ITS AWE-TIME AUTUMN

Our gardens have begun to recover from the ghastly drought when nearly everything went dormant as a survival tactic. Cooler nights help.

There are encouraging signs. The Morning Glories and Moonflowers have decided it is safe to bloom again. The birds seem to have more energy as they swoop by. And the great perennials that will bloom up until frost are coming into their own.

These awesome Fall plants are generous with their colors:

Ironweed (Vernonia) is an intense deep purple, and grows in the 5-8' range. Visiting butterflies include the Eastern tiger swallowtail, monarch, great spangled Fritillary, American lady, silver-spotted skipper and spicebush swallowtail, according to Karen Rexrode, owner of the superb plant farm Windy Hill, closed since 2004.

The sunflowers: Helenium, Helianthus, and Heliopsis (from the Greek helios meaning sun) provide a cacophony of yellows, from the pale lemon yellow, through clear yellow, coppery, mahogany, to vibrant orangy-yellow .
Helianthus (Perennial Sunflower), attracts butterflies for nectar and birds will eat their seed. H. angustifolius 'Gold Lace', grows to 5-6'; the bright yellow daisy flowers have a dark center. H. salicifolius 'Lemon Queen', grows 5-7' with soft pale yellow blooms.

Helianthus strumosus grows to 3', requiring only a few hours of sunlight, making it an excellent candidate for those of us who garden with less than full sun.

And then there is our personal favorite, Helianthus giganteus 'Sheila's Sunshine', which grows 8-10' tall and is multi-branched in the upper third, widening out to 6-8'. The blooms are a soft pastel-yellow. They combine well with:

The ethereal pale bluish-lavender of Russian Sage (Perovskia), a drought tolerant, deer resistant, long blooming perennial. P. atriplicifolia grows to 4', while P. 'Little Spire' reaches only 25".

Asters, in blues and purples, combine well with any of the above perennials.
Also Salvia, particularly Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'; its flowers are the strongest, brightest blue of any plant we grow, and the blooms go on for months and months.

If you plant Phlox paniculata 'Nicky', a deep glowing magenta (to 3-4') and cut it back after blooming, you can expect a re-bloom about this time, and throw it in the mix with some of the above perennials.

Add some of the native ornamental grass, Panicum 'Heavy Metal', and Hyssop (Agastache) 'Apricot Sunrise' (30") and Tutti-Frutti (5'), and you will discover that this truly is 'awe-time'.

Sources: Niche Gardens, Chapel Hill: nichegardens.com., and Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh: plantdelights.com.

Pat Howell is a Takoma Park gardener and landscape designer/contractor. She is available for hand-holding and answering questions through Deephaven Landscapers.