the roof, sometimes hitting the windows, reminding me how glad I am that I’m not in a hurricanes path, but happily going into fall in our mild, and ever so perfect, North Olympic Peninsula.
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Andrew May is an ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
