Today Nancy Mellen is sharing some photos of fall foliage, berries, and other end-of-the-season beauties from her garden in Hingham, Massachusetts. She grows primarily native perennials and shrubs for the birds, insects, and critters to enjoy in the garden around her antique home.
Hepticodium miconioides (seven sons flower, Zones 5–9). The white flowers have fallen off, but the pink bracts still persist into November.
Here’s a late-blooming hardy chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum hybrid, hardiness varies by cultivar) providing a little food for some hungry pollinators.
Maroon leaves on Viburnum plicata f. tomentosum ‘Shasta’ (Zones 5–8) join with the last few yellow leaves of Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ (Zones 5–9).
Calycanthus floridus (sweetshrub, Zones 4–9) is known for the fragrance of its flowers, but it has a pretty fantastic fall color as well.
This Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly, Zones 3–9) has a few berries left. How long winterberry fruits last on the plant usually depends on the local birds and how quickly they gobble them up.
Viburnum trilobum ‘Wentworth’ (highbush cranberry, Zones 2–7) produces beautiful white flowers in the spring, followed by showy red berries. The berries have all been eaten by the birds, but the fall color of the foliage looks great.
Acer griseum (paperbark maple, Zones 4–8) gets its name from its beautiful bark, but the lovely fall color may be even more dramatic.
Although this Fothergilla major ‘Mt. Airy’ (‘Mt. Airy’ large fothergilla, Zones 4–8) is beyond peak color, it’s still pretty. It will also have pretty white flowers in the spring.
The bright purple berries of Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ (‘Early Amethyst’ beautyberry, Zones 5–8) make a striking combination with the yellow fall foliage. The berries will persist long after the leaves have fallen, provided the birds don’t get too hungry.
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