While I have my favorites I decided to take a poll and hear from some fellow plant lovers at local nurseries about their favorites.  I asked them to recommend trees, shrubs and perennials,  not necessarily in that order.  Here’s what they had to say:

Rosemary Bathurst, Ashe-Simpson

Amsonia hubrichtii – a hardy perennial with great fall color and form.  The airy shapes bend to the wind.  She trims hers back by 1/3 to half  after it flowers in spring  to keep it small.

Aster frikartii ‘Monch’-  one of the latest blooming and the clear blue flowers work so well with Amsonia as well as the fall garden daisies like the Ryan series.

Crocus sativus- this charming bulb with light lilac purple blooms is unexpected at this time of year.  Site it in a location that is easy to access so you can harvest the saffron threads. 

Eupatorium coelestinum- Rosemary admits that this plant can grow even where you don’t want it  but the lilac blooms make up for this bad habit.  In fact it seems to thrive on neglect and shows up in gardens long after they have been abandoned.  

Ginkgo biloba – brilliant yellow leaves and the fact that they drop all at once. She says that in one town in Wisconsin they have a betting pool that you enter by picking the date and time that the tree in the town square will drop its leaves.  The tree can be precise to the hour!

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’ –very dark burgundy fall leaf color and bark interest in winter.  She also likes its size, smaller than the species growing to about 4’ tall.     

Justin Branton, Habersham Gardens

Chionanthus retusus, Chinese fringe tree-although this tree is known for its spring blooms it also displays handsome bark which he appreciates in winter.

Sedum sieboldii ‘October Daphne’-gray green foliage and deep pink flowers

Vaccinium darrowii-also known as evergreen blueberry, tiny evergreen leaves,  it grows 1 to 4’tall and makes a great plant for edging or containers.

Itea virginica 'Merlot'

Melodie McDanal and David McMullin, GardenHood

Itea virginica ‘Merlot’-a compact selection of the native Virginia sweetspire with red and burgundy fall foliage. 

 Juniperus communis ‘Gold Cone’-an upright conifer with golden new growth, turns bluish-green in winter.  Grow it in full sun for best color.  Tolerates drought.   

Lespedeza liukiuensis ‘Little Volcano’- also known as Little Volcano bush clover is covered with masses of red purple flowers that last until late October.  It grows 4 to 6’ tall and is beautiful as it moves with the breeze.

Oxydendrum arboreum

Oxydendrum arboreum-called sourwood, this native tree is one of the first to exhibit brilliant red fall foliage that persists late into the season. 

Viburnum tinus 'Spring Bouquet'

Viburnum tinus ‘Spring Bouquet’-is an evergreen viburnum with dark green foliage, deep red stems and flowers in very early spring.  It grows 5 to 6’ tall, perfect for small hedges or screening.   

Dianna Allstadt, Scottsdale Farms

Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’-this conifer has fragrant branches she loves to use in arrangements and for wreaths and garlands.  A great color in the winter garden.

Lonicera nitida ‘Baggesen’s Gold’- great for containers.  The foliage takes on purple tints in winter. 

Pyracantha ‘Victory’-the brilliant red berries that persist into winter.

Symphoricarpos x doorenbosii Amethyst-this coralberry has vivid purple hot pink berries that stay on after the shrub drops its foliage. 

Acer palmatum 'Sangu Kaku'

Sources: call ahead for hours of operation

Ashe-Simpson Garden Center

4961 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-458-3224

 GardenHood

 353 Boulevard SE, Atlanta, GA 30312, 404-880-9848

Habersham Gardens

2067 Manchester St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30324, 404-873-2484

Scottsdale Farms

 15639 Birmingham Hwy,(Hwy 372), Alpharetta, GA 30004

770-777-5875

Osmanthus fragrans aurantiacus

The Southern autumn garden offers an abundance of interesting plants, including those with fabulous flowers, striking foliage and colorful fruits.  And, let’s not forget our extended growing season.  Fall with its cooler temperatures (and this year plenty of moisture) offers the ideal time to add plants to our gardens.  This includes winter vegetables, shrubs, trees, perennials, bulbs and cool season annuals like pansies and violas.    I have already planted some Peach Frost Sorbet violas with wonderful pastel colors and this weekend I  will add  Darwin Hybrid red tulips called ‘Comeback’ which Brent Heath of Brent and Becky’s bulbs (www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com )  says will come back reliably.

As a garden writer often I am challenged to come up with sources for new and unusual plants that I am excited about so I was thrilled to visit GardenHood, an inspiring  new garden center in Atlanta with an extensive offering of  ornamental plants.  Don’t expect your standard nursery with plants grouped by type, instead they have created rooms of color combinations.  One that I really like is the yellow group, highlighting plants with yellow flowers, foliage and even bark.  A sampling includes the selection of Florida anise, Illicium floridanum ‘Florida Sunshine’ with golden leaves and red stems, a juniper, Juniperus conferta ‘All Gold’ and the striking bark of the Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘ Bihou.’

Acer palmatum 'Bihou'

A variegated Chinese holly, Ilex cornuta ‘O’Spring,’ with foliage that is green, cream and gold, is a plant I have written about but this is the first place I’ve seen it offered for sale.   A selection of Arborvitae, Thuja plicata ‘Daniellow’ also grabbed my attention.

In an effort to address the needs of  urban and surburban gardeners with small or tight spaces, GardenHood offer a number of shrubs and trees for special situations such as fastigiate trees for narrow planting spaces like the sweet gum Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette,’   the fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus ‘Tokyo Tower’ and the columnar  hornbeam Carpinus betulus ‘Franz Fontaine.  A dwarf parrotia called ‘Henny Dwarf’ grows only 15 to 20’ tall with colorful fall foliage and handsome peeling bark.  Perfect for containers is the dwarf Japanese zelkova, Zelkova serrata ‘Goblin’ which matures at 4’ tall.  I have always enjoyed our native sweetbay magnolia and was charmed to meet the  dwarf cultivar, Magnolia virginiana var. australis ‘Sweet Thing.’   For the winter color in pots, the tiny  Chameacyparis pisifera filifera ‘Snow’ is ideal especially in combination with colorful violas.

Ilex cornuta 'O'Spring'

Screening is an issue for gardens, both large and small, and some of GardenHoods offerings include hardy Loquats and evergreens like  Viburnum tinus ‘Spring Bouquet, ’ Viburnum odartissimum ‘Awabuki ,’ and, covered in fragrant orange flowers in autumn, the selection of tea olive, Osmanthus fragrans aurantiacus.

Many of the plants I talked about as well as numerous  others are available for purchase at GardenHood, located at 353 Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30316, 404-880-9848  www.gardenhoodatlanta.com

Apricot Single mum, euphorbia and Heuchera 'Citronelle'

October in the South can be delightful, with late season roses, asters, chrysanthemums and more.  Here’s what’s blooming in my garden today.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva' and Asters in October

a new patio