We’re back with Carla Z. Mudry in Malvern, Pennsylvania, today, enjoying the beauty that was late October in her garden. It is a magical moment before the first frost when there are still some flowers and beautiful displays of autumn foliage.

Japanese maples (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9) are beautiful every time of the year but are at their peak in the fall.

The arrival of fall means the end of the flowering season for many plants, but not for camellias (Camellia species and hybrids, Zones 7–10). Different forms of camellias can be blooming from fall to spring in Zone 7 and warmer climates.

This incredible mass of berries is from a viburnum; I think it’s Viburnum dilatatum (Zones 5–8). This shrub has masses of white flowers in the spring, but these berries are the real highlight.

The last roses of the year are the most precious.

Monkshood (Aconitum, Zones 4–8) blooms in the fall and offers a chance to break out from the dominate yellow, orange, and red tones of the season and add blooms in shades of blue and purple. It is also impressively resistant to deer and rabbits.

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect rose bloom. The cooler weather of fall often helps some rose varieties put out their most incredible flowers of the whole year.

Seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides, Zones 5–8) is a large shrub or small tree. In midsummer it has big clusters of white flowers, which are followed up by these beautiful red bracts that hang on through fall.

Orange mums (Chrysanthemum hybrid, hardiness varies by cultivar) are a classic flower of fall and are beloved for good reason. They are also among the flowers with the longest history of being cultivated for their beauty.

Azaleas (Rhododendron hybrids, Zones 7–10) used to be just a spring garden feature, but the new reblooming hybrids (most famously the Encore series) bloom again in fall for an extra dose of flower power.

October is a great time to look up and enjoy the beauty of branches and changing leaves against the sky.

A brilliant red Japanese maple glows against the backdrop of trees that still are mostly green.

 

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