Stepping into Fall
Perennials for Alkaline Soils
Alkaline soils, which are typically heavy and nutrient-dense clays, are well-loved by many perennials.
Plants like hostas, hellebores, coral bells, garden phlox, coneflowers, asters, daisies, clematis, honeysuckle, grapevine, salvia, sage, geraniums, poppies, rosemary, lavender, and yarrow, thrive in sweet soils, so you have plenty of beautiful perennials to choose from.
If you're planting lilacs, weigela, forsythia, barberry, hydrangeas, junipers, ash trees, buckeyes, maples, pines, or honey locusts, remember that they also prefer alkaline soil.
Elevated pH levels are generally well tolerated by most crops, even though the latter prefer their soils slightly acidic.
Astilbe, ferns, rhododendrons, azaleas, columbines, holly, and blueberries, on the other hand, cannot tolerate an alkaline medium and will not make it.
You have the option of amending alkaline soil, but the effort is mostly wasted if said growing medium is clay: several rainfalls will stratify it, causing the small and heavy clay particles to sink to the bottom, while the topsoil will eventually wash away, leaving the substrate bare once more.
Fall Bulbs
The garden comes alive with colorful blooming bulbs in September, which look exotic due to their southern hemisphere origin.
Some grow tall to create spectacular specimen plantings, like the blue bursts of lily of the Nile, the strange leafless flower clusters of belladonna lilies, or the six-foot-tall fire-red columns of cannas.
Others may not grow tall, but have interesting foliage, unique in its variegation, spiral shape, dark hues, and sophistication, as well as an abundance of brightly colored flowers.
The warm hues of freesias, begonias, cyclamens, crocosmias, colchicum, and Peruvian lilies are so fresh and bright you can almost forget it's the end of the season.
The tuberose, which is known as the Queen of the Night, also blooms in September. Its pure white blossoms and intense, almost decadent fragrance are unmatched by any other flower.
If you live in a warm climate zone, treat yourself to the delight of Crinum lilies. They resemble enormous, tangled masses of white ribbons hovering in mid-air.
I left the best for last, the lovely toad lily, whose name is as unfair as the flower is beautiful.
The clusters of small, intricately detailed flowers that adorn the top of their stalks in mid to late September always remind me of orchids.
Things to Do at the End of the Season
We do the fall cleanup mostly for our benefit because the plants' aerial parts die down at the end of fall anyway, and leaving debris on the flower borders over the winter can protect perennial roots from freezing.
That said, nobody likes a mess. Clean if you must, but leave some seed heads and grasses for winter interest and to provide food and shelter for the wildlife.