The colors of autumn

By Joyce Arleen Corson
Guest Columnist

Joyce Arleen Corson

SYRACUSE — Reflections from Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862 author, who coined the Autumnal language, enhancing the personality of the season.

According to tradition, the birthstones for October are the tourmaline and the opal. Its birth flower is the marigold calendula.

October is a great time to embrace classically beautiful cool-season annuals and plant lots of them in your garden.

The soil is still relatively warm, but the temperatures are cooling off, making this another perfect planting month.

When it comes to temperatures in October, the outlook is mixed. We fall in the “equal chances” category for near, below or above average temperatures. We typically go through quite the temperature transition. By the time we reach Halloween, our average high drops into the 50s. Over average low flirts with the 30s.

Go beyond the usual mums with fall flowers like blanket flower, canna lily, phlox, coneflower, sage, sedum, and hydrangea.

Blooming October flowers include simple wildflowers as well as garden plants such as roses and sweet William.

The second month of autumn, you can find any flowers that differ in shape, color, size, and care requirements. Among the deliciously scented flowers, you can find Russian sage, butterfly bush, and English lavender.

Flowers such as Japanese anemone, Tatar aster, meadow saffron, and Bluebeard have their bloom period from September to November, but white turtle, golden aster, Clematis Golden Cross, Clematis Rooguchi, and English lavender begin their bloom period in summer and bloom until November.