Autumn Joy Sedum: Late-Season Color on a Rugged Hillside

On a steep, south-facing hillside in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, landscape architect Herb Schaal created a richly hued planting that thrives on just ½ inch of irrigation water per week. Flanking a dry-stacked sandstone stairway, the design relies on feathery blue-green 'Hughes' juniper and silver-leafed snow-in-summer for most of the season.

Then, in late summer or early fall, the real show begins: 1–1½ ft. tall, dome-shaped heads of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' burst into bloom with dozens of starry pink flowers. Like a chameleon, the flower color shifts dramatically—from pink to coppery pink to rusty orange—as the season progresses.

DESIGN: Herb Schaal, EDAW, Fort Collins, CO (970/484-6073)
Photograph by David Winger

A testament to tough, water-wise plants that deliver spectacular late-season color.