The Autumn Rush

Autumn offers a wide range of choices for creative inspiration

There is more to autumn than just Mums. True, Mums are important to the autumn market, but they are only half of the season. There is another half that enhances what Mums can do and extends beyond that for greater inspiration. It doesn’t matter if you are a garden center or landscaper, if you design for containers or public displays, or if the plants enhance a home or community event. A simple walk through the greenhouses shows a number of creative choices available for your work, shipping right now.

Celosia ‘Fresh Look Yellow’

We are currently shipping three colors of Celosia with large combs: Yellow, Orange, and Red. These are versatile plants for late summer and early autumn designs. They are big, showy, and visible from both containers and landscape beds where some flash and pizzazz is needed to greet visitors.

Celosia is especially good in the insta-gardens needed for immediate events like home openings, weddings, and neighborhood parties. It also serves as quick drama in commercial accounts where the ambiance of the property is important, like hospitality businesses and restaurants. Better still, the plants are very low-maintenance.

Showy ‘Fresh Look Orange’ adds flash and pizzazz

Our large comb Celosia varieties grow about 6–9 inches tall. They’re taller than they are wide, and grow best in full sun with a prepared garden bed. These are tough plants so they can handle the heat, humidity, and heavy downpours that show up this time of year. If your market includes craftwork, keep in mind that feathery Celosia blooms dry well and retain their color for everlasting bouquets.

‘Fresh Look Yellow’, ‘Fresh Look Orange’, and ‘New Look Red’ Celosia are shipping now in the 8-inch pot.

Feathery blooms of ‘New Look Red’ are beautiful fresh or dried

Our company initials drawn in Marigolds

A special treat at Field Day this year was the DGI monogram drawn in Marigolds. It was the centerpiece of Ron’s Garden, the long bed down by House 10. Ron used Marigold ‘Janie Yellow’ to draw out the letters, backing it with a tall stand of Cannova Canna and underlining the text with Evolvulus ‘Blue My Mind’ and Lantana ‘Hot Blooded’. It was a fun project—so if you are interested in spelling out words in your landscapes, give us a call.