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© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
© Chris Leschinsky/Sunset
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A garden full of fall color
By Sunset
Inspired by the setting
San Luis Obispo’s wine country always feels like fall, because the hills surrounding the rolling California vineyards are golden much of the year. Homeowners Jim and Jamie deYong chose to mimic those sunny hues in their garden.
A half-dozen species of ornamental grasses grow in neat rows near the perimeter of the garden, tying it to neighboring vineyards. In the front and back courtyards, carex and other short grasses continue the theme, while fiery foliage and flowers add to the autumnal mood. It’s a simple formula that can produce striking results in any garden, even with no vineyard nearby.
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A garden full of fall color
First: Brighten beds with fiery flowers
Plant torch lily beside a red cordyline to make its orange flower clusters really pop. Fill in around both with low mounding grasses, such as Carex glauca, and perennials like Sedum “Autumn Joy.”
Add a row of Stipa gigantea, like the ones behind the wall, as a backdrop; if possible, position these grasses where the sun can backlight them for part of the day.
- Sunset.com: 20 best flowers to plant in fall
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A garden full of fall color
Then: Set them off with chocolate-colored foliage
Purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum “Rubrum”) clusters around a path, while two reddish-brown smoke trees draw your eye through golden clouds of flowering Stipa gigantea.
Space ornamental grasses far enough apart so that, after they mature, they can move gracefully in the wind.
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A garden full of fall color
Finish: With a touch of sunshine yellow
A single well-placed variegated plant can lend a glow to a garden bed. Agave desmettiana “Variegata” fills that role here; it rises above a sea of creeping carex, sedums and thyme.
For more burnish, add copper-toned planters such as these rusted steel cubes.
- Sunset.com: 20 best flowers to plant in fall
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A garden full of fall color
Bring on the heat: Five warm-colored plants
1. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Dense flower clusters start out blush pink, then age to rust as the weather cools.
- MSN Local Edition: Otherwordly landscapes
A garden full of fall color
2. Fountain grass (Pennisetum orientale)
Foxtail-like plumes emerge from 2-foot-tall mounds of gray-green foliage, then fade to golden brown.
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A garden full of fall color
3. Hen and chickens (Sempervivum tectorum)
Rosettes of fleshy bronze leaves hug the ground beside smaller Sedum spurium “Dragon’s Blood.”
- Video: How to maintain your garden
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A garden full of fall color
4. Smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’)
Deciduous shrub with purple foliage turns more burnished in fall; flowers resemble puffs of smoke.
- Sunset.com: 20 best flowers to plant in fall
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A garden full of fall color
5. Torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria)
Orange or yellow flower clusters emerge from grassy clumps.
Design: Ryan Fortini Design Group, San Luis Obispo, Calif. (fortinihome.com)
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