When you are designing a perennial garden you will want to make sure you have plants that will be in bloom from the start of spring to the end of fall. You should try to mix the fall blooming plants in among your other plants even though the garden to give you good coloring throughout the garden and not just in the back. Due to the fact that most fall plants have all year to grow they are going to be tall. The flowers themselves seem to know that it is fall as most will bloom in jewel tones of the season, deep purples, rusts, scarlet, deep blue and gold.
Michaelmas Daisy
In shades of pink, purple, blue and white, these delicate daisy-like blossoms start popping open in late August and continue on until frost. Pinching in the early summer turns these Asters into mounds with dozens of flower buds.
Asters will tend to creep throughout your garden, but their airiness allows them to blend particularly well with other flowers. Zones 4 – 9
Blue Mist Shrub
Blue mist shrub is a sub-shrub that is often grown in the perennial garden. Caryopteris slowly blossoms in August with dazzling blue flower clusters. Just try and keep the butterflies and bees away. Caryopteris is cut back in early spring, like a Buddleia, and the gray-green foliage is attractive all season. Zones 5 – 9
Turtlehead or Chelone
Nick-named for their blossoms shaped like turtles heads, Chelone is a carefree fall blooming perennial whose only real dislike is excessive dry heat. Chelone behaves itself, growing in a dense clump with attractive foliage and red, pink or white blooms. Zones 2 – 9
Chrysanthemum
There are many varieties of mums, not all particularly hardy. The plants sold in the fall as ‘Hardy Mums’ should have been sold to us in the spring, to be reliably hardy in the north. However we wouldn’t have had the patience to plant them and wait. Mums and pumpkins are the flag bearers of fall. Try and get your potted mums in the ground ASAP. Keep them well watered and mulch once the ground freezes and you’ll stand your best chance of having truly hardy mums. Zones 3 – 9
Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye is one of those native plants we take for granted because we see it by the side of the road, but it makes a wonderful backdrop to a garden border. The newer Joe Pye Weed have been bred shorter and less weedy but the dense mop heads of mauve flowers still blend in beautifully in the fall garden. Zones 2 – 9
Sneezeweed or Helenum
Helenium is making resurgence in gardens. They look like small russet-toned coneflowers, in reds, yellows and oranges. Many helenium can grow quite tall and will need to be staked or pinched. Like clematis, they like cool feet and hot heads. Helenium is also a good choice for poorly drained areas. Zones 3 – 9
Perennial Sunflower
Perennial Sunflower is a good natured, jolly plant, branching and flopping on its neighbors. The brilliant gold fluffy daisy-like flowers make an instant focal point and attract butterflies and birds. Helianthus tend to be sterile and can be reproduced by division. Zones 3 – 9
False Sunflower
False Sunflower is very similar to Perennial Sunflower. False Sunflower tends to begin blooming earlier in the season and stays on for 8 or more weeks. Newer varieties have been bred smaller and sturdier, for less flopping. Zones 3 – 9
Sedum
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ comes as close to perfection as any plant can. It looks good all year, requires minimal attention and attracts few problems. Its only drawback is that it is not deer resistant. ‘Autumn Joy’ has been joined in the garden by a growing number of fall wonders like: ‘Bertram Anderson, ‘Brilliant’ and ‘Matrona’. No fall garden is complete without sedum. Zones 3 – 9
Creeping Wintergreen
Creeping Wintergreen foliage starts out as glossy green and turns red as the weather cools. You’ll love the sight of the red fruits in the summer. Between the white, pink flowers in the spring and the red berries in the summer and the deep red and green foliage in the fall I personally think that this is the perfect plant for year round. Zones 3-8