Fall officially begins on Sept. 22, weaving its way toward winter’s arrival in December. In West Sound, September often provides lots of delightful days to spend out among the plants in our gardens. October is often quite lovely, too, but as we move into November and sometimes slide down slippery hills and travel on frosty roads, we long for the sunnier days of early fall.
As you settle down inside for the winter, enjoy some gardening inspiration from Teri Cole, who creates luxurious gardens to surround her clients’ homes. She is on site with her crews, who bring in soil, amendments and lots and lots of plants, making the garden a wonderful place to enjoy. Cole even returns to remove, replace and add additional plants when needed. Her creations have delighted and satisfied abundant numbers of homeowners throughout the Kitsap area.
Additionally, Cole has left her mark in thousands of ways through Ferry Boat Mothers, which has rescued tens of thousands of dogs through the years. She’s also been extremely active in volunteering and caring for people and issues during her decades growing up and living on Bainbridge Island.
Enjoy views of some of the gardens designed by Cole. These tastes of spring, summer and fall splendor will sustain you through the shorter daylight days of fall and winter, and provide inspiration as you peruse those seed catalogs longing for spring to arrive.
Cole’s Own Magical Fairy Tale Garden
Entering this garden after choosing from numerous paths, it’s as if you were shrunk down to fairy size and were living in a real fairy garden. Pathways are festooned with hydrangeas in many hues and shapes while gorgeous, deep purple clematis stretch and wind their way through treetops. Every color and size of rose is present, many of them also traversing into the treetops.
Fencing, trellises and birdhouses are tucked here and there throughout the garden. Many of the materials used were repurposed from old boards, tree branches and anything found along the roadside with a “free” sign on it. The birdhouses look as if they stepped out of history and were created from old bits and pieces of wood from Victorian homes or aged white picket fencing.
You could spend literally hours and hours meandering along the paths, stopping to rest here and there on a chair or bench placed in exactly the perfect spot for lingering. Small and large birdbaths and saucers are placed throughout for comfort for the birds.
Annuals and perennials are mixed in with shrubs and trees in just the right combination of appealing, eye-catching charm. Cole often says she loves English gardens, but her garden is so much more than that. It’s as if you have entered heaven for a while and can take those awesome memories of verdant and colorful splendor back to earth to comfort and sustain you.
Tamera Maidenwald Garden
Tamera Maidenwald purchased a home with a somewhat sparse, open and exposed lot filled with light, most of the time changing to full-blazing heat when the sun shines in summer into fall. A huge patio took up a large (but lovely) portion of this sunny area. Cole created heavenly sweeping borders to surround the patio. From the right side of the entrance to the home, a rock pathway beckons exploration.
Grasses create texture and movement. Smaller shrubs provide texture in hues of every green imagined. Perennials were chosen for their shades of purple, orange, yellow and gold, with a few splashes of white placed at just the right spots. Poppies, clarkia, salvias, herbs and just a few annuals like cosmos provide these colorful sweeps. Seasonal bulbs are planted everywhere, too. Some emerge in early spring and others burst forth in summer through fall.
One of Cole’s favorite annuals is called Cupcakes because the blooms look just like a cupcake wrapper. Cupcake cosmos blossoms come in singles and doubles, in shades of white, pink and rose. Cosmos reseed and return every year and blooms usually appear all summer long.
Cherry and Terry James’ Suquamish Garden
The seaside gardens of the James family are luxurious yet family oriented during all seasons. Grandkids love to frolic among the gardens, especially in summertime. Shrubbery forms the backdrop and framework for all the plantings. Here are just a few of the deliciously appealing plants each year.
Annuals: Salvia, coreopsis, cosmos and nicotiana.- Clematis and roses: Clematis montana has sweetly scented blooms in sugar pink. A dark pink, climbing rose covers the archway gate entrance to the seaside patio. A beautiful, peach-colored shrub rose adds charm near the house and other roses are mixed in with the perennial borders along the white fenced areas.
- Container plantings: Petunias, geraniums, lobelia, verbena and sweet potato vine. These beauties are charmingly planted in containers and window boxes.
- Shrubs: Box honeysuckle, chartreuse-leaved spirea and chamaecyparis (in both dark green and chartreuse forms); hydrangeas galore.
Debbie Isen’s Garden
This garden has hydrangeas and other shrubs, with flowers in softer shades of blue, purple and even white. Among them is a gorgeous, variegated plant that highlights and draws attention to the hydrangea towering above. Boxwoods provide a hedge along one side of the garden.
Still Time to Plant
These gardens provide inspiration of what could be planted in your own garden for color and texture. Nurseries carry lots of temptations in September into October for fall and winter interest. Remember to water new plantings each week if these months are without rain.
Look for these bulbs already sprouted in containers. Hesperantha coccinea blooms from September and sometimes even into January and February. It’s available in white, salmon, pink and several shades of red.
Tricyrtis, commonly called toad lily, is most commonly found with white blooms splashed in magenta. It’s also available in purple, white and yellow, but the one most commonly found in our area is white with magenta splashes. Leaves are dark green and also come in a variegated form. Enjoy these bulbs in their containers and then plant directly into the landscape when the bulbs have faded. Let the foliage nourish the bulbs; do not remove it until it’s completely dried out, or let it biodegrade until spring cleanup.
Evergreen shrubs to find are azaleas, Viburnum tinus and Viburnum davidii. Also search for Leucothoe (look for the variegated or red-leafed varieties). Ornamental grasses are also a good choice for fall planting. Look for these in evergreen varieties.
Black mondo grass, which is commonly called lilyturf, is a great plant to find this time of year. You’ll also find mondo grass in a chartreuse shade. Mondo grass develops teensy flowers in spring that turn into black, berry-like seeds. Mondo grass comes in dwarf and full-size varieties.
Also look for chrysanthemums and asters for both planting into existing landscapes or filling decorative containers. Snag bags of spring blooming bulbs now and wait until November or December to plant them up. These include species tulips and narcissus (all forms of daffodils) especially. Or, you can plant bulbs up into containers in the winter months, waiting patiently until they come up in February through April.
Try these ideas and inspiration from some of the gardens designed and created by Teri Cole. You, too, can create magic and charm in your own spaces — and can have a little bit of heaven on earth.
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