Adding Fall Color to Your Landscape

Today is the first day of October and it won’t be long before much of the surrounding landscape begins to go brown and leafless. Luckily, there is a remedy for the dreariness ahead; nothing adds more beauty to a landscape than seasonal color plantings.

Bonick Landscaping’s seasonal landscaping services include adding colorful plants and annual flowers to beds and containers in your yard and to porches, patios and other outdoor areas. These landscaping services can be provided either on a one-time basis or can include the option of follow-up visits to weed the beds, apply fertilizer, and keep your beds and containers looking their best. Whether you just want to add some splashes of color as the seasons change or need your outdoor living spaces to look their best for guests as we enter the height of outdoor entertaining season in Dallas, we can help.

Plants for Fall Color
Chrysanthemums, snap dragons, pansies and violas, dianthus, asters, ornamental peppers, ornamental kale, crotons, alyssum, and grasses are all popular choices that can make your landscape pop this fall. Pumpkins and gourds are also popular for color displays. (Pumpkins and gourds can last for several months before starting to deteriorate. Pumpkins and gourds without stems, not fully mature, injured or subjected to heavy frost do not keep well.) Permanent plants such as sages are also a great addition to gardens for fall color.

There are many beautiful options for fall color; here are some fun facts about a few of the more popular choices.

Chrysanthemums
The official flower of fall and the first flower that comes to most people’s minds when they think “fall” is the chrysanthemum. According to the National Chrysanthemum Society, chrysanthemums were cultivated by the Chinese as a flowering herb for over 2000 years. Introduced to the United States during colonial times, chrysanthemums did not gain popularity in the United States until the 1940s. Today mums are the most widely grown pot plant in the country (as well as the largest commercially produced flower in the U.S.) and are one of the longest lasting of all cut flowers. Mums thrive in full sun and are available in various rich shades of red, bronze, yellow, purple, orange, pink and white, as well as in bi-color combinations.

Violas and Pansies
Another popular choice for fall color is violas and pansies. Viola is a genus of about 500 species. Violas are native to Europe and were familiar as early as the 4th century BC to people living in Greece, who cultivated the plants for herbal medicinal use. Today’s pansy is a member of the viola species and is a hybrid plant that originated in continental Europe and became popular in Europe and the United States in the 1800s. Pansies have many color patterns including single color, single color with penciling (black lines radiating from the flower’s center similar to viola markings), and the one most people think of first, a bloom that can be one or several colors with a dark center called a “face.” Pansies have one of the widest color ranges of any annual that includes red, pink, purple, lavender, blue, orange, apricot, yellow, white, bronze, mahogany and black and can be a single color or have two or three colors in the face.

Ornamental Kale
Ornamental kale is part of the species Brassica oleracea, which includes broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and other cole crops. Although sometimes sold under the name “ornamental cabbage,” ornamental kale does not form a head and has deeply dissected, ruffled leaves rather than smooth leaves. Ornamental kales were originally developed by plant breeders from edible kale varieties by selecting plants with unique foliage colors. Varieties of ornamental kale can be loosely divided into two groups: those having smaller leaves with smooth wavy edges, and those having larger leaves with heavily fringed, lacy edges. Both have outer leaves that are green or bluish-green with a vivid center rosette that is cream, pink, purple or red. Ornamental kales are edible, but have been bred for appearance rather than taste.

Ornamental kale thrives in cold weather and good coloration is brought on by temperatures below 60°F. While a sudden cold snap can be deadly, light and moderate frosts will intensify the brilliant coloring of these plants.

Expert Landscape Services
As experts in landscape design, Bonick Landscaping provides seasonal color programs that keep your landscape in constant bloom. We will work with you to use the many flower and plant choices fall weather in Dallas offers to transform your yard, garden, and various planters to create a welcoming and picturesque environment you, your family and friends can enjoy throughout the fall and holiday season.

For over 30 years, Bonick Landscaping, has served Dallas area clients with the highest standards looking for out-of-the-ordinary luxury landscape design and pools by offering the best in service, workmanship, and plantings. Services include hardscape and landscape design, pool designs, pool construction and installation, estate management, lawn care services and garden maintenance, pool maintenance, and more. For discerning clients in Dallas who want to express their own distinctive style through their landscaping, Bonick Landscaping can help you realize your dream. Call us at 972-243-9673 or visit our website at www.bonicklandscaping.com.