Kevin’s Penn Garden in November

Victor December 23, 2024

0 4 4 minutes read

Happy Monday GPO players!

We got the latest from another regular on this blog, Kevin Kelly of Harrisburg, PA. Kevin’s garden is spectacular in every season and he is so generous in sharing it in various forms throughout the year. Previous submissions include: Kevin’s Spring Garden, Kevin’s Garden 2022 Review, Late Summer Garden Textures, Kevin’s Garden in January, and more. But there’s something special about his space in the fall. Today we see it covered in last month’s gorgeous fall colors.

Good morning. I’m Kevin Kelly from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (now Region 7a). I haven’t posted in a while, but I wanted to share some photos from my garden in November. I own 1/3 acre in a suburban development. We experienced a dry autumn with no rain in October. Despite this, the gardens are still in good condition. I started gardening here with a blank slate about 25 years ago. My gardening goals have changed and I have moved towards a more naturalistic style. I hope you enjoy these photos.

Here is a wider view of my front yard, from my perspective the garden is ready for winter. The stems remain upright to provide food and winter habitat, and to provide winter interest to me. I have a gap garden on the slope in the middle of the photo. On the left is Berry Poppins® winter berries (‘Hollywood’FarrowBPop’, areas 3-9).

Orange Japanese maple tree in the afternoon sun ‘Koto-no-ito’ Japanese maple (Chicken feet maple “Koto-no-ito”, Districts 5-9) Backlight and afternoon sunlight.

Close-up of yellow Japanese maple tree ‘White Tiger’ Manchu striped maple (Covered by maple “White Tigress”, zones 4-7). This maple tree has beautiful yellow fall leaves with a gorgeous striped back. If planting today I would use snakeskin maple (Pennsylvania mapleregions 3–7)which has similar functionality and is native, but wasn’t available 20 years ago.

Small tree with orange leaves in autumn garden Brown can also be a lovely color. This is the autumn appearance of the “Peve Minaret” bald cypress tree (Shuangsui fir “Peve Spire”, areas 4-9). This dwarf bald cypress is one of the deciduous conifers that does well in this humid site and all the water drains away from my driveway. The one on the right is Lady in Red™ Nine Bark (wind fruit tree “Tuilad”, zones 2-8) On the left is “Little Honey” oakleaf hydrangea. (Oak Leaf Hydrangea “Sweetie”, zones 5-9) (It’s heavily shaded now and will lose its yellow color by August).

Autumn garden border with many foliage plants View of my east boundary from my neighbor’s property. The leaves are left in the flower bed and nothing is cut off in autumn. My beds are planted densely so that I don’t need wood mulch (the plants are green mulch). “All gold” Japanese forest grass (box golden flower “All gold”, zones 4-9) and Oriental Blue Star (taberna montanaregions 3–9) The border scenery is very beautiful in November.

tree with orange and yellow leaves Green Vase’Beech (beech tree “Green Vase”, zones 5-8). This tree has been used as a replacement for elm trees. It is a reliable shade tree that is very upright and can be planted in smaller landscapes or used as a street tree.

Garden shed next to pollinator garden This is my pollinator garden, located in the front yard on the west side of the driveway. My garden shed is in the back. In front is the “Duke Garden” Japanese plum yew (cerebellum “Duke Garden”, zones 6-9), A deer-resistant evergreen that can grow in full sun to full shade. The grass behind it is our native “Ruby Ribbon” switchgrass (Millet “Ruby Ribbon”, areas 3-10).

Plants with dried flowers in autumn I love the way dry flower heads look against the backlight of a rising or setting November sun. This is the “Autumn Fire” Sedum (pitaya “Autumn Fire,” zones 3-9).

Oak leaf hydrangeas with fall colors The wonderful autumn colors of ‘Snow Queen’ Oakleaf Hydrangea (Oak Leaf Hydrangea “Snow Queen”, zones 5-9) Adds a lot of beauty to the shrub layer in the garden.

Garden path leading to terrace seating area Finally, a great place to relax in the backyard. There is a fire table on the terrace which is frequently used when the nights get colder.

Thank you so much for sharing your incredible garden with us again, Kevin! Your space is perfect for all seasons, but you have the perfect collection of plants to create an inspiring fall display.

Even though winter has officially arrived, I’m still really enjoying all of these incredible fall gardens! If you took a photo of your fall garden, please consider sharing it with the following people Daily Garden Photos! Please follow the instructions below to submit.

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