Have you noticed the changes? Our evenings are cooling off

 Have you noticed the changes? Our evenings are cooling off. Thelight is at increasingly sharp angles at sunrise and sunset. Andjust a few days ago, it became official. Yes, fall is here.

From a trivia standpoint, it might be useful to know that theautumnal equinox marks the midpoint between the longest andshortest days of the year.

Far more important to gardeners, however, is that fall is thebest time of year to plant just about everything.

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, there’s scant chanceof new, small plants wilting or drying out. the ground is stillwarm and inviting for roots. and for us humans, the air is clear,crisp and comfortable for working outdoors.

What to Plant

Most landscape trees, shrubs, perennials, ground covers, bulbsand cool-season vegetables can go in the ground now.

The only exceptions are tropical and subtropical plants, such asbegonias, bougainvillea, fuchsias, hibiscus and palms, as well asavocado, citrus and exotic fruit trees. Fleshy succulents, too, maysuffer if they start out by sitting in cold, rain-soaked soil forseveral months.

Other than those frost-tender types, now is an especially goodtime to plant plants that are native to our Mediterranean climate,which is marked by dry, warm summers and wet, cool winters.

Plants native to this regime often slow down during summer, whenmoisture is scarce, then ramp up growth during the rainy season.this is in marked contrast to plants native to areas whereyear-round rain supports a lush, summertime green.

Altogether, four other regions share our distinctive climate:the basin surrounding the Mediterranean Ocean, which includes thecoasts of France, Spain, Italy, Greece and the northern tip ofAfrica; southwestern and southern Australia; the cape of SouthAfrica; and central Chile.

Our common ground starts with rainy winters and summer drought.We are generally within 30∞ to 45∞ latitude north or south of theequator. and we’re mostly coastal, sandwiched between cool, oceancurrents and dry, inland deserts.

A wide range of beautiful, water-conserving plants thriveswithin these confines. the following are just a sampling of whatyou might find.

Mediterranean Basin

Many of our best plants come from this region, includinglavender, rosemary and thyme. all three are nearly ever-blooming,fragrant, edible and grow in myriad forms, from sturdy shrubs totrailing ground covers. They thrive in full sun and fast-drainingsoil.

Other shrubs include rockrose (Cistus), which bears large, flatflowers in pink, purple or white in spring; pride of Madeira(Echium candicans), which sends up plump cones of blue-purpleflowers in early summer; and tree mallow (Lavatera maritima), whichenvelopes itself in bi-colored lavender and white, hibiscus-likeflowers most of the year.

One of my newest favorites is variegated spurge (Euphorbiacharacias ‘Tasmanian Tiger’), a bold, rounded succulent perennial.Its upright branches, which bear cream-striped leaves, emerge froma clump at its base.

Blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) is a shapelyornamental grass. at 2 feet tall and wide, it’s twice the size, butnearly a carbon copy of ankle-high Elijah blue fescue (Festucaglauca ‘Elijah Blue’).

Closer to the ground, look for sunrose (Helianthemummummularium), which greets the sun each morning by opening dozensof cup-shaped flowers in burgundy, red, purple, orange, yellow,pink or white.

Other ground-huggers include Majorcan teucrium (Teucriumcossonii), which bears bright pink flowers atop wispy, blue-grayleaves; and ground morning glory (Convolvulus sabatius), whichblooms in a lovely shade of purplish-blue.

Australia

Spiky kangaroo paw (Anigo-zanthos), with its fuzzy, chenillepipe cleaner-like bloom stalks, may be the favorite Aussie of themoment. and big Red, which stands 5 feet tall, is likely the mostwidespread. but other varieties, blooming in orange, yellow andpink, can be found as well.

Australia also offers a number of terrific foundationshrubs.

Little John callistemon (Callistemon ‘Little John’) is medium insize. It’s neat, tidy and bears bottle-brush-like puffs of dark-redflowers year round.

Coast rosemary (Westringia) has a larger silhouette, with gray,green or variegated foliage, and lavender, pink or whiteflowers.

And the many grevilleas range from tall, billowy shrubs to lowramblers similar to ground cover rosemary. Most bear unusual, curlyflowers in shades of coral, red or soft yellow during winter, whenthat punch of color can be very much appreciated.

South Africa

Here’s an astounding statistic. the Cape of South Africa is saidto compose only 3 percent of the land mass of the world’sMediterranean climate regions, yet is home to more than 80 percentof all Mediterranean plant species.

A number of those species are tiny, obscure bulbs andwildflowers. but they also include the long-used gazania, which,with a number of new hybrids, is undergoing a resurgence inpopularity.

Somewhat similar are new varieties of South African daisy. Inparticular, Pink African daisy (Arctotis acaulis ‘Big Magenta’) isespecially appealing, with big, bright-pink flowers blooming muchof the year above spreading, grayish-green leaves.

On a larger scale, two delicate yet hardy shrubs are cape mallow(Anisidontea), which bears tiny, pink, hibiscus-like flowers; andbreath of heaven (Coleonema), which blooms in pink or white andproduces soft, needle-like leaves that smell like mint whencrushed.

Far more outspoken — and gaining in popularity — are pincushionshrubs (Leucospermum). these, and the related proteas, have beenfavorites with florists for years. They are difficult to grow,requiring just the right gritty, acidic soil and the world’s bestdrainage.

But newer varieties have been bred to tolerate more generalgarden conditions. I recently planted an orange hybrid, Sunrise,and am hoping to see my first blooms this winter.