Fall Color Template

Winter: In the cold, snowy, winter months, the dogwoods are a star in your landscape with their strikingly red branches. The barberries will add their pop of color with bright red berries –which also attract birds to your yard. The mugo pine brings the evergreen quality every winter landscape needs, and the switchgrass (if left tall) will add texture and shape to your planter bed. As arranged in the template, these winter stars will fill out the bed in a balanced, easily flowing path. These plants will keep your landscape interesting, colorful, and beautiful all winter long!

Spring: The serviceberry is beautiful in the spring, completely covered in delicate white blossoms. The perennial flowers and grasses will start growing back (after being cut down in the fall or early spring) and the dogwood will be full of clusters of white flowers near the end of the season. The mugo pine, as always, provides the evergreen anchor, and the barberry plants will push out new, showy bright red and burgundy leaves. They, along with the serviceberry, are the stars of springtime.

Summer: Basically everything in this plan will look fantastic in the summer. The flowers will be covered in blooms, the grass will be tall and thick, and the bushes will be vibrant and robust. One of the best qualities of the dogwoods are their variegated leaves that truly are gorgeous in the summer–the soft green centers of the leaves are surrounded by white edges, which creates a really beautiful contrast. The serviceberry will produce dark, purple-black berries that add a splash of color to your yard and attract birds (they are edible for humans, too).

Fall: Your already stunning summer landscape will turn into an absolute showstopper in the autumn months. Burning bush gets its name from the fiery, deep red leaves it boasts in the fall. Likewise, the Autumn Brilliance serviceberry is also named for its brilliant autumn colors–rich red and orange leaves fill this tree and make it a true knockout. The dogwood leaves turn to a soft maroon color, still contrasted with the white edges, and the color of the barberry leaves deepens even more. The dark green of the mugo pine adds a great depth and contrast to the bright reds of the surrounding plants. The colors of the grasses get richer, and the shasta daisies and Black Eyed Susans hang onto their blooms into the start of fall.

As you incorporate these plants into your yard, you’ll no doubt enjoy seeing how each of these plants’ best qualities unfold throughout the seasons--and buckle up for the fall splendor!

Fall Color Design Template

Plants used in this design template: 

• Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry Tree

• Burning Bush

• Ivory Halo Variegated Dogwood

• Mugo Pine

• Toscana Barberry 

• Northwind Switch Grass 

• Purple Fountain Grass 

• Black Eyed Susan 

• Shasta Daisy