I'm probably not one to give advice because I don't *have* a great garden color sense. But I have to say I'm loving the pink mums that are being sold more widely this year. The sedum autumn joy also seems more pink-ish this year--this after I gave all of mine away because they never seemed more than a dull rust. Both of those are a more muted pink than the hot pink of cosmos.

But you have to go with your gut, if you find something jarring and it continues to bother you, figure out where to relocate those plants. I bought some shrubs years ago on sale at the end of the season, not knowing what color they were. There turned out to be an azalea in a Campbell's tomato soup red that bloomed at the same time as the lilac colored rhododendrons. That always bothered me, and I finally tore out the azaleas this year.

I don't seem to have that problem with pink, probably because I have a lot of it scattered around and I want to stay in denial that summer is gone for as long as possible!

However, I do feel that way about white. I have some ground cover white asters that bug me and a white fall mum that keeps coming back. So I know what you mean.

In fall though I tend to be less particular and just be grateful for anything.

I'm fine with pink in the fall - mostly because most of my roses are pink, and they're still blooming away. I also have some big pink asters, beloved by Monarch butterflies. Orange Monarchs on pink asters. Fine with me.

I did get annoyed this year with Clara Curtis mums, light pink, in an area I want white and cream and yellow. I'll move them next spring.

Like wendyb, I'm grateful for anything.

Claire

I have my cosmos behind sedum autumn joy and next to a limelight hydrangea and a wine and roses weigela. I think combining the "cosmo pink" with the warmer, more fall-colored mauves and wine colors blends the pink in and makes it "fit." I'll try to take a picture tomorrow - - I think it really works, but maybe that's also because I don't have any oranges nearby. :-)

"...In fall though I tend to be less particular and just be grateful for anything..."

LOL, Wendy, I guess that is true!

Now, see, Claire, it's funny that you mention Clara Curtis, because that has been on my wish list for a long time, and I just haven't gotten around to getting it yet. But when I see it, I think, "Oh, how beautiful", not "Oh, how that will clash in the fall". I seem to have this disconnect between my spring shopping for the fall garden, and the actual seeing, looking at, the fall garden.

Perhaps I just need to plan better. Okay, I'll admit it - perhaps I just need to plan. Period. LOL. I confess to being a plopper, one who sticks a plant in wherever there is room for it, and that could be part of the problem.

Although, it's not always the other plants, it's often the backdrop of the trees turning colors. And I can't do much about that.

BTW, Claire, most of my roses are pink too (I did say I loved pink!) and they kind of bother me in the fall too. I'm torn between loving the rebloom, and again, that sense of not quite belonging.

Paige, I would love to see a photo or two. I'm a very visual person, so I love to see what everyone else does in their gardens. It gives me so many ideas and helps me so much more than just discussing it.

Thanks for the input and ideas everyone!
:)
Dee

P.S. Lovesummer, I had the same problem with an azalea, in this case a weird magenta kind of color that just didn't seem to go with anything. I finally moved it out my garden and into someone else's, lol.

I agree - grateful for anything in the fall. And this year still enamored with those Amish Cockscomb, which are still in bloom, pink, and even if they were in the middle of some jarring color (which they aren't) it would probably take me a few years to realize it since I'm easily distracted into focusing on each plant individually and not always great with seeing the whole picture.

My mom finally visited my house this year in the summer and as we drove in the driveway she stared at the front bed blooming with tiger lilies, 4 shades of pink roses, coreopsis, 3 different daylilies, liastrum, a fuschia, a lavender iris, tomato and chive plants blooming in pots by the door, and a big pot of mixed zinnias (plus whatever I'm forgetting) - and her only comment was "My God, do you think you have enough flowers?" But I just can't bring myself to move any of them out of the great sun spot they are in where they might not flourish as much.

My one caveat is that I'm not too fond of white fall flowers, except for the Montawk daisy which is quite striking. The white wood aster keeps reminding me of snow, probably because it spreads so much and blankets areas.

Dee,
I just put in a special from Home Depot that I got for $5.00 called anemone pamina and they are in bloom right now and very beautiful.They are so cottagie looking too! I hope they make it through the winter.

Dee - you said the magic words, you love to see photos (although you did say a photo or two...).

Carefree Beauty Rose, ornamental grass plumes, and Autumn Joy sedum. The hummingbird feeder is the only jarring color to me. The grass plumes still have pink tones to them, soon to fade to tan.

Blushing Knockout Rose and winterberry. The berries just turned in the last week or two. Light pink and red.

Several of my asters are pink with yellow centers, or have pink centers, so pink seems to fit in the fall with them.

Lady-in-Black Aster with goldenrod. Slightly out of focus - my camera sometimes can't decide what to focus on with small flowers.

Harrington's Pink Aster with goldenrod. I've got lots of goldenrod and the yellow centers of the aster go well with it.

And then of course there are Monarchs on Harrington's Pink Aster. Monarchs love this aster and I like the black and orange wings with the yellow centers.

Bottom line - pink is fine in the fall. Now pink in winter is another story....

Claire

Claire, I knew I could count on you for some beautiful pictures! Thank you!

Pink in winter?
{{gwi:1094010}}

This photo of Heritage was from December 1, 2006. No orange or reds or yellows to clash with then, lol!

:)
Dee

Ah, yes, Think Pink !

For what it's worth, Dee, let me spill my guts about "pink"
in the garden, something I've been experimenting with for a long time now. . .

It all started when one of the "featured" plants at a
Philadelphia Flower Show (circa 1994?) was the recently introduced Rosa 'Carefree Wonder'. . .had to have it, so
rushed out that Spring, bought it and made it the central
plant in a newly developed 10'x 6' border. . .now, what to plant with it?

And that's when the trouble started. . .

Pretty quickly, I learned what a difficult color pink can
be to work with. . .over time, ever the glutton for punishment, I decided an exclusively "pink" bed was the
only sensible solution. . .then came crazy years of
mixing "this" pink with "that" pink, only to discover that
there are two distinctly different, and, to my eye at least, two mutually repugnant shades of pink. For want of
better descriptions, I dubbed them the "blue pinks" (cool) and the "red pinks" (warm) - example: at one point, I planted Geranium 'Claridge Druce' (cool) in the same bed
with Geranium 'Wargrave Pink' (warm). . .it was like fingernails on a chalkboard! Finally, I realized that the Rosa 'Carefree Wonder' was warm, so now all cool pinks could be effectively eliminated. . .at least now, the choices were narrowed. . .but almost every new pink plant had to come home "solo", to see if it could "make nice" with the 'Carefree Wonder' and the 'Wargrave's Pink'. It's taken quite a few years, but it's been a fascinating
learning experience, unlike any other I've ever had in a
garden. Also learned: pink benefits greatly from being
"punched up" (accented by a complimentary color), so, that
bed now includes a huge clump of purple Salvia, one very
dark red Rosa 'Europeana', and most recently, a Weigela
'Fine Wine' (the burgundy foliage is stunning with pinks
around it); the pink inhabitants include Phlox (paniculata
and sublata), Chrysanthemum 'Country Girl', Rosa 'The Fairy', several Lilium (Asiatic and Oriental), and my annual of choice, Penta (after trying Vinca, Verbena and
Petunias!) - oh, yes, and a few of seasonal shots of white (Iberis/spring, Shasta Daisy/summer, Anemone 'Honorine Jobert'/fall). . .I know, I know, I should get a
digital camera. . .

And, Dee, if you don't happen to get any Chrysanthemum
'Clara Curtis' this Fall, remind me when the Spring Plant
Swap comes around and I'll bring you a few divisions of my C. 'Country Girl', a wonderful 3' strong pink and not even
blooming YET here in Zone 6 !

Final note: just to mix it up a bit, at the front of this
"pink bed", I gambled and put in a huge clump of Sedum 'Angelina' (chartreuse!) tumbling over the low stone wall. . .much to my surprise, it works! (for me anyway...)

Carl

Yes, Carl, I am the lucky recipient of one of your experiments with pink - the Wood's Aster I brought home from the swap a few weeks ago, lol. I recall it was too blue for your pink bed.

So, then, two questions for you. One, how do you think your pink bed looks when fall comes around? And two, do you think the warm pinks or the cool pinks look better in the fall?

:)
Dee

Well, I guess I won't have to worry about those pink and purple mums, at least for this year.

I went out this morning and all the blooms were gone. And there was a nice path in the muddy bed, made of big, deep deer prints.

Sigh....

Maybe the deer don't like pink in the fall garden either, lol!

:)
Dee

There's just no right or wrong on anyone's color preference in the garden. . .it's strictly personal. . .
my only concern with the pinks was choosing a single
shade (I happen to prefer the "warm", or red, pinks) and
then harmonizing with it. Same way that I prefer very
dark (or redder purples) as opposed to lavendar. . .that
said, there HAVE been a couple places where lavendar was
exactly the right color! Also, those warmer pinks just
seem to "read" so much better, especially in the Fall
garden. . .wish you could see these Chrysanthemum 'Country
Girl', just starting to bloom - when they reach their peak,
there's a second wave of much paler pink mums that takes
over(unnamed variety) late in October. . .I usually still
have some blooming at Thanksgiving! And if you know Rosa
'Carefree Wonder', it's late season bloom gets ever deeper
pink as the temperature drops. . .and remember, all this pink is STILL heightened by the purple Salvia 'Caradonna'
and white Anemone 'Honerine Joubert'. . .

Do I think the bed looks good in the Fall? You bet !!!
Partly, perhaps, because it's so unexpected in the Fall. . . Clearly the deer thought the same about your bed. . .

Carl

My zinnia mix turned out almost all pink (and big - plants almost 5 ft tall.) They are huge and beautiful and still blooming which is unheard of this late in the fall in my garden. They are a bit garish compared to the leaves and fall colors, but some of our fall leaves are pink too! Pink looks great up against my green house. I too am grateful to have color this late, even if it is a bit mismatched to the season.
kathy

I was walking past some wild areas today, and a magnificent flash of hot pink caught my eye: Eastern Wahoo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Eastern Wahoo

A couple of weeks ago I ordered three tubes of Eastern Wahoo from Forest Farm - they should arrive Friday or Monday. I may put them near Grey Owl Junipers.... hot pink and blue-grey in fall!

Claire

Thank you Carl. I was leaning toward thinking that the warmer pinks are more pleasing to me in fall.

Kathy, you mentioned your zinnias, and I feel the same way. I guess it seems to be more the annuals that seem jarring to me, moreso than the perennials.

Ah yes, the Eastern Wahoo, lol. I remember a thread around here somewhere (Perennials? New England?) and I believe it (the thread) was recently resurected to boot. Now, see, there's another plant I thought was beautiful and wanted to get, without a second thought that it was pink in the fall.

:)
Dee

The thread was here on the New England forum, and I resurrected it when a friend sent me some seed pods she'd tentatively identified as Eastern Wahoo.

I decided to winter sow the seeds, but rather than wait for uncertain germination I looked for a vendor. Forest Farm had them, in their small quantities bin.

If the seeds germinate, I'll have even more. How can you resist something that's flashy in the fall, an environmentally acceptable alternative to burning bush, and has such a great name?

Claire

Here is a link that might be useful: Resurrected Eastern Wahoo thread

What a great discussion. Living in an area of New England where fall color is limited primarily to the color tones of muddy yellow to tannin brown I have always appreciated the fall reds, pinks, oranges, purple, green.
I think too sometimes we forget how the rest of the worlds gardeners envy the stunning display in most New England back yards, so perhaps this topic would come off as ridiculous to someone in New Zealand for example where fall color is limited and primarily yellow but still it is held in high regard.
I must also admit that I have complained before about the newer introductions holding on later in the season with tones that are hard to work with. The one example I used was Hydrangea Endless Summer frankly I find the bright blue tone jarring in the garden. I took this photo yesterday and all I have to say is yech give me cosmos pink any day. kt

KT: Maybe you could make a transition to bring the Endless Summer Hydrangea color into fall by planting something likeCeratostigma plumbaginoides around it. The Cs also has bright blue flowers but combines it with leaves that turn maroonish. Add a few hydrangeas with maroon/burgundy leaves and maybe the blue would look more autumnal. Insist on clear blue skies every day and it could look right.

.................................................................................................................
Thinking about my Eastern Wahoos (I got the delivery today!), I might go for this combo:

Gardenbug's photo of Eastern Wahoo fruit
{{gwi:184009}}

My Grey Owl Junipers

Claire

Now see, Katy, I think I would prefer the shades of blues and purples of the Endless Summer to pink. Perhaps because I am used to purple asters being everywhere, mixed in with yellow mums, and the purple/blue doesn't strike me as being as discordant as the pink.

Claire's got some good ideas too, about companion planting - and of course, the clear blue skies, too, lol. ;)

I've been paying closer attention to the seasonal displays on the houses around here. Many people in my neighborhood don't really "garden" here - they have landscaped yards, so I look to see what they have done with, say, the front steps. Gone are the impatiens and geraniums and sweet potato vines, and in are the mums, pumpkins, cornstalks and hay bales - and no sign of pink, for the most part, lol.

That being said, I really am absolutely reveling in my cosmos! I have Picotee and Daydream, and Seashells, and Purity which is a glistening pure white, and also some gorgeous deep, dark, almost magenta color, and they really look wonderful. I just have to stand right in front of them and not look past them or to the sides to see the yellows and oranges of the trees, lol.

Planning. I'm convinced that that's the ticket. Doesn't mean I'll necessarily do it, lol, but that is the answer. I've got to stop my plopping ways and put some more thought into the entire bed(s), not just putting two plants that look good together, and two more over here, etc.

Claire, that Eastern Wahoo is truly spectacular! Thumb away!

:)
Dee

Dee - Too bad the deer ate your mums! That little broken snippet of mum that I snatched back from the mums I foisted on you did indeed turn out to be a warm-pink daisy type. They seem to bloom much later than the orange ones. I like pink in the fall garden. Maybe I have well developed garden tunnel vision, but it doesn't seem discordant to me.

Deb, those mums you foisted on me (lol!) haven't bloomed yet! So I guess I'll have more pink, lol!

Twice this week I cut bouquets to bring into work. Tuesday's was a beautiful pink, red and white concoction of zinnias, dahlias, purple ageratum and a bit of salvia that is left.

Today's bouquet was a last-minute birthday bouquet for a co-worker, which was kind of in desperation but beautiful - several variations of pink cosmos, white cosmos, magenta cosmos, pink and purple zinnias, pink and purple dahlias, and purple monkshood. I've never cut cosmos or monkshood for a bouquet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will last, but in the meantime, it just seems those pinks won't stop coming! I've noticed other cosmos around town that are gorgeous now too.

Two weeks ago I thought the pink was somewhat jarring. Now I'm leaning towards Wendy's view of being grateful for blooms, and I'm really appreciating how beautiful the pinks look - with a little help from, as Deb says, tunnel vision, lol!

:)
Dee

Tonight at soccer practice, the coaches made a point of making sure the kids looked at the trees along the side of the soccer fields. Brilliant yellows and reds, with a dramatic dark sky behind them, and the evening sun lighting them up.

Most of my mums seem to be pink. It wasn't deliberate.

I looked out the kitchen window this morning and was admiring the indomitable Blushing Knockout rose. The regular Knockouts and Pink Knockout gave up weeks ago, but the Blushing Knockouts just keep blooming. They've outlasted all but one aster.

I happened to look at a slightly different angle (checking to see if there was suet left in the feeder), and a sumac came into view in the background. It's not your traditional fall colors, but I love the pink rose, red and green winterberry, and red-orange sumac.

Ice in the birdbath and frost on the car a few days ago, but no freeze yet. I wonder if the rose will outlast the winterberry leaves.

Claire (who just realized that the winterberry seems to be in almost every photo I take)

That's it! I am going to try Eastern Wahoo again on my property. I bought a rooted cutting from Tripple Brook a few years ago but it died from sheer neglect. That foliage is beautiful and I love the berries. Thanks Claire for the pic and inspiration :-)

p.s. your photos are so crisp and sharp - what kind of camera do you use?

ellen_s: My camera is a Canon Powershot S5IS, 8.0 megapixels, 12X zoom. My main concern was the zoom, originally for photographing birds in the yard, but it's also useful for photographing the garden from indoors. No need to put on shoes, a coat, whatever.

Claire

Thanks Claire. Maybe I need to ask Santa for a zoom lens. I have a new Digital SLR camera (well, from last Christmas) but I just can't get the shots I want with it.

BTW, about pinks in the fall garden, I still have Korean Mums blooming (a very hardy unnamed variety passed around family and friend gardens, kind of a light pink daisy with yellow eyes) and apart from the Sweet Alyssum, I think they are the only things blooming right now. Compared to decaying brown foliage nearby, I'll take their cheery pink right about now :-)