Early fall is the time when most of our flower beds and borders are starting to look worn out and tired. This makes it the perfect time in North Texas to introduce fall color into your lawn and landscape.
If you are looking to refresh your lawn I’d recommend these hardy, late-blooming plants. The best part about planting at this time of year is that the plants will have ideal conditions to grow strong roots over winter, so they’ll be ready to sprint into bloom next spring.
Some of our favorites are…
Pansies: If you want colorful blooms over the winter your go-to flower for sunny areas in North Texas are pansies. Pansies are hardy with the ability to weather single digit temperatures and wintry precipitation. In fact, they often bounce back and bloom after a wintry patch of weather after a few sunny days. To maximize their blooms, use a high phosphorous fertilizer (5-30-5 ratio.) Like most flowers, they prefer a loose well-drained soil so they don’t stay wet after watering. An easy way to accomplish that is to add potting soil to the bed. Pansies are like candy to rabbits, so if you have a large population in your area, it may be challenge to grow them.
Violas: They have pansy-like blooms except the blooms are tiny. You can plant these in similar conditions to pansies.
Kale and/or Cabbage: Oddly enough, if you have rabbit problems, you are safe planting kale and/or cabbage. Rabbits would rather eat your pansies versus eating your vegetables! These aren’t as colorful as pansies but they’re easy to grow. To make them look nice later in the spring, trim off the blooms.
Mums: These are wonderful fall plants. Like azaleas, they only bloom a few weeks out of the year, but when they bloom they look great, especially with pumpkins.
Cyclamen: These are beautiful but delicate flowers. I recommend planting a few of them for a nice change of color in your lawn or landscape. Don’t get carried away, as you cold lose them to harsh wintry weather.
Another tip to introduce a burst of color is to get some pumpkins and/or gourds to place in your lawn and landscape. Click here for a list of area pumpkin patches.
If you want more ideas or have any questions give me a call at 972-495-6990 or [email protected]. Village Green offers full landscaping design and installation for our customers. If you are thinking of adding some fall color, or doing any landscape work give us the opportunity to earn your business. We’re happy to do a free quote and answer any questions you may have.