There are many ways to plan for a colorful fall setting when you design your gardens and landscaping

By late summer many of our blooming plants are fading and our landscape is left with a palette of green. We anxiously await a little color in the tree foliage or perhaps a few fall blooming plants. But properly planned your late summer into winter landscape can be bursting with color.

Whether you are planning your landscaping or are looking to add excitement to a dull fall garden there are many ways to strategically add vivid interest. When we plan our blooming perennials and shrubs we tend to think about including spring flowering, summer flowering and autumn flowering plants. But somehow there are still seasonal gaps of interest and not enough visual impact in fall. As fall unfolds, evaluate your gardens and landscape for opportunities to add excitement. You may have areas available to add interest or perhaps you have tired of a fussy or failing plant and can replace it.

Consider how combinations of these ideas might enhance your fall landscape.

• The large “bones” of your landscape should include evergreens which not only create year round color and texture, but offer an excellent backdrop to accent colors. Evergreens can be deep green, blue green, golden yellow or bright chartreuse.

• Perennial grasses are not just green or brown. Look for golden, blue green, red and purple hues.

• Many shrubs and trees produce spring flowers and bright clusters of berries in autumn.

• Deciduous shrubs and trees don’t all have green leaves. Many have creamy white variegation, pale green, yellow green, purple or deep red.

• Certain hydrangea varieties slowly develop rich ruby blooms in autumn. Look for Fire and Ice or Quickfire Hydrangea.

• Coral Bells are staples of the garden in every season and with so many bold colors they can be the highlight of any fall garden.

• Some summer annuals will continue to bloom well into fall, even after frost. Include Geraniums, Marigold, Snapdragons and Zinnias in your spring plantings.

• Some summer blooming perennials also continue to bloom well into fall. Black Eyed Susan and Russian Sage are both wonderful in fall.

• Burning Bush, American Cranberry and Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry are standards for hedging and screening but also turn brilliant red in autumn.

• Naturally the maples that turn to fiery colors in fall are always a favorite.

• Add colorful garden art and pottery.

That is a lot to choose from! Try to combine some of these things with your existing design using a few techniques to make the most of colorful accents. Position brighter foliage against deep greens or blues of evergreens. Tuck plants with interesting or fine texture or more subtle coloring into the front of garden beds. Coarse texture and larger interesting forms can go further back. Combine interesting colors and textures such as deep purple coral bells and chartreuse grasses.

Get creative with color and texture to add artistry to your fall