Fall-blooming plants help prolong the beauty of our gardens even after most plants have faded or finished blooming for the year. They provide a vital food source for pollinators that are still active, foraging to prepare for the winter when fewer flowers are in bloom. Both annual and perennial plants can be used to extend the season and keep your garden vibrant throughout the fall.
Extend the floral show in your mixed perennial beds with plants that bloom late summer into fall. When designing the garden, aim to have plants blooming continuously from spring to fall, using a variety of plant species. Perennials can be planted now, but make sure to allow at least 4 weeks for the roots to develop before a hard frost arrives. If you don’t get to it this year, make plans for next year, as perennial plants can also be planted in the spring or early summer.
Perennials with late-season blooms to add to your garden are helenium (Helenium autumnale var. autumnale), Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum), New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), and sedums (Sedum sp.). For shrub plantings, consider panicle hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), or bluebeard (Caryopteris x clandonensis).
Annual plants, those completing their lifecycle in one year, can offer colorful blooms from spring until frost. Consider sprucing up your overgrown or spent-looking summer containers with a fall makeover to create a beautiful display of warm, autumnal colors.
Landscape Design Tips
Combine some fall blooms or foliage with existing plants that still look healthy and are blooming. Many thriller plants or focal plants like ornamental grasses and tropical plants will look great through the fall. They will add structure and height to the arrangement since many of your newly planted annuals will be shorter. If you plan to overwinter any of your tropical plants indoors, make sure to transplant them to a different container and move them indoors before temperatures drop below freezing.
Pansies (Viola sp.) can be added for a bright pop of color in any container and will have a long and late blooming season. They will do best in partly shaded areas and regular watering. Ornamental kale and cabbage (Brassica oleracea) create a rosette of colorful and interesting foliage mixed with blooming plants. Find varieties with combinations of greens, purple, and white to add to your full-sun containers. Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ (Beta vulgaris) is typically grown as an edible, but it is too beautiful not to include in your fall containers. The combination of rainbow-colored stems and glossy green foliage almost makes it look artificial.