Vines and Groundcovers for Fall Interest

Add a bit of color and fragrance to your fall garden with groundcovers and vines.

The fragrant white flowers of sweet autumn clematis fill the air and this vigorous vine quickly covers arbors and trellises, providing a colorful screen or backdrop for other plants.

Hostas fanciful leaves turn a lovely yellow in fall that echoes the yellow fall color of ginkgoes, witchhazel, willows, birches, and many other trees and shrubs.

The flowers of fall blooming sedums like Autumn Joy and the fall color of others like the bronzy-gold of orange stonecrop add a blast of color to the garden.

The subtle reddening of Epimedium (barrenwort) and transformation from green to red on Bergenia add a splash of color to the ground layer of the landscape.

And bring a bit of fall indoors by harvesting the seedpods of our native bittersweet. You’ll need at least one male for every five female plants for these aggressive plants to develop their colorful display.

A bit more information: Evergreen groundcovers can help brighten the often brown and gray winter landscape. European ginger, creeping phlox, candytuft (Iberis), creeping junipers, creeping mahonia, and many ferns are just a few to consider. Make sure the groundcover you select will tolerate your growing conditions.