Autumn Rainbow In The Garden

Autumn has arrived in the garden, bringing its own rainbow of colors to glow in the low slanting sun.  In the photo above violet asters contrast against the yellow fall foliage of Siberian iris.  Both of these plants came from my friend Kathy's garden.  



Columbine leaves give up on green and turn to purple instead.  Splotches of grey mildew dot many garden plants by this time of the year.



'Rozanne' geranium looks especially blue in the cooler temperatures.  Or maybe it's the October light that emphasizes the blue in blue-violet flowers.



'Victoria' rhubarb is still sporting some green, though you see the edges of the giant leaves are changing.  This mound calls to mind the skirt of a ball gown, puffed out against the ground. 



Large leaves add punctuation to the garden.  I also grow Darmera, Astilboides and Rodgersia for their big leaves.  Surprisingly, this year rhubarb stole the show. 



The green and orange combo of the rhubarb is echoed in the smaller leaves of 'Totally Tangerine' geum, above.



'Stella d'Oro' has the best fall color of any of my daylilies.  These pretty leaves give me plenty of reason to procrastinate fall cleanup. 



Herbaceous peonies add to the autumn exuberance.  Tree and intersectional peonies keep their green foliage long after other plants have changed colors and dropped their leaves.



'Royal Raindrops' crabapple trees are gorgeous right now, with fiery orange and yellow leaves taking over from maroon, plus clusters of little red crabapples.



My roses are still producing red-tinged new growth.  Too bad the buds will freeze and die before opening into another flush of blooms.



'Heartthrob' Korean dogwoods shade from green to red to maroon.  By today the remaining leaves are just brown.



Koreanspice viburnum is tied with the RR crabapple trees for the best fall color in my garden.  A collage of green, yellow, orange and red covers this shrub right now, plus it promises spicy-sweet flowers next spring.
I have piles of bulbs to plant, perennials to cut back and leaves to rake.  The fall cleanup helps me look forward to winter and a vacation from gardening.  But I'll be refreshed and very ready for another growing season before spring comes around again.