Using Color to Capture the Essence of Fall – Even in Northwest Florida!

Northwest Florida doesn’t experience the cool, crisp fall temperatures that characterize Autumn in New England, the Midwest, and the northernmost states. Colder temperatures and shorter days provide two of the most critical conditions that cause the foliage of trees and shrubs to change colors in a cycle that culminates after all the leaves have fallen off of every deciduous plant.

Florida may not be the place you think of when you think about beautiful fall foliage. However, the fact that we don’t have the climatological conditions conducive to the development of beautiful fall leaves shouldn’t stop you from finding ways to capture the warmth and earthiness of fall’s glory around your property.

We’ve come up with some ideas that will help you use color to capture the essence of fall in a way that will work for homes, investment properties or commercial buildings. 

Chrysanthemums

When we talk about using Chrysanthemums in your fall yard or garden landscape design, we’re not talking about the kind you find at your local grocery store. We’re talking about Hardy Mums that are sold at garden centers and plant and flower nurseries.

The triggering mechanism that causes mums to bloom in Autumn is shorter days. As the hours of sunlight decrease, the number of daylight hours also lessen.

According to Rodale’s Organic Life, Chrysanthemums start to produce blooms when there are at least ten hours of darkness every day. Mums come in a range of varieties and colors. Rich earthy colors such as rust, burgundy, purple, yellow, orange and multi-colored flowers capture all of the warmth of the harvest and the essence of the season.

Trees for Fall Color

In November of 2013, The University of Florida IFAS Extension released a list of trees for fall color with a focus on Gardening in the Panhandle. The list included trees that are ideally suited to growth in our Northwest Florida service area. 

• Native Florida Maple (Acer saccharum var. Floridum) has spectacular orange and yellow leaves in Autumn.
• Flowering Dogwood (Florida native) produces leaves that gradually change from red to maroon.
• Red Maple is known for its orange, red and sometimes yellow leaves.
• Native Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) has leaves that transform from red to purple.
• Crape Myrtle is a favorite Southern tree, and for a good reason. There are many cultivars and the fall color transformation that the leaves undergo varies by variety.
• Sweetgum produces leaves that are shaped like stars. Its leaves go through a fall change from orange to bright red, yellow, and purple.

Let GreenEarth Help You Use Color to Capture the Essence of Fall

If you are thinking about using color to bring the spirit of Fall to your residential or commercial property, the experienced GreenEarth landscaping professionals can help you choose the best plants, flowers, trees and shrubs to fill your home or commercial property with the warm and earthy colors that are synonymous with Autumn.

If you’d like a consultation or want to know what we can do to help you, give us a call at our Panama City Beach office at (850) 236-1959, or call our Santa Rosa Beach office at (850) 267-0010 to set up an appointment. You can also fill out the online form on our website to schedule a consultation.