This is your yard's magic month
Plus: The news of the week — Harris rallies at Bojangles; UNC cuts DEI; BofA raises hourly workers' pay; County to drain two ponds
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Backyard & Beyond: Expert tips for planting perennials that will bloom year after year — including deer-resistant tips.
Welcome to Backyard & Beyond, our occasional series of stories aimed at giving you gardening ideas and inspiration. Whether you long to grow some of your own food, ditch your cookie-cutter landscaping or just make your yard more welcoming, we’re here for you!
By Amber Veverka
Want to make your 2025 yard and garden truly shine?
Then September is your magic month. That’s because it’s the ideal time to plant blooming perennials, the kind of plants that will snooze away quietly this winter and burst into blossom next year — and every year after.
Perennials are the MVPs of the four-season garden. And few know better the charms of some of the more unusual varieties than Kathy Treadwell, a certified master gardener who has been gardening since 1969. She has turned her entire southeast Charlotte lot into a veritable Eden, newly secure with a deer-proof fence.
“September is an excellent time to plant perennials,” Treadwell said, leading a visitor through her thickly planted garden. “The reason you plant perennials is they last. They do not give you color all summer, but you plant a mixture, so you have a succession of bloom in all seasons.”
Treadwell and other local gardeners listed their top picks for September-planted perennials, including some remarkable plants impervious to deer.
Photos, clockwise from top left: Cardinal flower, ironweed, Japanese anemone and agastache. (Photos courtesy of Amber Veverka, Brynne Lekavich)
For blooms in early late spring and early summer…
For a low grower that won’t quit, try kalimeris. “This is an Elizabeth Lawrence plant,” Treadwell said. Famed garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence created a stunning garden in Charlotte, which has been preserved and is open to visit. Treadwell’s kalimeris forms a soft mound covered in tiny tufted white blooms. “It starts blooming in May and goes until frost,” Treadwell said. “Deer don’t touch it, bees like it and it’s not invasive.”
Bleeding-heart. Carol Raedy has been gardening in her shaded Charlotte yard for 29 years and has adapted her plantings to a woodland-like setting. Bleeding-heart thrives in these conditions, and Raedy said that even when the pink, heart-shaped flowers are gone, the ferny foliage is attractive.
Lunaria or silver dollar plant. This has rich purple flowers and papery, translucent oval seed pods (the “silver dollar” part of the plant) and is a biennial that self-sows readily. Raedy enjoys the carefree late-spring bloomer, which she has sown in part-shade. One caution: Lunaria can spread aggressively, so consider planting it in a space with a barrier and pick the silvery pods to control seeding.
For blooms in mid-to-late summer…
Agastache. This upright, bushy grower, sometimes called hummingbird mint, will fill a sunny border with blooms. It comes in both tall and dwarf versions. “I’ve seen them in a ton of shades of pink, fuchsias, purples, (and) they come in yellows and oranges,” said Brynne Lekavich, greenhouse manager at King’s Garden Center in Stallings. “I have a bunch planted at my house. I go out there and it’s a pollinator party.”
Cardinal flower. This deep-red beauty grows streamside in the wild, so plant it in a semi-shaded spot where your yard is damp or where you tend to overwater. “It’s our state wildflower, the deer don’t like it, and pollinators love it,” Treadwell said, summing up all there is to appreciate about this showy plant. She lets hers reseed freely. Hummingbirds are big cardinal flower fans.
Ironweed. A great choice for a sunny, prairie-looking spot, this plant is covered in purple aster-like flowers that attract hordes of butterflies. “Deer won’t touch it,” Treadwell said. Her ironweed is towering, but she recommends the variety ‘Iron butterfly,’ for a more compact version.
For a counterpoint (or alternative) to daylilies, consider Crocosmia. Faintly tropical-looking red-orange flowers bloom along arched stems, and the slender foliage is like a clump of ornamental grass. This is another flower pollinators and hummingbirds adore. “It’s a great plant for in the ground or in the pots,” said Lekavich. “I grow some at my house. In my experience, it’s been very low maintenance.”
Japanese anemone. The lovely shell-pink blossoms in Treadwell’s garden draw bees, nodding on slender stems that stretch high above their low-to-ground mounded foliage. The plant is also called windflower. The pastels are an unexpected color in late summer and early fall.
For fall foliage and flowers…
Climbing aster “will be covered with purple flowers” by the end of September and into October, Treadwell said. Plant this beauty either on a sturdy trellis or next to a fence that it can spill over.
Spicebush. It’s a native, and the host plant for the gorgeous spicebush swallowtail butterfly, but for autumn beauty it’s the shrub’s leaves that stand out. Their clear gold is accented by red berries on the female plants. Scratch the bark or crush the leaves to smell the spicy scent that gives the shrub its name. If it gets too big, whack it back in the winter — it’s resilient.
Autumn ferns. Colorful fall fronds flourish in partial to full shade and the foliage lasts all winter. “It’s a fantastic plant, I recommend it all the time. We sell a ton of it,” Lekavich said. “It’s not invasive. Deer and rabbits don’t eat it. You can plant those pretty much any time of year as long as the ground is not frozen.”
Perennial chrysanthemums. If you want autumn flowers that last, don’t buy the blooming mums at garden centers and grocery stores. “No, no, no — don’t get any ‘football’ plants,” Treadwell said, referring to the potted mums’ rounded shapes. These will almost always die if you try to put them in the ground. Choose perennial chrysanthemums, which won’t be blooming when you plant them. Treadwell likes one known informally as the Clarkson (or Ridgewood yellow) chrysanthemum. “It’s bright yellow and it blooms reliably every Thanksgiving,” she said.
It’s time to…
Get the details about a new hornet invader. The yellow-legged hornet is spreading, and it kills honeybees. Learn what to watch for.
Save your geraniums. It’s tempting to toss geranium baskets, but you can keep these going for years. Repot them in richer potting soil than they came in. Before the first frost, bring them inside to a sunny window until next spring.
Scan the skies for raptors. Fall is a great time to spot hawks and owls. Learn more about these graceful predators from a Mecklenburg Audubon Society expert at an event at Wing Haven Garden, 248 Ridgewood Ave. Charlotte, Sept. 24.
Amber Veverka is a contributor to The Ledger. Reach her at askbackyard@gmail.com.
Today’s supporting sponsor is VIA Health Partners. Through Journeys, our personalized approach to serious illness care, we provide ongoing symptom relief, quality of life enhancement, and 24/7 access to a dedicated team of healthcare professionals wherever you call home. Your journey. Your care. Our priority. Journeys from VIA Health Partners.
This week in Charlotte: Historic South End building saved; ‘Iron District’ plans revealed; Hornets broadcast team change-up; Windfall for N.C. hospitals
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Education
Chromebook shortage causes stress at East Meck: (Ledger) Hundreds of East Mecklenburg High students were without school-issued Chromebooks for the first two-and-a-half weeks of school, causing stress and frustration as they struggled to complete online assignments.
UNC cuts DEI: (WFAE) Following the UNC Board of Governors' repeal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, UNC Chapel Hill and other UNC system colleges have closed at least seven DEI offices, eliminated 59 DEI-related positions and redirected $17M to student success initiatives.
Politics
Harris rally at Bojangles Coliseum: Vice President Kamala Harris held a rally on Thursday at Bojangles Coliseum, the first rally following Tuesday’s presidential debate.
N.C. House approves school voucher and immigration bills: (WFAE) The N.C. House passed a bill to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars for private school vouchers, clearing a waiting list of wealthier families seeking the Opportunity Scholarship. The bill, likely to face a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper, also includes a controversial provision requiring sheriffs to comply with federal immigration detainer orders.
Local news
Charlotte Pipe details development plans off Morehead Street: (Ledger) Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Co. revealed plans Thursday for the first phase of the Iron District, a mixed-use development on a 55-acre site between uptown and South End.
Historic South End building saved: (Axios Charlotte) The historic Leeper-Wyatt building, dating back to 1903, has been successfully moved from South Boulevard to its new location in Dilworth.
Business
BofA raises pay of hourly workers: (NPR) Charlotte-based Bank of America said it will pay its lowest-wage workers $24 an hour, up from the current $23 an hour, which would raise the pay of hourly workers such as tellers and call-center employees.
Midwest bank to expand here: (PR Newswire) Huntington National Bank of Columbus, Ohio, announced that it will build about 55 branches in the Carolinas over the next five years, including branches in Charlotte.
Sports
Hornets broadcast changes: (Sports Illustrated) Ashley ShahAhmadi, the live host and sideline reporter for Charlotte Hornets games on Bally Sports for the last six years, said Monday that she will no longer appear on game broadcasts. Bally Sports announced Tuesday that longtime sports broadcaster Shannon Spake would join the Hornets’ broadcast team.
From the Ledger family of newsletters…
Monday
Charlotte solar firm thrives amid industry slump: A Charlotte-based solar company, Top Tier Solar Solutions, is experiencing rapid growth despite challenges in the broader solar industry, earning a top spot on Inc. 5000’s list of America’s fastest-growing companies.
Plus: Carolina Panthers to debut mobile museum at stadium; Book on 100 things to do in Charlotte; Toppman reviews “Drowsy Chaperone”
Wednesday (🔒)
County to drain two ‘gross’ park ponds: Mecklenburg County plans to drain and dredge two south Charlotte ponds, including Freedom Park’s, to improve water quality and address blue-green algae issues caused by sediment buildup.
Plus: Carolina Raptor Center plans big expansion; Readers respond to paper carrier article; Absentee ballots delayed after court ruling
Friday (🔒)
A windfall for N.C. hospitals: North Carolina hospitals are set to receive significantly increased Medicaid reimbursements by participating in the state’s medical debt relief plan, which requires them to forgive uncollectible debt for low- and middle-income patients.
Plus: Lawsuit between Aldersgate and former resident moves through court system; CLT opens expanded Concourse A next week
Ways of Life (🔒)
Bill Terrell, a joyful and unconventional Charlottean, lived a life filled with curiosity, adventure and hands-on projects, leaving behind a legacy of independence and fun.
Transit Time
Transit plan Q&A: The Charlotte region’s new transit plan is a $25B proposal focused on expanding transit and road infrastructure, funded largely by a sales tax increase. We answer readers’ questions about the ambitious plan.
Fútbol Friday
‘Westy’ gets wish, plants roots in Charlotte: Ashley Westwood, Charlotte FC’s captain, has signed a contract extension through 2026, embracing Charlotte as home while playing a pivotal role on and off the field for the club.
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