Change in the Garden: What to Plant in your Fall Garden

Change in the Garden:  What To Plant in the Fall Garden

It’s that time of year where the weather gets a little cooler, we get some rain (maybe less in California), and changes are made in the garden. Eye of the Day interviews some plant experts on their Fall favorite plantings and best tips for the garden.

Alison Walker, a Texas native who recently moved to California, has worked with plants and nurseries for over six years. She is excited to be living in a cooler climate and to get to plant all her recommendations below.

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Mint

What to Plant:

Herbs:

  • Cilantro
  • Chamomile
  • Lemon Balm
  • Mints
  • Parsley
  • French Tarragon

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Brussels Sprouts

Veggies:

  • Cabbages
  • Lettuces
  • Carrots
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Kohlrabi
  • Turnips
  • Kale

Edible Blooms:

  • Purslane
  • Nasturtiums
  • Oxalis
  • Calendula

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Sage

Evergreens:

  • Lavender
  • Rosemary
  • Sages
  • Thyme

Regular Garden Maintenance:

  • Add and Remove plants per climate requirements
  • Prune blooms and harvest bigger leaves on plants like Basil
  • Plant or deadhead Marigolds to act as deterrent for bugs
  • Fertilize, compost, and mulch as necessary
  • Replace and refresh any leggy leaves

 

Mimi Richardson is our resident succulent expert but grew up around all types of plants. She has worked at nurseries across the central coast. These are here tips for your Fall garden.

 What to Plant:

Grasses:

  • Fountain Grass
  • Mondo
  • Carex

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Carex

Blooming Plants

  • Coprosma
  • Easter Lily
  • Cotoneaster
  • Gazania
  • Strawflower
  • Proteas

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Protea

Other Recommendations:

  • You can be more hands off in the garden at this time of year
  • No Fruit Trees
  • Succulents are always a good idea
  • Have fun with fall containers and arrangements with:
    • Pumpkins, Warted Pumpkins
    • Artichokes
    • Oranges
    • Decorative Corn
    • Decorative Gourd
    • Butternut Squash
    • Ferns
    • Pomegranates
    • Celosia

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Decorative Gourd and Corn

Adrian Nunez is a Nurseryman at Seaside Gardens in Carpinteria, CA. He has focused on the retail side at Seaside for the last five years but has worked with wholesale nurseries for 17 years. He gives his best recommendations and tips for the Fall season.

No. 1 Tip for the Fall:  The most important and fundamental thing is to prepare your soil.  Get rid of weeds. Know your soil health, does it have enough nutrients? Use a soil tester that you can get at any garden store. Does it need nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium? Dig at least six inches into the soil, loosen it up a bit, and add organic components. Before you plant anything, know your soil.

What to plant?

  • Bulbs
  • California natives
  • Shrubs
  • Vegetables: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, radish, spinach, kale

Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
Kale

What to look for in buying plants?

  • Check the laTbels, what size will it get in terms of height and spread. Check the growing information and know the size.
  • Take the time to find the best shape plant. Look at it for health.
  • Look for plants that haven’t bloomed yet—better chance of surviving transplants.

What to consider for water?

  • Once you’re done planting, mulch the area to reduce water loss. If we end up not getting any rain, just do a once-a-week deep watering which will further prevent water loss.
  • In case we get water, do it every other week and reduce watering depending on how much rain we get.

    Eye of the Day|Fall Garden|What to Plant
    Red Hot Poker

Any other common FAQs for Fall gardens

  • When is the right time? Plant at end of October, early November. Ground is still warm enough to plant even with cooler weather.
  • What’s going to bloom through Fall? Rudbeckia, Coreopsis, ornamental grasses, Red Hot Poker or Kniphofia
  • Other tips? Feed plants now if you haven’t already done so in the summer. Good season for feeding.

 

Photo Credits:
Creative Commons, mint by yoppy is licensed under CC by 2.0
Creative Commons, brussel sprouts on stalks by Nick Saltmarsh is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons, sage by Isaac Wedin is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons,  starr-120403-4187-Carex_buchananii-habit-Kula-Maui by Forest and Kim Starr is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons, Protea. by Mark Freeth is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons, farmersmarket09095 by Kel and Val is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons, Kale by Clyde Robinson is licensed under CC by 2.0 
Creative Commons, Red Hot Pokers by Ian Parkes is licensed under CC by 2.0 

Flowers and Plants for a Drought Tolerant Garden

Eye of the Day|Verdure newsletter| wild lilac with bumblebee

Drought Concerns in the Garden

We are in a drought. And it may last for more than the short cycle of approximately seven years that has regularly occurred here in recent history. Some scientists are saying that this is part of a much larger cycle that could be one hundred to one hundred-fifty years in length (and let’s not even try to imagine how climate change will affect that). So, how do we keep our love of living, green things around us with much reduced water resources? One way is to look at the plants that have evolved in this habitat for many thousands of years. Native California plants are great choices for our modern gardens as are plants native to climate zones similar to ours.

Plant Options for Drought
Obvious choices for evergreen shrubs are Manzanita and Ceanothus. Both of these have been bred and selected for a variety of plant shapes and sizes. There are ground-hugging cultivars as well as tall and broad shapes to provide screening. Manzanitas have interesting bark as well as dainty, bell-shaped flowers. Ceanothus are often called California, or wild lilac, for the resemblance their flowers have to the cultivated lilacs our grandmothers grew. Consult a good garden guide or your local nursery for selections and specifics of each cultivar.

Mediterranean Plant Options for Drought
Other readily available options to replace thirsty plants during our dry spells hail from the Mediterranean region.  Some favorites include Echium candicans, Pride of Madeira, that covers itself with spires of tiny flowers in shades of blue and purple as well as Lion’s Tail, Leonotis leonuris, which bursts forth with sprays of brilliant orange blossoms from spring through fall.  And let’s not forget the many selections and species of rosemary and lavender that are ideally suited to our climate as well as their native zones.

Water for the Birds, Bees, and Bugs
One added perk for all of these native and non-natives is that they are quite attractive to bees, butterflies and other beneficial fauna that are seeking sustenance through this dry spell. So don’t be afraid to lose that thirsty garden and replace it with a verdant, more water thrifty landscape.