Though we have had some very warm weather lately, our the fall gardening season has begun. There are telltale signs. Shorter days, a decidedly cooler quality of light, and the the chilly mornings are all signs that summer is coming to a close. But the end of summer is by no means the end of the garden. The abundance that results in the harvest season is one of fall’s great pleasures.
The grasses are maturing. Our farmer’s market is overflowing with squashes, greens of all kinds, pumpkins, cabbage and broccoli, gourds and tomatoes. Many vegetables need our entire season to mature. Locally grown fruit of all kinds-especially apples-are available at market. Similarly, there are lots of beautiful materials available to the avid container gardener. I like for the fall containers we do to have a generous and abundant quality to them. A fall centerpiece for a container is usually comprised of harvested goods. Millet, dry twigs, broom corn, eucalyptus, milkweed pods and dried perennial stems are all natural materials in a harvested state.
When the temperatures begin to drop, there is not so much growing going on. We rely on large material to give containers the scale they need right from the start. The centerpieces have large stout bamboo stakes at their center. These stakes go deep into the soil, keeping a big heavy centerpiece not only aloft, but straight up and down.
The cabbages and kale are the mainstays of our fall plantings. We are indeed fortunate to have growers that supply them in one gallon pots this time of year. A container this size represented in a generous way makes a visually pleasing statement.
This material will persist and look good long into the fall. The cabbage and kale will shrug off the frosts in November as if they were nothing more than an annoyance. The dry and preserved material is very happy outdoors in cool weather with great air circulation. All it takes is a willingness to scoop up what materials are available that interest you, and make something of them.
This Friday past we planted 24 pots in downtown Detroit-we will finish up the last 7 on Monday. Assembling the materials for a planting takes a lot of time and planning, especially if the pots are large. My group has worked together long enough to have established a working routine.
Ahead of the planting, the pots need to be designed. Once I put that on paper, Steve will coordinate the installation. Everyone has a job such that the work can be completed with dispatch. All of the summer material needs to be removed and put on the truck; that material will be added to our compost piles. The new material is sorted, and distributed where it needs to go. Assembling centerpieces on site take 2 pair of hands. We try to clean up as we go, to keep the mess at a minimum.
The centerpiece goes in last, and is firmly secured. The construction of fall pots is entirely unlike planting pots for summer, and more like planting pots for winter. There is more arranging going on than growing.
Bittersweet stems are zip tied to bamboo stakes, and set in the pot at the very last. Bittersweet is not a plant I would want in my garden-it is highly invasive. However the dried stems and berries are very durable and beautiful outdoors in fall pots.
The dried and dyed yellow twigs provide lots of color at a time of year when color is at a premium. Preserved eucalyptus is another great source of color. The plum eucalyptus in this arrangement is subtle, but it picks up the dark carmine pink of the cabbage and kale.
I like fall represented as a celebration.
Pansies and violas are great in small pots, or as a accent in a large pots. These bowls are 6 feet in diameter, and take a lot of material. The contemporary shape benefits from the repetition of materials. Each of the 11 pots we planted for fall has the same overall design, but features different and alternating materials.
The fall planting for all of the dogs at Chase Tower have a center of dusty miller and cut green millet. The silver and light green help the dark moss sculptures to stand out. The pots are located under a very high overhang, so they are always in the shade. The cabbage and kale will tolerate this for the several months they will be planted here.
The moss dogs add so much visual interest, and they can be retained season after season. The moss can be be sprayed with moss food coloring once it fades. When the time comes that the moss deteriorates, the steel frames can be re stuffed.
Thre dogs themselves are welded onto steel posts that are 30″ tall. This keeps the sculptures above the top of the plant material.
Our last stop-the stock tanks at 1001 Woodward. The espalier pear trees will spend the fall season here, and then be moved into storage for the winter. The redbor kale and frilly purple cabbage look great with the black tanks.
This small urban park is as friendly as it is stylish. The stock tanks are an unexpected choice for containers. The artificial turf is just plain fun. It was a gorgeous day to be downtown planting.
Our weather has taken a turn towards fall; today’s 47 degree temperature is all the more chilly for the 35 mile an hour winds. I was so sure I would have my summer flowers into next week. My clients are much more graceful about moving on to the next season than I am-especially those clients with children. The Halloween holiday-what child isn’t entranced by it? A request for fall pots came from a client with children ready to devote the entire month of October to some ghoulishness.
My favorite part of October is that group of leafy plants known as the Brassicas. They come into their own late in the gardening year. Though there is some disagreement about which plants belong to that group, cabbages, kales, cauliflower, and broccoli are prominent members. These cool season annuals are great to eat-but I love how they look. There are many hybrid cabbages and kale that are grown for the beauty of their leaves. As the weather cools, the color intensifies. 
I am indebted to the Brassicas for their scale, mass and texture. Though many plants are tolerant of cold weather – the pansies, certain grasses and so forth-the cabbages and kales can be had of a good size. Our fall season is short, and not so much actual growing goes on. I like planting big right off the bat; some years the fall constitutes but a few weeks. They are not in the least bit fussy about planting depth. If I need to sink them in a pot for a better look, I do so.
A hazelwood stick covered with grapevine is sunk deep in the soil of the pot. Since wind and rain are more than likely, anchoring any dry materials in a sturdy way is essential. The pod sticks resembling a tritoma have been constructed from overscaled seeds. The entire assemby is glued up on the stick, and sealed. I do make a special effort to find materials like this that can withstand blustery weather. 
The finished planting is a great scale with a pot this size. The hazelwood stick repeats the basketweave pattern of the pot, and the light colored seed pod stems make reference to the garden gone to seed. The curvy pods echo the curve of the tall kale leaves. I like fall pots with all manner of things in them that refer to the natural world. 
The happy accident of this planting-how great those pale pods repeat the color and texture of the skeleton. 
