Hi GPODers!

As promised, we’re back in Carol Verhake’s fall garden in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. After seeing a lovely array of plants with outrageous fall interest yesterday (check out Part 1 if you missed it), we get to enjoy even more fall scenes from her lovely landscape. Here’s a short reminder of what she said about her submission:

I’ve included some close ups of fall flowers that pack a punch along with some broader views that show fall color all around the garden. 

I hope you enjoy these views of my current landscape – I loved seeing a lot of color this season, which was unexpected given the record breaking drought conditions in the area this year.

While conifers are most often used for year-round structure and color, there are some that put on a particularly sensational performance for fall. ‘Soul Fire’ metasequoia (Metasequoia glyptostroboides ‘Soul Fire’, Zones 4–8) is a deciduous conifer, so it will lose it’s leaves during the winter months, but makes up for a lack of winter interest with a vibrant final display.

A mixed island bed in Carol’s garden provides all kinds of fabulous colors and textures, including a bright pink rose that is hanging on into the late season.

And there’s that gorgeous moon gate again. Carol could not have selected a better picture frame for the tapestry of colors in her landscape.

Though her garden has always looked like pure perfection, Carol is obviously always adding and updating. On the left is a new stone bench in her back garden. A perfect place to take in her beautiful scenes.

Another great plant close-up. While each type of hydrangea has its merits, oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia, Zones 5–9) get brownie points from me because of their incredible fall interest. Having hydrangea blooms in fall is such a treat but the red foliage puts it over the top.

So many Japanese maples are excellent choices for fall gardens, but the distinct and unique shape of ‘Peve Starfish’ (Acer palmatum ‘Peve Starfish’, Zones 5–9) makes it particularly interesting. I also love the bold gradient of bright red to deep purple.

In Part 1, I mentioned that Carol had many “gems” in her garden. Yesterday that included bright purple berries and blue flowers. Today, I’m adding this shiny seed head to the list. It looks extra bright with the light fall color in the background.

While Carol has her share of unexpected or uncommon plant picks, she also makes room for plenty of classics. Fall gardens and chrysanthemums go hand-in-hand, and this ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ mum (Chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’, Zones 5–9) is so pretty.

Obviously, Carol has endless fall color to enjoy in her garden. One of those stars is a Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia, Zones 5–8) that is accented so nicely with bright green ferns behind.

The new stone bench we saw above in an afternoon glow.

All of Carol’s incredible plantings are accented by the towering deciduous trees that surround. In the fall they give her a breathtaking show.

A closer look at the amazing view of fall color through the moon gate.

Lastly, a flower-covered water feature is yet another area of interest and eye-candy to enjoy. Though we’ve gotten a relatively extensive tour of her beautiful space, it always seems like there is so much more to see and explore.

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible garden with us again, Carol! Seeing your space in all its fall glory gets better and better every year.

Who else feels like fall has flown by? As we see winter rapidly approaching, I would love to savor the vibrant color and life in autumn a little bit longer. Help us savor the last dash of the autumn season by sharing what fall looked like in your garden this year. Follow the directions below to submit your photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

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!

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