My name is Maria Clemente, and I live in northern New Jersey. Working in the garden design industry for over 20 years has inspired me to create several garden areas around my own property. While I try to design gardens that display beauty in every season, I am always surprised at how the autumn garden seems to be my favorite.
Since I heard Danielle and Carol talking about the pink Sheffield mum (Chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’, Zones 4–9) on a recent episode of Let’s Argue About Plants (love the new podcast format by the way!), I felt a need to share the photos of my autumn garden, as that particular mum is one of my favorite plants!
Check out the podcast episode that features Maria’s favorite mum: Episode 148: Wish List Plants
‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ mum takes center stage in the fall garden. Behind it is the tall Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’ (Zones 3–9) with purple flowers and a oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’, Zones 5–9) with beautiful fall color.
Here’s another view of the same planting, seen through a spray of Calamagrostis × acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ (Zones 5–9). The soft pink of the mums is such a great contrast to the brown and tan colors that dominate in the fall.
Brown seed heads from Allium ‘Millenium’ (Zones 4–8) in the foreground and a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5–9) in the background set off the mum flowers perfectly.
A closer look at the oakleaf hydrangea reveals leaves that are just beginning to shift into their warm autumn colors.
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Comments
Truly lovely combination planting, and yes, the mum is stealing the spotlight!
Maria, Can you tell us if you pinch back the Sheffield mums at any point in the growing season?
Where in northern NJ are you? Our last home in NJ before we had to move to NC was in Franklin Lakes and I cried and cried when I left my gardens there! Yours is lovely and I agree that mum is so very pretty - the pink is like a porcelain teacup.
Your house and garden are fabulous! I can see why you love the garden in autumn the most- because you've got the best autumn garden I've ever seen and I am not exaggerating !
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