Plant Passion and Fall Color: A Conversation with Lisa Graff of Lux Perennials Nursery (2025 PlantFest Speaker)

We’re counting down to PlantFest 2025, happening October 4th at Clackamas Community College, and this year, we’re thrilled to welcome Lisa Graff, founder of Lux Perennials Nursery, as our featured speaker. Lisa's talk, “The Power of Fall Planting: Long-Blooming Perennials for Color from Spring to Fall,” will dig into how smart fall planting choices can set your garden up for vibrant success the following year.

Before the event, we sat down with Lisa to talk about her favorite plants, what she thinks is underappreciated in the perennial world, and where she finds her own gardening inspiration.

HPSO: Lisa, let’s jump right in—what’s one plant you think deserves more love in the garden?

Lisa Graff: I love Geums. So many of my nursery customers don’t know them, but they bloom for 6 months, are evergreen, and bloom early—starting in April here in Oregon. I use them almost as a groundcover in my garden; the foliage is lovely, and I just love the early spring color and long bloom time. Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is a beautiful color of light orange and is a stunning spring combination when blended with the deep pink of Jupiter’s Beard and the cool purple of Wallflower ‘Bowles Mauve’. A new Geum we are carrying is ‘Coral Tempest’… deep coral that blooms from April until October.

HPSO: That sounds like a plant with serious staying power. When you’re not in your own garden, where do you find inspiration?

Lisa Graff: I have so many favorites, but one of them is Hidcote Manor Garden in the United Kingdom. Anyone who knows me… knows I’m an avid English garden lover. And the way that Hidcote blends colors and textures of plants is incredible.

HPSO: Absolutely. Many say Hidcote Manor Garden is a plant collector’s masterpiece. Special plants aside, what is one shrub you always find yourself going back to?

Lisa Graff: One of my favorite shrubs is Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’, also known as Sweetshrub. These plants are big! So you need to have space in your garden for them, as they get to be 6’–7’ tall and wide. I’m asked about mine all the time because they have large deep burgundy magnolia-like blooms on them and bloom for 3 months in summer. There are a few varieties of sweetshrub, but I think ‘Aphrodite’ is the best—for longest bloom time and larger flowers than most other varieties.

HPSO: With so many plants out there, where do you go for reliable plant information?

Lisa Graff: I really admire the Missouri Botanical Garden website. It is a wealth of horticultural resources on so many plants, and has lots of perennials there. They have science-based detailed information on the characteristics and care of many varieties. They even have an audio pronunciation of botanical names! The only thing I find can be somewhat inaccurate for our use here in Oregon… is that some of the bloom times they list are longer for us in the PNW than they are in Missouri, as they are quite a bit colder there than we are.

HPSO: And as we head toward fall, gardeners are always looking to extend color in the garden. What are your personal favorites for late-season impact?

Lisa Graff: I think that Hardy Fuchsia are very striking for late season color. These are not the grocery store hanging basket fuchsias that are annuals, but are perennials that come back year after year, making woody shrubs. They come in many colors. One example is ‘Bud Cole’, which is a vibrant pink and filled with masses of small flowers that create such a pretty contrast next to a deep purple (or pink) hydrangea with its large round flowers. Hardy Fuchsias come in deep burgundy, hot pink, coral, smoky plum, and so many other colors. Plus they bloom from June through October or sometimes November.

HPSO: It’s clear that you’re all about plants that give back over time—long bloomers, reliable performers, and lots of color. That aligns perfectly with your PlantFest presentation. Thanks for speaking with us and we’re looking forward to seeing you at PlantFest this year!

Join us at PlantFest 2025 on Saturday, October 4th at Clackamas Community College to hear more from Lisa Graff in her presentation, “The Power of Fall Planting: Long-Blooming Perennials for Color from Spring to Fall.”  Whether you're planning for next year or planting right now, Lisa’s insights are sure to inspire.