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.
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