Enjoy early winter blooms in this cool-weather garden bed
Make your late fall and early winter garden as flowery as it is on any spring day! Just plant cold-season annuals and tender perennials. The pretty, cool colors here are a welcome sight after the autumn show of turning foliage. These blooms will last until a hard frost in northern gardens. And in the South, late fall and early winter, after the heat and humidity of summer has passed, is the perfect time to enjoy these plants. The cape daisies and sweet alyssum will bloom until frost, but you can prolong the flower show by covering them with an old sheet if temps will dip below freezing. By combining colorful foliage, fragrant flowers and bright blooms, you’ll have something to enjoy long into the season.
Care tips
- Keep flowers looking good by removing blooms that are spent or get nipped by the cold.
- Shear back alyssum to keep it healthy; it may reseed, too.
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Fall Garden Checklist
A) Harmony™ Purple stock (Matthiola incana)
Type Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual) Blooms Rose-purple fragrant flowers in spring through fall Light Full sun to part shade Size 6 to 12 in. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in USDA zones 7 to 10
B) Akila™ Daisy White cape daisy (Osteospermum ecklonis)
Type Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual) Blooms Creamy white flowers in spring through fall Light Full sun to part shade Size 16 to 20 in. tall and wide Hardiness Cold hardy in zones 9 to 11
C) ‘Redbor’ flowering kale (Brassica oleracea)
Type Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual) Blooms Yellow flowers in summer; purple ruffled foliage all year Light Full sun to part shade Size 12 to 24 in. tall, 15 to 18 in. wide Hardiness Cold hardy in zones 7 to 11
D) Madeira™ Crested Violet Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum)
Type Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual) Blooms Rose pink flowers in spring through fall Light Full sun to part shade Size 12 to 18 in. tall, 16 to 20 in. wide Hardiness Cold hardy in zones 10 to 11
E) Clear Crystal® sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Type Tender perennial (usually grown as an annual) Blooms White flowers in spring through fall Light Full sun to part shade Size 6 to 10 in. tall, 12 to 14 in. wide Hardiness Cold hardy in zones 9 to 11
