4 Keys to Fall Garden Splendor

CONTRAST

Combine light colored leaves with dark colored leaves; coarse textures with fine, lacy textures for a dramatic and interesting look.

USE GRASSES

Use ornamental grasses like Miscanthus (Maiden Grass), Pennisetum (Fountain Grass), or Calamagrostis (Feather Reed Grass) to add texture, movement, height (in some cases), and color to your fall landscape.

FALL COLOR

Choose shrubs like Viburnum, Burning Bush, Dogwoods, and Maples to add some red color to your fall landscape.

EVERGREENS

Evergreen trees such as Spruce or Pine and evergreen shrubs such as Spruce, Pine, Juniper, and Euonymus act as a backdrop to summer flowers and as an anchor in a winter landscape.

What is your favorite fall garden element?

Pansies for fall abundance

Now is the time! Plant cold hardy pansies to brighten up your perennial garden or dress up the entry to your home. They will last throughout the winter into spring.

Plant for abundance
Plant burgundy pansies along the path to your front door to encourage abundance to flow to your home. Plant the purple or 'blue' variety in the far left hand corner of your back yard.

Types of Pansies
Pansies are a descendant of the viola family. The hardy but delicate viola was cultivated by the Greeks for herbal medicinal use and much later inspired William Shakespeare to write of romance.
Two types of pansies: clear-faced and monkey-faced
The monkey-faced varieties have a dark blotch in the middle of the face. Pansies are available in blue, yellow, brown, white, maroon, and orange. A raised bed is the best place to grow pansies. Native soil works if you enrich it with 2 inches of compost incorporated to 6 inches deep. Plant pansies about six inches apart in the garden. They should be watered every day for five days and ever other day for a week. After that, water twice a week or whenever the soil dries to a depth of 1 inch deep. Two inches of mulch helps conserve water and improves pansy performance.Deer love pansies so don't plant them where the deer can reach them. Your pansies will bloom all winter long, and often last until the weather turns hot.

Edible garden flowers
Both the leaves and flowers of pansies and violas are edible and high in vitamins A and C. The flowers impart a strong flavor and have been used to make syrup, flavored honey and salads. Both the leaves and flowers can be used as a garnish, such as on cold fruit or cream soups. So add them to your vegetable garden!

Pansy plant care
Pansies seldom have problems with insects and disease. If insect or disease problems occur, treat early with organic or chemical insect repellents and fungicide.
If pansies fail to thrive it is often because neither nature nor the gardener provided enough water. Mulching around the pansies with 2 inches of organic material will help conserve moisture, and reduce weed growth.
Water the soil (not the plant leaves) deeply.

Plant them in your veggie garden, plant them for abundance, plant them in pots, just plant them, plant them, plant them! Enjoy!

Pumpkin Decorating Tips

Are you tired of the same old pumpkin carving? You've been doing the same faces since you were a kid, isn't there any other way to decorate a pumpkin? Of course! You just have to get out of the same old carving mind set. Here are some other ideas:

• Try paint- wash and dry the outside of the pumpkin well and use acrylic paint to create your design. You can still outline your shape using a stencil. Pin leaves, real or silk, to your pumpkin and spray paint around them. This works well with pumpkins that still have some green on them. For a contemporary twist, select a white pumpkin and use black paint. Uncarved pumpkins last longer as well. You could even use this same technique for Thanksgiving using different designs.



• Scrape the flesh of the pumpkin but don't carve all the way through. Leave some areas just scraped for a glowing appearance. The light inside will glow out those areas and create a beautiful effect.



• Use your pumpkin as a vase for a flower arrangement. Carve your pumpkin (or not), cut a lid from the top and hollow out or partially hollow out your pumpkin. Drop a small container to hold water and place flowers inside. A beautiful display for any fall occasion!



• Instead of cutting the top off to insert a candle or light, leave the top in tact and cut off the bottom. This can help stabilize a lop-sided pumpkin, and you can slide the pumpkin over the candle or light.



• If you like carving pumpkins and maybe creating goofy or scary faces, try adding other gourds and vegetables for a new look. For example, cut small holes in the 'ear' area and insert red chili peppers to make horns. Or, cut a hole for the nose and slip in a gourd to create a bulbous nose.



• Use ribbon, metal wire and other household items to create something new.

Look at your hardware store and produce section in a new creative way to add new life to your creations! If you have other unique ideas, please share.

Making Fall Pumpkin Arrangements— Michelle Cobb, instructor

I will be sharing ideas on different ways to decorate your pumpkins and how to decorate with them.(glitter, ribbon, paint, leaves, etc.!) We will make a beautiful fall pumpkin arrangement! Decide on the right shape for your table and the fall colors to enjoy indoors as well as outdoors. Bring a small pumpkin and pumpkin carving kit. Flowers will be provided by instructor.

REGISTER BEFORE OCTOBER 19TH

For information or to register by phone, call 303.797.5722 or 303.797.5608.E-mail community.ed@arapahoe.edu.
Thu, Oct 22, 6-9 p.m. HRTC 1011F01-66269 — $39, $10 material fee to instructor