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Flowers at Pennsylvania Nurseries are Always in Season

As we head into Autumn, new landscape decorating options are available at garden centers and nurseries throughout PA. You will find fall flowers available in every color that will highlight and enhance your home and existing landscaping. In particular, mums or Chrysanthemums used in a mass of color look outstanding and will continue to flower until frost. Since Mums are hardy in zones 4 - 7 that encompass all the various regions in Pennsylvania, you will enjoy them even more as they grow larger over the years.

In a dry year like we've had this year, succulents are ideal since they are so drought tolerant. Succulents as a group are similar to cactus in their ability to deal with dryness but are softer, more lush or fleshy and generally thornless. The Sedum family is probably the best known group of succulents since they are so versatile, low maintenance and can be used as perennials, ground covers and in above ground containers mixed with other flowers and ornamental grasses since they are winter hardy in PA. The 'Autumn Joy' hybrid Sedum is among the most popular but a number of other newer hybrids are making inroads into 'Autumn Joy's popularity. This plant starts to show pink color in summer, turning darker pink to red and even light burgundy tints and remains in color even after frost for a while. They are particularly nice used as border plants since they slowly spread but stay neat and in bounds.

Two native perennial plant groups that are adapted to deal with late summer and fall weather are the New England Aster and the New York Aster. The New York Aster is also known as Michaelmas Daisy since they bloom very strongly in late September and are named for St. Michael's Day on September 29 in England. These two groups have also been hybridized with other cultivars and species to produce easy, low maintenance, tough plants that come into color with such force you will wonder why you've not noticed them all year. The powerful colors vary but the two that you will find the most compelling to add to your flower garden are a rich magenta and a blue-purple that needs to be seen to be believed. You will be glad for years and years that you took the time to buy and plant these wonderful perennials. Also hardy throughout PA, as the plants grow you can divide them and add them to other corners of your landscape.

With a name like Mexican bush sage, this particular Salvia tells you that it is tough and will handle typical summer and fall dry periods. Other Salvia and Sages are equally tough. A diverse group of plants, Salvias have both annuals and perennials. Typically the brightly colored Salvias for sale in early spring are annuals and will bloom all summer but need to be replanted since they are not winter hardy. But with what they give in a riot of color all summer, the minimal effort to plant is a bargain. Salvias that are for sale at the nursery now for fall color are more often perennials that will reward you with easy care and rich late summer and autumn color for many years to come. It is easy to forget about Salvias in thinking about fall color since they don't have quite the punch that mums have but deserve their place too since their reds and blues are not colors found with Chrysanthemums.

After a summer of the same look, it is refreshing to enjoy a walk through the garden center for inspiration, a few minutes to enjoy the sun and smell of the earth while planting or potting into urns and containers and the rest of fall enjoying the view.