While the calendar said that fall arrived this week, the thermometer wasn’t so sure. It’s been a scorcher, one of the hottest last few days of September that I remember. Every day is clear, and the sun bakes us by mid-day. But, it’s different from July. There is at least a relief in the mornings that wasn’t there a few months ago.
There are other differences from the summer. As autumn arrives, I love seeing copper leaf colors intensifying as the days get shorter. A few months ago, they were a paler pink, but now the leaves are reddening as the season comes to a close.
I can’t think of another plant that pairs well with so many different colors. I planted them to play off our dark brown log cabin, thinking their warm tones would pair well. A dusting of Gomphrena globosa ‘Ping Pong White’ beneath them plays off the older, off-white leaves. Now that we’ve put pumpkins on the porch, I’ve realized copper leaf has even hints of orange. And, at the Plantery, students sited them next to pink as a color echo.
A close up of Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’
Who says you can’t pair orange and pink? I feel like you can with Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’. We let the Senna alata sow themselves around last year near the house, and I left them for texture and for their late season yellow blooms that will be appearing soon.
In the Plantery, the students paired Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’ with Vinca ‘Cora Pink’ for a nice pink color echo.
It’s interesting to me how the leaves play off different colors. As I told my Landscape Plants class, flowers are for a day but foliage is forever. At least until we have the first good frost. Until then, I’ll be enjoying all the warm colors in copper leaf until the forests around us can take over the autumnal show.