Fall Foliage Combinations Full of Texture There's no need for flowers when you can grow fall foliage combinations like these for stunning late-season borders! Make fall foliage the star of your border
Foliage often plays second fiddle to blooms in the garden. But have you ever thought about letting the leaves take center stage? They last longer than flowers and come in an infinite variety of shapes and sizes, as well as many colors. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to combining foliage but these tips can help you get started.
Choose plants with colorful fall foliageGreen is just the beginning when it comes to foliage. You'll find a surprising number of other leaf colors to use in your fall borders — yellow, red, purple, white and silver, to name a few. For combos that have some real punch, combine contrasting colors like chartreuse and burgundy or silver and deep purple.
Remember, as the weather changes, leaf color often changes too. Gray-green in spring and summer, Koreanspice viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) changes to vibrant red and Arkansas amsonia's (Amsonia hubrichtii) feathery green summer foliage turns to glowing gold in fall. The amount of light a plant gets has an effect on leaf color, too. You’ll even notice differences within the same cultivar — for example, chartreuse hostas turn yellow with more sun. But the same hosta in shade stays chartreuse over the summer.
Add texture with fall foliageTouch fuzzy lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina) or a smooth rhododendron (Rhododendron spp. and hybrids) leaf and you’ve experienced texture. Though these surfaces often have practical functions — lamb’s ear’s silver fuzz helps it beat the heat and retain water, for example — this tactile element also adds a lot
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