Happy Friday GPODers!

Yesterday we started Cherry Ong’s series on her recent trip to Heronswood Garden in Kingston, Washington with her photos of their bog garden (Part 1). Today we continue this virtual tour with a section of the garden filled with fabulous perennials, shrubs, and grasses that were showcasing some incredible fall interest.

Learn more: A Bog Garden

Here are fall scenes of the gardens adjacent to the Heron House at Heronswood. This was my first time to visit in the fall. The textures and foliage remain strong and amazing. For me it’s a delight to see how coveted perennials fare through the season since most garden tours are offered when the gardens are at their peak.

Just like in the bog garden we saw yesterday, a big empty pot is all that’s needed to create an eye-catching focal point. A rusty, orange-red color is the perfect contrast to the many grasses and shrubs that surround in various shades of green.

Some might be itching to give this stately pot a new paint job, but I think the age and wear adds so much more interest and character. Aside from the fabulous focal point, clumps of bright yellow ‘Color Guard’ yucca (Yucca filamentosa ‘Color Guard’, Zones 5–10) really draws attention.

So much fantastic foliage is on display in this little slice of garden, and Cherry captured some great close-up shots to get a good look at the distinct textures and variations in color. In this photo, a Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Zones 4–8) is absolutely glowing in chartreuse foliage.

Even the humble fern frond looks lovely through Cherry’s lens. Though it’s no surprise that Cherry has an eye for ferns with her fern-filled side yard being a favorite here at GPOD: (The Fern Fairway, The Fern Fairway in Summer, Early Fall in the Fern Fairway, and Winter at the Fern Fairway).

Though the foliage was undeniably show-stopping, there were a selection of blooms also adding to the performance. This variegated big leaf hydrangea was doing double duty with edges of white on its glossy leaves and tiny blooms ranging with light lavender to cool blue.

For a more vibrant pop of late-season color, Guernsey lilies (Nerine bowdenii and cvs., Zones 8–11) provide a lovely shade of bright pink with their curly petals.

A big yellow pot of  ‘Yellow Wave’ New Zealand flax (Phormium ‘Yellow Wave’, Zones 8–11) will thrill in many landscapes, but it becomes an instant stand out amongst a sea of black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, Zones 6–11).

Even from a distance, partially tucked behind neighboring trees and shrubs, the yellow pot and mass of black grass draws the eye and pulls you in for a closer look.

A large Japanese mahonia (Mahonia japonica, Zones 6–8) is still looking fabulous in the late season. The glossy foliage adds a touch of shine to the garden, and the spires of blooms have faded into a lovely, muted yellow that compliments the brighter shades in the space.

A paperbark maple (Acer griseum, Zones 4–8) is always a standout in fall landscapes. While the bright, peeling red bark is beautiful in every season, I think it really shines after summer flowers fade.

Thank you for sharing this fabulous fall look at Heronswood, Cherry! I completely agree that it’s just as fascinating, if not even more so, to see these places past their “peak.” We will be returning to Heronswood for one final installment of Cherry’s visit, so keep your eyes peeled for that. And if you’ve visited any public or private gardens this fall, consider sharing your photos with the blog! Follow the directions below to submit your photos, and have a lovely weekend!

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To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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