“I don’t do frilly,” say Diane Schaub, director of gardens at Central Park Conservancy. We are standing under the shade of an old magnolia in the English garden, one of three smaller gardens within Central Park’s six-acre Conservatory Garden near the northeast corner of the park. Schaub, who earned a diploma from the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, has been curating the Conservatory Garden for more than 30 years. And while she does not do frilly, she does do color and texture, breathtakingly well. She has a painter’s eye for composition and an architect’s instinct for structural detail.
Below, we share her best color combinations for fall garden beds:
Above: “This is as frilly as I go,” she clarifies, indicating a velvet-leafed plant with burgundy leaves, beside the bluestone path. The plant in question is a Solenostemon (formerly classified as Coleus) and the cultivar is ‘Lancelot.’ Above: Solenostemon ‘Lancelot’ (paired with Salvia ‘Paul’) belongs to a crew of leafy annuals whose impact is felt dramatically in this garden, where the seasonal spectacle owes a great deal to plants whose interest lies in their foliage.
Purple + Yellow + Blue
Above: If you thought leaves were boring, think again. Solenostemon ‘Purple Prince’, black-leafed Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’, and Salvia farinacea ‘Victoria Blue.’
Above: A bed of Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, Salvia x ‘Indigo Spires’, the leafy and lilac-striped Strobilanthes dyeranus, and elephant-eared Colocasia esculenta ‘Blue Hawaii’. The latter “makes the whole composition work,” says Schaub. Dark purple Pennisetum ‘Vertigo’ is in the background. Above: The English Garden is arranged in beds radiating from a central pond overhung by the largest crabapple tree in Central Park, leaves now turning yellow. Designed by Betty Sprout and opened in 1937, this part of the park was by the 1970s considered one of the most dangerous places in New York City. In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed in response to the neglect the park had suffered in the previous two decades. Its founding director, Elizabeth Rogers, earmarked the Conservatory Gardens for renovation.
I usually think about bunnies around Easter time, but they also hop into my head in the fall, when I need a grass that will reliably perform in the garden—and I inevitably reach for red bunny tails. I’ve used this burgundy-topped grass in many different gardens and usually have the same results: awesomeness. If your fall garden needs some interest, consider adding Pennisetum massiacum, a charming grass with a festive-colored fuzzy plume.
Hailing from East Africa, this heat-tolerant evergreen grass will reliably perform in your Zone 7-11 garden. Come late spring and well into summer, you will see fluffy burgundy flower plumes that resemble little red bunny tails (or maybe bunny feet) rise out of glossy green leaves. Then come fall, the flowers slowly morph to a tawny tan color while the leaves flush with burgundy. Growing into polite tufts that are about 2 feet tall and wide, this grass is perfect for adding to a garden with other ornamental grasses, pollinator-friendly perennials, and even bolder succulents.
This grass is a pro at adding movement, texture, and a dash of color to a garden. Side note: I’m a big fan of burgundy-hued plants, so I could be a bit biased here, but what I have found is that the color plays well with most other colors, so it’s easy to add into an established garden. If you live near the coast, this grass will tolerate salt; plus it will move with the breeze and the plumes will dance above the arching foliage. If you live more inland, a strong breeze will still set this grass into motion.
Cheat Sheet
Above: Tinges of red on the grass. Photograph by Kier Holmes.
This grass looks especially lovely when backlit because of the thin, red-hued blades and the fluffy reddish plumes that appear almost translucent.
This grass also looks lovely when planted on hillsides and in mass or clusters. Another spot to consider is the “hell strip” area by the sidewalk because this medium-sized grass won’t overpower the narrow space.
Luckily, deer won’t find it tasty.
Pair this pennisetum with echinacea, rudbeckias, sesleria, and agaves.
Cut the blooming stalks and use them fresh or dried in flower arrangements.
Hardy in USDA Zones 7-11. In colder areas, treat it like an annual.
Plant this pennisetum in a sunny spot and make sure the soil drains well, though I have punished these plants in clayish soil before and they thrived despite the less-than-ideal environment.
Like most plants, this grass likes regular drinks of water to get established but then the water frequency can downshift as it matures.
I like to deadhead the stalks when they get too tawny and ratty at the end of fall, but it’s a visual preference. Plus, I like to rejuvenate the clump by pruning it down a few inches in early spring.
Easy to maintain, this grass won’t be affected by serious diseases or insects.
