Happy Monday GPODers!

As promised, we’re back in Malvern, Pennsylvania to see some more autumn beauty from Carla Zambelli Mudry. Despite the abundance of autumn interest we saw on Friday (be sure to check out Part 1 if you missed it) there is even more incredible fall color to be seen and admired, so let’s get right into it.

All of a sudden it’s November. Enjoy photos from October and the beginning of November throughout my garden.

It’s kind of the end of the growing season. Except we’ll have cooler days and then we’ll have warmer days and the plants are very confused. You will even see some azaleas bloomed again. But in spite of the drought like conditions, because everything is still very dry, even though we’ve had a little bit of rain here and there the colors of fall are beautiful.

Starting off with an another sample of the incredible foliage color that glows in Carla’s garden throughout fall. While Carla has some impressive plant collections (check out her hydrangeasfor example), she also makes a point to prioritize biodiversity. This is a great benefit to the environment as well as a great benefit to her designs as a wide range of colors and textures are always on display.

This biodiversity also lends to the year-round interest Carla achieves that simultaneously supports local wildlife throughout the year. Lots of great native plants makes this all possible, like this red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifoliaZone 3–9) that produces wonderful white blooms that are great for pollinators in spring and these bright red berries in fall that birds love when other food sources are scarce.

Another multi-season stunner is the seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioidesZone 5–9). This native to China is extremely rare in the wild and is vulnerable to extinction. However, it is becoming more and more common to find this plant commercially cultivated, which is keeping the shrub alive in our landscapes.

A closer look at the rosy pink clusters reveal this deciduous shrub’s sneaky secret: these are sepals, not flowers. In late summer and early fall this plant covers in gorgeous white flowers that attract bees and flies in droves for pollination. Every flower that gets pollinated then goes through a transformation. The white petals and stamens fall leaving behind nothing but tiny green sepals that eventually enlarge and transition in color to continue this vibrant show well into November.

And when all else fails, a cute gourd adds an extra does of color when other plants fade. A container of greenery can feel bland in a landscape full of vibrant hues, but this striped squash gives it a bit more life without extra planting or maintenance.

Along with all of the fabulous foliage, flowers, and fruit on display in Carla’s late season garden, more subtle elements of interest like tree bark make a bolder statement in a slightly more subdued landscape. What looks like a river birch (Black birchZone 4–9) his hard to miss now that leaves have begun falling.

While it might feel like a clash against the classic fall color palette, pink is actually the perfect addition to many late season landscapes. The contrast can be very pleasing to the eye and the lighter shades that are often found this time of year don’t look garish against a sea of bright reds, yellows, and orange. This hardy begonia (Begonia grandisZone 6–9) in Carla’s garden is a fabulous example.

Lastly, Carla shows off one final fantastic fall bloomer: the toad lily. Based on the variegated foliage that is glowing just behind this small but mighty bloom, I would guess this is the ‘Autumn Glow’ cultivar (Tricyrtis formosan ‘Autumn Glow’, Zone 4–9).

Thank you so much for all of the beautiful fall garden photos we’ve enjoyed today and Friday, Carla! From the intense foliage colors that create a vibrant tapestry in your woodland borders to the late-season flowers that add pops of pinks, purples, and white, your garden ends out the growing season with a bang.

It’s officially December and winter is hot on our heals. We would love to send off this season by celebrating even more amazing fall gardens. Even if your garden’s autumn peak came and passed weeks ago, we’d love to see the fall color you experienced this year. Follow the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad.

We want to see YOUR garden!

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5–10 photos to (email protected) along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with #FineGardening!

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