A birdhouse on a pole stands in front of tall trees; one tree has bright orange and yellow leaves, while the others are green. A wire runs horizontally across the scene.

Autumn, like dusk, gilded the landscape in its tangerine rays as the petals and foliage blushed in the crisp air.  Beauty was everywhere.

A bee collects pollen from the center of a vibrant purple flower, with additional purple blossoms and greenery blurred in the background.

As we begin to put our landscapes to bed – tidying, raking, mulching, and pruning, you might consider letting your perennials stand. To many, this seems counterintuitive, and to the fastidious, this seems outright insane, but Nature says otherwise.

A close-up of a dried, spiky flower head with a blurred green and yellow background.

Perennials within the natural world are certainly not cut back, so why should we? The answer lies mostly in aesthetics. Many people think spent perennials look untidy and unwieldly, yet they actually provide Winter interest, and more importantly, they serve as a source of food and shelter for local wildlife.

Dried hydrangea flowers and bare stems in the foreground with a snowy, sunlit landscape in the background.

And as the snow falls and covers these perennials, undulating shapes and mounds give the winter landscape further depth and appeal.

Close-up of dry grass covered in a thin layer of ice on a cold winter day, with a snowy background and trees blurred in the distance.

Ornamental grasses are especially appealing as are Coneflowers, Sedum, Goldenrod, Sunflowers, Gaillardia, and Black Eyed Susans. Of course, if you have some aggressive self-seeders, you may want to consider cutting them back, or at least, removing their seed heads.

Two dried, brown flower heads in sharp focus are centered, with a blurred background of purple and yellow leaves. The lighting is natural, highlighting the textures and colors.

Fight your instincts and quell the urge to cut back your perennials. In doing so, you’ll be offering food and shelter for birds, squirrels, and other critters while creating interest in a somewhat lackluster gray and white season. As always, reach out to Sweeney’s with any questions or concerns you may have, and  remember to schedule your Fall projects today as time is a ticking!  We proudly serve the communities of Villa Park, Elmhurst, Oakbrook, Oakbrook Terrace, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Wood Dale, Itasca, and more!

Sweeney’s:  A Plant Based Company

Plant of the Week

 

Purple flowers and green foliage grow next to tall ornamental grass along a sidewalk. A metal pole stands in the foreground, with trees and a house visible in the background.

Rozanne Geranium

Clusters of lavender-blue flowers bloom in mass amongst mounded, deeply cut foliage May – October.  Prefers sun to partial sun and moist, well-drained soil.  Grows 12-18″ tall and 24-36″ wide.  Attracts butterflies.  Deer and rabbit resistant.

“Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; 
but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance.  What man can stand with autumn 
on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling 
hills that reach to the far horizon?”

-Hal Borland

Best wishes,

Kim Sweeney