Autumn is wonderful time to visit the Garden. Fall foliage, autumn crocus, camellias, fall-blooming azaleas and a new flush of roses in the Rose Garden!

Rhododendron Bloom-A-Thon® Red azalea is part of the Joan Van Arnam Azalea Walk in Flagler Garden. The Azalea Walk was created with an explosion of color in mind and Bloom-A-Thon® Red is just one of the many vibrant fall bloomers you’ll see there.

Autumn Crocus, Colchicum autumnale ‘Waterlily’ does look a bit like a water lily, doesn’t it? The light purple fountain-like flowers emerge after the leaves have died back. You can find it in many spots in the Garden, but the easiest to find is in the Healing Garden, part of the Central Garden.

Symphyotrichum oblongifolius is a beautiful tall, upright, compact Aster with vigorous growth. Blooms feature masses of daisy-like flowers with violet rays and yellow centers. It’s attractive to butterflies and other pollinators. You’ll find it in Flagler Garden.

Rosa ‘Pat Austin’ has warm copper to pink blooms with beautiful center ruffling. Be sure to stop and smell this beauty, it has a strong tea scent.  See it in the Rose Garden. 

Pink Muhlygrass, Muhlenbergia capillaris, is wiry grass that forms clumps with a fog of purple seed heads. You’ll find it planted throughout the Central Garden. It’s planted to intermingle with blooms like Echinacea purpurea and dahlia in the Four Season Garden, and planted en masse in front of the Conservatory, where it replaces turf as an ecologically sound alternative.

Sporobolus heterolepis,  has  textured flower panicles that rise above slender green foliage. You’ll find it as a mass ornamental grass planting in the Central Garden in front of the Conservatory.  You can learn more about the benefits of ornamental grass and why we’ve chosen these grasses in particular on the Garden’s blog.

Anemone x hybrida ‘Pamina’ or Japanese windflower offers fabulous, vibrant pink to contrast the traditional fall colors. The backs of the blooms are often as interesting as the fronts. These leggy blossoms sway in the wind, and yield to a fluffy white seed puff after flowering. You’ll find Japanese windflower in many spots in the Garden, particularly the Asian Valley, but this particular cultivar is in Flagler Garden.

Fall-blooming camellias are called Camellia sasanqua, versus spring-blooming camellias which are called Camellia japonica. This one, of course  is a fall bloomer, Camellia sasanqua X Camellia oleifera.   It is a woody shrub with rose pink, frilly, double-blossomed flowers.

Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’ is a new addition to the Four Seasons Garden (in the Central Garden). It is a dwarf version of tatarian aster. It was discovered at 神代植物公園 Jindai Botanic park outside of Tokyo, Japan. Normally this species of aster is 5 – 6 feet tall, but ‘Jindai’ tops out at only 3 to 4 feet, so it doesn’t require staking. It has sky blue to lavender petals with a yellow center, and blooms from late September until our first hard frost. This aster is a great nectar plant for pollinators in the late fall and is, as you can see, a butterfly magnet.

Peek-a-boo plant or Spilanthes oleracae is sometimes called toothache plant because it has numbing properties when the leaves or flowers are chewed! Others call it eyeball plant because it looks like an eye ball. This fun loving plant is in the Children’s Garden.

Abutilon x hybridum features peach-colored blossoms and variegated maple-shaped leaves. Although its common name is variegated flowering maple, it is not related to a true maple tree.