“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all.” – by poet Stanley Horowitz.

An art metaphor to describe the seasons, how fitting!! Autumn has finally arrived here in the Bay Area, which means for our gardens it’s time to plant spring-flowering seeds, bulbs, and plants. I’ve written a few articles about the best bulbs and seeds to plant in the fall for amazing out of this world color in the spring.  Let me share a few of those along with some photos.

Mums: When chrysanthemums are available at the nurseries I know autumn has arrived. With their warm autumn colors, mums brighten up any garden in the fall.  I usually buy enough plants to enjoy indoors and a couple to display in my garden. These plants are usually in bloom for a couple of months all the way until December.  For more information and planting instructions on mums check out this article on Mums. 

Notice the little face on one of the mum flowers? I thought the kids had drawn the face on the flower, not so!  It’s just the way the flower opened.  A face on a flower! Pretty cool!

Nasturtiums: I love, love, love nasturtiums!  These gorgeous flowers come in the most vibrant of warm colors ranging from orange, turmeric yellow, saffron orange, peach, coral, and burgundy red. The plants grow from tiny seeds that can be planted now in the fall timeframe for a stellar show in spring. For planting instructions and more information on nasturtiums check out this article The Cheery Nasturtium.

Freesias are another favorite springtime flower of mine. They come in colors of the rainbow ranging from blue, violet, purple, to red, yellow, pink and white. They have a lovely fragrance and grow from little bulbs.  These are by far the easiest springtime flowers to grow. For best results freesia bulbs should be planted in the fall. For planting instructions and for more information on freesias check out this article Freesias.

Daffodils are another foolproof flower to grow.  Plant the bulbs in the fall for a sunny display of flowers in the spring. The best part is that once these bulbs are planted, you will get a daffodil show every year in the spring.  An added bonus is the bulbs multiply producing more flowers with each passing year.  For planting instructions and more information on daffodils check out this article Daffodils.

Ixia also known as African corn lily are cute little flowers that look like peas growing on grass like leaves.  Typically the colors are in white, pale yellow and purple. Ixia bulbs are tiny but they will multiply generously over the years to produce big bunches of ixia flowers. For more information on ixia and planting instructions check out this article Ixia.

Sweet Peas are the darling of flowers! Frilly, girly, pretty, and in shades of pinks, purples and violets, with the most intoxicatingly sweet fragrance; sweet peas always bring a smile to anyone who sees them.  For the best flowers, these seeds should be planted in the cool autumn months. Then wait for the show in the spring.  For planting instructions and a little history on sweet peas check out this article Sweet Peas.

Other easy to grow fall bulbs to plant now for a great spring flower show are tulips, Dutch Iris, hyacinth, ranunculus, and muscari. For a list of other fall bulbs check out this article More Fall Bulbs.

Tulips at Filoli Gardens

Tulips doing well at Filoli!

Spring-flowering bulbs are available now at the nursery so grab them before they run out. We have till December to plant all the seeds and bulbs. Then just sit back and wait for the spring floral riot of color.

“Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring.” – Anonymous

🍁🍂 Happy Autumn Gardening! 🍁🍂