Fall Blooming Perennials

Think it's too late to garden this year? Not so! It's a great time to plant for fall color. No matter where you live there are some plants that enjoy - even need - cooler weather. And they reward you with pretty blooms starting in September with many lasting weeks and weeks. There are some high-maintenance varieties - requiring staking and pruning all summer and fall. This is not what Summer Casual is all about. We are all avid gardeners and know many very pretty varieties that are low-maintenance from spring through fall and will return beautifully year after year. The three we recommend are sure to please and easy to find at your local nursery.

1. The Hardy Mum - Zones 4-9

This plant has loads of choice for colorful blooms - yellow, orange, red, purple as well as variegated colors. With regular watering these plants grow nice and bushy with loads of flowers. They grow very well in pots and so are suited for small or large spaces. Because of their tolerance of the cold they are a regular sight through Halloween and even deeper into autumn.

There are so many glorious colors of mums from which to choose!

2. Autumn Joy Sedum - Zones 2-9

My personal favorite - I have several in various locations around my yard. Autumn Joy will start to appear mid-spring and continue to grow into a thick lush green plant all summer. They do well as borders as well as in planters. Around mid-summer they produce tiny green buds that turn a lovely lavender in fall.

Slow and steady... these flowers will take some months to bloom but it's so worth the wait.

3. Miscanthus "Morning Light" Grass - Zones 4-9

This attractive decorative grass will offer pink or white flowers in autumn. They grow best with some sun and can grow up to 20 feet! Deer do not especially like Miscanthus either so it makes an excellent ground cover.

There's no wonder why this plant is also called "Morning Light".

This decorative grass is absolutely beautiful to view in early morning.

Artist Profile - Andy Goldsworthy

Are you an avid hiker, naturalist or just like to sit out on in the fresh air? Or do you simply enjoy beautiful sights? Of course, beauty can be found just about anywhere. Because I am lucky to live in a wooded community I am treated to a daily concert of sights and sounds and no day is the same. The Artist Andy Goldsworthy Source: Kidzworld.com As someone who has always enjoyed nature and art I was thrilled to discover the art of Andy Goldsworthy. Although I've known his work since the mid-nineties he never ceases to enchant me. If you don't know who he is, prepare to be amazed. Goldsworthy is a man who enjoys the colors and textures of nature and presents them in a way you likely have never seen before. And, you don't have to be a nature-lover to appreciate his art. Rowan Leaves & Hole Source: Morning-Earth.org Goldsworthy is considered a pre-eminent "Earthworks" artist. This trend in art-making was popularized in the 1980s and 9...

How To Make a Rainbow Leaf Drawing

Do you like to draw or maybe just like the idea of drawing and don't know where to start? Drawing, like any other skill, is learned. And you have to start from somewhere. I find the best place to start is with simple and colorful shapes. The following post will show you step by step how to make a colorful leaf drawing. There is no pressure to be perfect here. This is a small drawing. It's just a matter of you finding a half hour to an hour of time and some very basic materials. You will need a piece of paper, a ruler, a pencil, eraser, a black pigment marker (I use Faber Castell but a thin Sharpie is fine) and some color pencils. Do not use a ball point pen as it will smear. Do not use crayons as they will also cause the ink to smear. This drawing will fit a 5x7" mat or frame. Draw a box that's just a bit larger than 5x7" on your paper. Using your pencil draw the shape you see on the left. Erase as needed until you like the shape. Draw two li...

Color Cues: Driftwood Beach

Do you love color but are overwhelmed by choice? Or you need help pairing colors or determining a color theme for a room you are decorating? Crafty In Cobb presents "Color Cues", a regular post that demonstrates beautiful color combinations inspired by photographs from around our amazing country. We are so fortunate to live in a union of 50 states where we have beaches, oceans, mountains, lakes, deserts, rivers, valleys, flatlands and farmlands - often within a few hours drive. The first of the series is a palette derived from a recent trip to Jekyll Island, part of the Golden Isles of Georgia. If you are in the area you cannot miss a pre-dawn photo trip to the locally famous Driftwood Beach. Occasionally referred to as a graveyard for enormous oaks and pines, a visit to this beach as the sun rises is anything but. Unusual and inspiring it's hard not to feel totally alive there. Colors by Glidden.

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