The Supporting Seasons - Autumn
A heavy morning fog lifts over the Wexford Prairie as Autumn arrives. Goldenrod brightens the backdrop to the Chichimeca Paradise garden, named after a variety of hot pepper grown here. Clematis 'Huldine' and the honeysuckle vine Lonicera 'Major Wheeler' densely cover either end of the trellis. Plum tomatoes are ready for harvesting and drying. Soon the Chichimeca peppers will be transformed into jelly, salsa, and relish, while the basil will be whirled into tasty pesto.
Leaves turn a golden yellow on the clump of birch trees in the Chichimeca Paradise. The weeping crab apple tree with its carefully pruned dome anchors the entrance to the Departed Bunny garden. Beside it, white paper birch are set off by the deep burgundy barberry hedge behind them.
In early morning, the rattlesnake master Eryngium 'Prairie Moon' takes center stage, joined by the spent orange blossoms of Pardancanda norrisii tightly furled on the left, lacy calamintha in front, the bronze grass Calamagrostis behind, with nearly black dahlia leaves adding contrast.
The gnarled exposed branches of the weeping crab shade the huge burgundy leaves of Ligularia 'Britt-Marie Crawford'. Even in the heavy morning fog, the gold flowers of the ligularia are brazenly aglow.
Home for a weekend, our son Paul helps his father with some transplanting, including digging and dividing Japanese blood grass, showing it's colors in the upper right photo. In this Departed Bunny garden, deep red-orange Helenium autumnale 'Mariachi Siesta' is interspersed with white wild quinine and dusty gray lamb's ears Stachys 'Helen Von Stein', our favorite variety. Golden moneywort punctuates the edging.
In September, the rusty Japanese blood grass Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' becomes the star. It runs like a river past the tall mounds of Chinese silver grass Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus', accented by a clump of white paper birch and bright chartreuse Canna 'Pretoria'.
August is the month for the grand opening of the brassy gold Ligularia 'Marie Britt Crawford' in the North by Northwest Passage. The honey locust tree overhead, the Japanese maple, and even the red-orange Begonia boliviensis 'Santa Cruz' submit to its dominance. Opposite top: Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola', the variegated Japanese forest grass, drapes over the rocks near the front porch, while the sedge Carex pensylvanica covers the slope next to the path. Opposite lower: In the background to the left, the dwarf evergreen Picea abies pendula takes a bow in the fog to the ever brilliant chartreuse hakonechloa, while the carex is already turning brown as autumn sets in.
The tomatoes 'Chef's Choice Orange' and 'Big Beef' are ripe on the trellis next to the Bling Prairie garden. Multihued salmon Pardancanda norrisii reach their prime with white coneflowers Echinacea 'Pow Wow White'. Switchgrass flowers create a frothy cover, while the ochre Calamagrostis flower heads make a vertical accent. The shiny leaves of dark plum coral bells, Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles' and 'Black Pearl', alternate with a groundcover of creeping lemon thyme, creating a rhythm to the border.
At the right end of the garden above, the pale green sedum contrasts with deep plum Amaranthus. By the end of October, miniature fruit on the nearby crab apple tree turn golden on their red stems, while the Pardancanda norrisii dry up revealing pods with tiny black seeds. The golden dahlia petals rust of their stems to rich shades of rust.
Anchoring the far corner of the Bling Prairie in the center of this panorama is a mature thirty-year old Colorado Green Spruce. The nearby Crimson King Maple and Whitespire birch provide brilliant fall foliage, echoed by the golden woods extending the full width of the horizon.
Top: Abundant red crab apple berries ripen. The plumes of tan and bronze grasses rustle and sway. Brothers, interrupted from their game, pose for their mother, while squirrels bury black walnuts, "one after another." Brilliant orange sumac and giant yellow mums offer color candy alongside the house.
Ken Nordlund: "It's a cool, drizzly morning in Madison. 48 degrees F. and almost every other flower is hosting an immobilized bee...or two! I think they were partying in the pollen last night at 70F and couldn't get a cab ride home. And now they are soaked in cold water and can barely wiggle a wing. Below 50F, they are helpless. They keep their hives about 95F by getting close and moving muscles, but that's a long way from here."
Opposite top: Waves of purple asters are complemented by lilac calamintha. The silver heads of Miscanthus 'Sarabande' dazzle in the sunlight. Above, the golden seed heads of Calamagrostis feather reed grass rise among a dense mix of golden Dahlia 'Mystic Spirit', sedum, calamintha, echinacea, heuchera, and pardancanda. The dahlias begin blooming in the Bling Prairie the end of June and continue their vibrant display well into October.
Purple asters are the last to lose their color in this landscape of burnt umber, sienna, mauve, sepia, chocolate, russet, and plum.
A morning frost covers the expanse of our community park and our neighbor's lawn beyond the trellis. The Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ stands tall in the Bling Prairie, the weeping crab reveals its elegant branches, and the low, silvery calamintha offers a cool contrast.
A white birdhouse for Purple Martins rises behind the Chichimeca Paradise. Backed by golden leaves, this view begins to look like green and gold Packer Territory. Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' grass has gone tawny in the Golden Grass alley and near the front entry.
Looking out from the front porch, the deep red Emperor Japanese Maple is a striking accent in fall to the borrowed view of golden maples. Pruned topiary and sprays of Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' grass rise from the pachysandra ground cover in the front island garden.
Thousands of slender golden leaves from the honey locust tree act as a groundcover in the fall, nestling in among the ligularia, hakonechloa, peonies, and pachysandra.