Hi GPODers!
Today we’re getting a change of pace from the fall foliage and late-season flowers we’ve been seeing a lot of lately from northern gardens. We’re visiting Charlona Ingram in Houston, Texas, who has a garden absolutely filled with vibrant blooms and lush green foliage when the harsh weather of summer has subsided.
Hi GPOD – My name is Charlona, and I garden in Houston, Texas. Fall is one of the best times of the year for my garden. If the plants can survive our clay soil, hurricanes, floods, summer droughts, and high humidity, we are rewarded with a long growing season. It is almost December, and we are still enjoying lots of fall blooms, and sometimes will have blooms all winter unless we get a freeze. Hope you enjoy the garden!
First up in Charlona’s collection of beautiful bloomers is a staple in many southern gardens, Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha, Zones 9–11). The spiky foliage on this plant is such a wonderful contrast to the spires of delicate, light purple flowers.
Charlona’s garden is certainly looking lush and tropical this fall. A bright pink bougainvillea brings a bold pop of color to the bed and a staghorn fern (Platycerium bifurcatum, Zones 9–13) is always a fascinating plant to admire. I love that Charlona chose to hang the fern, the various ways you can mount these plants are another reason they’re so interesting.
Celosia is a popular plant to grow as an annual in summer containers in the north. Their out-of-this-world forms and fuzzy texture makes it an eye-catcher in just about any combination. In the south, these beauties can be grown as a tender perennial and you can find varieties that aren’t as common in nurseries up north. These pink ombré blooms look to be a variety of plumed cockscomb (C. argentea, Zones 10–11).
All of Charlona’s plants are spectacular to enjoy close up, but it’s even more impressive when you zoom out and get to see her combinations of color. Hummingbird bush (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii, Zones 7–10), purple porterweed (Stachytarpheta frantzii, Zones 9–11), vinca, and Gregg’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggii, Zones 7–10) are a sublime combination and perfect rainbow of color.
While the flowers in Charlona’s garden tend to steal the show, she is not neglecting the need for foliage in her beds. Turnera offers some suneshine yellow, and pink vinca flowers pop, but bright foxtail ferns (Asparagus densiflorus, Zones 9–11), and silvery Texas sage (Salvia coccinea, Zones 8–10) foliage gives this plant a whole new level of interest.
Vines in Charlona’s garden make an ordinary wooden fence something magical. More bright yellow turnera creeps along the bottom and pairs perfectly with a blue tumpet vine (Thunbergia battiscombei, Zones 9–11) clinging to a post.
Hibiscus are popular garden flowers across the country, but Charlona has some really gorgeous specimens in her garden. Fringed hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus, Zones 10–11) is so unique, the dainty petals and long, trailing stamen definitely breaks the mold of the more common varieties. Another southern garden classic, shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana, Zones 9–11), has a flurry of blooms in the background.
Another hibiscus with a more “classic” form, lemon yellow rosemallow (Hibiscus calyphyllus, Zones 9–11) still stuns with it’s crinkly, glowing yellow petals and dark, high-contrast center.
Another view of the bed we saw a wider view of above. In this shot, Charlona gives us a better view of the wonderful, worm-like spires of purple porterweed. This pollinator magnet is supported by vinca, foxtail fern, blue plumbago (Plumbago auriculata, Zones 9–11).
Lastly, a plant with a very apt name, firespike (Odontonema strictum, Zones 8–11) flowers are of burst of glossy, bright red from a backdrop of vivid green leaves.
Thank you so much for sharing your late-season garden with us, Charlona! I sincerely hope we get to see your gorgeous plantings again, and that the season brings you many more flowers for months to come.
Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
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.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
The Crevice Garden: How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky places
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Corona® Multi-Purpose Metal Mini Garden Shovel
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes That Repair the Environment
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Comments
So much fun to see a wide range of things so unfamilar to those of us who garden in the mid-Atlantic states. The photos give an impression of a very loose but richly planted garden of thrilling discoveries.
Well put!
Charlona - delightful garden. I especially liked seeing the fringed hibiscus - the deeply lobed? or incised? petals plus the long stamens were intriguing. Thank you for sharing.
This is a magical garden and I LOVE that blue bird sculpture!
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Sign up Log in