Fall Volunteer Planting Day

When it comes to adding new plants to your landscape, most people think spring is the best time to plant. While some plants do well when planted in the spring, many plants, including trees and woody shrubs, benefit from fall planting. Trees and shrubs that are installed in the fall ultimately grow better because they have better conditions for root growth. In the fall, cooler atmospheric temperatures and decreased daylight hours signal the plant to stop growing above ground. Because the plant is not using as much energy to grow leaves and stems it has more energy to invest in root growth. Even though fall air is chilly, the ground remains relatively warm, and this further encourages root development. The roots continue to grow until the ground freezes, and in the spring root growth resumes or increases at an accelerated rate. Spring installed plants are at a disadvantage because their initial root growth is occurring in cool soils, while fall installed plants already have a well developed root structure. Well developed roots become increasingly important as cool, rainy spring weather gives way to hot, dry summer - a plant with well developed roots is much better equipped to deal with heat and drought then a plant that has a short and shallow root structure.

This past weekend we held a volunteer fall planting day at the New Norris House to complete the Phase II planting of trees and shrubs. We installed 55 shrubs to stabilize the slopes and provide food and habitat for wildlife.


We also planted 9 trees to provide buffer zones between our property and the adjacent properties. We planted 1 large dogwood in the front lawn as an accent tree. As the dogwood grows taller it will develop a horizontal branch structure that will frame the front large window.


The weather was perfect for digging and planting, and we had about 20 volunteers come to help. The day was a great success and we were able to install all the plants before lunchtime!

Thank you to all of the volunteers and Little River Nursery for providing the plant materials and donating the dogwood tree!

Fall color, inside and out

Autumn is here, and leaves are turning and falling. The riot of color outside changes a bit every day. Brown, red, rust, orange, yellow, and ochre leaves are mixed with green grasses and shrubs, and collect in piles when they fall.

from green to red to orange to yellow

Last week as I stood on the deck and looked at the trees in the back, it struck me that the colors used in the house are perfect complements to the colors in the fall landscape. Although white is the predominant paint color in the house, there are two other colors used on walls that can’t be seen from the main living area. The bedroom and bathroom each have an accent wall in golden yellow, and the swing space and loft each have an accent wall in reddish orange. Both colors match leaves hanging on to some of the trees around the house; the visual continuity of the outdoor and indoor is pleasing to the eye.

bedroom & bathroom

swing space & loft

Because the colored walls are balanced by white walls, the light coming in through the windows creates a reflection of that color on opposite walls. The photo below shows the effect—the only wall that is painted is the one down the middle, and the color faces the left. The light entering the skylight on the right has a much cooler tone since it is reflecting off a white wall. (View the original photo here.)

The furniture cushions and pillows are a light leafy green and buckskin, with one pillow in a contrasting reddish orange fabric similar to the paint color. The floor and kitchen counters are made of wood, with the floor a red oak and the counter a lighter more yellow oak. Houseplants have leaves ranging from chartreuse to dark green. Tile in the entryway is blue slate (although not visible from the house, reminiscent of the expanse of water on Norris Lake). All these interior colors have easily identifiable foils outside, and bring nature into the house this autumn.

furniture cushion

red oak floor

entryway tile

Fall Equinox

September 23rd marked the first day of fall for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. With the change in seasons comes one of the most exciting aspects of landscape design: planting for multi-season interest.


Landscapes, and the plants we find in them, are evolving milieus that reflect the changes in atmospheric and ground temperatures, duration of daylight, and amount of precipitation among other things. This becomes most evident to us as the seasons change, and natural things begin to ready themselves for the months ahead. The gardens at the New Norris House all serve an ecological function, whether it is to filter rainwater, remediate greywater, or reduce heat island effects. However, plants were chosen not only for their functionality, but also for their year-round beauty. The planting design reflects this as different species were grouped and located in relation to each other based on when they bloom or have interesting foliage.


The uppermost image shows the changes in the landscape palette at a conceptual level, while the above chart provides a monthly sequence of interest. An example, the below image shows two native grasses. While both grasses have a cool green to blueish tint in the spring and summer, Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (in backgorund) develops burgundy streaks in the fall. When Schizachyrium scoparium 'The Blues' (foreground) is planted next to Panicum its airy, golden blooms form a fantastic complimentary relationship that is only evident in the fall.


Anyone want to go on a plant walk?

Ready, Set, GO!

Well the last few weeks have definitely been a race to get the foundation ready for the big delivery as well as preparing the dormer for attachement. With both those accomplished last week and this week we are now moving on to bigger things.On site, the foundation and piers are now nearing completion with intentions of pouring the bond beam on the rest of the foundation tomorrow morning. This includes finishing up pouring the Perlite as the foundation insulation and getting things ready for the house drop next week!

Back at headquarters, Jimmy has been working on the window frames and tackling the monster of a frame that shall eventually flood northern light into the lofted area. Meanwhile, Katharine and myself have been putting together a temporary door for extra security until we get the final doors built. (You'll just have to wait and see what surprise is in store with this temporary door.) Arya and Michele broke in the new StopSaw working on the furring strips for the gabled ends of the house, though no one seems to want to test out the brakes on the system-I wouldn't blame them either. Plus the four of us have been continually working on priming more and more siding for the house. As Patrick noted, the feat of installing the siding is going to be just as time consuming, but the end results will be worth it.

With fall break encroaching on us tomorrow and Friday we all are assuring ourselves that our efforts will not go unnoticed while we are gone. I am sure we all will be rejuvenated and ready to kick it into high gear for the race to the end of the semester.