Come see the new fall plantings in Madison Square Park! Our gardeners have been busy putting together an eclectic mix of annuals to welcome the cooler weather. Take a walk around the fountain and see our exciting specimens. This season we are featuring  flowering maples (Abutilon pictum ‘Variegatum’) and Coleus (Coleus ‘Kiwi Fern’) as “standards,” plants that have been pruned and trained into upright tree forms. The colorful foliage of Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’ and various Coleus will help complement fall flowers Torenia, Diascia and Nemesia.

We have also spruced up our containers around the fountain. One container features the eccentric African Milk Bush (Synadenium grantii) surrounded by the delicate flowers of Gaura ‘Crimson Butterflies.’ Heucha ‘Citronelle,’  Persian Chocolate Lysimachia, Synadenium ‘Concorde Blue,’ while a variety of Begonias work to complement the arrangement. Our other container features the fluffy pink flowers of Sedum ‘T Rex’  surrounded by the beautiful trailing purple leaves of  Tradescantia zebrina, the silver textured Satolina, the creamy foliage of Heuchera ‘Caramel’ and the tiny blue flowers of Leadwort (Plumbago).

If you happen to walk along our 23^rd Street pathway you will see our two monument beds displaying drifts of rusty red Coleus ‘Sedona’ peppered with the airy and elegant grass, Muhlenbergia dumosa. The gorgeous leaves of Euphorbia ‘Ascot’s Rainbow’ will contrast nicely against the low growing flowers of Nemesia and Diascia.

If you happened to be in the park for the U.S Open, you might have noticed some new plantings of Salvia leucantha ‘Violet,’ and matching Purple Emperor Coleus. We’re just waiting for the salvia to pop into bloom and show us its purple plumes.

Around Police Officer Moira Ann Smith Playground we’ve planted some interesting configurations of pansies and violets.  When they bloom, come to the Park and try to decipher our theme!

To see more images of our Fall 2012 Planting, please visit our Flickr Page