While everyone's watching the maples, the real fall show is happening at knee height.
Sword ferns deepening to that dark winter green. Salal's leathery leaves taking on burgundy edges. Oregon grape all but glowing. The native understory doesn't do drama — it does endurance, and right now it's quietly outshining everything else in the garden.
There's a design lesson in there. The plants that ask the least of you in October are the ones built for this place. When I'm choosing plants for the long term, I start at the ground and work up.
