As summer fades and fall approaches, many gardens start to lose their vibrancy. However, you can extend the beauty of your garden well into the cooler months by incorporating fall-flowering plants. This article explores seven blooming perennials that offer stunning colors and unique features for your autumn landscape.
1. Big Bang Cosmic Eye Tickseed
The Big Bang Cosmic Eye Tickseed is a stunning addition to any fall garden. This variety boasts eye-catching burgundy flowers with bright yellow petal tips and golden centers. The plant blooms from summer through fall, providing long-lasting color.
To encourage continuous blooming, use shears to remove old flowers. This tickseed thrives in full sun and requires regular watering during periods of extreme heat. It grows to a manageable height of 16–20 inches and spreads 12–24 inches wide, making it suitable for small and large garden spaces.
The Big Bang Cosmic Eye Tickseed thrives in USDA zones 5–10, making it adaptable to a wide range of climates across the United States.
2. Peachie’s Pick Stokes’ Aster
Peachie’s Pick Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis ‘Peachie’s Pick’) is a delightful perennial that brings a touch of whimsy to your autumn garden. Its cornflower-like violet-blue flowers sit atop a compact plant, making it perfect for containers and garden beds.
This versatile aster blooms from summer to fall, providing a long season of color. Peachie’s Pick thrives in full sun and requires regular watering during hot spells. It maintains a neat, compact form, growing 12–18 inches tall and wide. Additionally, it complements other late summer and fall bloomers, creating a cohesive and visually appealing display.
Hardy in zones 5–9, this Stokes’ Aster variety is a low-maintenance option for gardeners looking to add late-season flowers to their landscapes.
3. Berry Bright Saxifrage
Berry Bright Saxifrage adds a splash of color to your garden well into the colder months. This compact perennial features small, bright-magenta flowers that cluster over mounds of attractive, bronzy foliage.
What sets Berry Bright Saxifrage apart is its late blooming period, which extends from late fall to late winter. This flower makes it an invaluable addition to gardens that often lack color during the coldest months of the year. The plant grows 6–10 inches tall and 8–12 inches wide.
Berry Bright Saxifrage prefers full to partial shade and requires regular watering to thrive. It’s hardy in zones 6–9, making it suitable for gardeners in milder climates looking to add winter interest to their landscapes. The vibrant magenta flowers contrast beautifully with the bronzy leaves, keeping your garden eye-catching even in the dead of winter.
4. Early Bird Gold Gloriosa Daisy
The Early Bird Gold Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Early Bird Gold’) features golden-yellow petals that elegantly curl back from rich brown centers, creating a striking contrast.
This sturdy, upright perennial is excellent for mixed borders, and it can provide a long season of color. The Early Bird Gold blooms continuously from early summer to mid-fall. Remove spent stems as they appear to keep the plant looking its best.
The Early Bird Gold Gloriosa Daisy thrives in partial to full sun and is remarkably drought-tolerant once established. It grows to a height and width of 18–24 inches, making it a versatile choice for various garden designs. Hardy in zones 4–10, this daisy is adaptable to a range of climates across North America.
5. Windcliff Fragrant Pachysandra
Windcliff Fragrant Pachysandra offers a unique twist on the classic evergreen groundcover. This variety stands out for its lacy, scented flowers that appear in early spring and again in autumn, providing two seasons of fragrant beauty.
Unlike traditional pachysandra, which is primarily grown for its foliage, Windcliff Fragrant Pachysandra has delicate, sweet-smelling blooms. This flower is great in shaded areas where you want to introduce greenery and fragrance.
This pachysandra variety prefers full shade to partial sun and requires regular watering. It grows to a height of 4–6 inches, forming a dense, spreading carpet that’s perfect for ground cover or understory plants beneath trees and shrubs. Hardy in zones 6–9, it’s an excellent choice for gardeners in milder climates.
6. Rock ‘N Grow Pure Joy Stonecrop
Rock ‘N Grow Pure Joy Stonecrop is a delightful addition to any fall garden, offering both attractive foliage and lovely flowers. This variety features pink blooms that emerge against a backdrop of light-green leaves, creating a soft, pleasing contrast in the garden.
One of the standout features of this stonecrop is its extended blooming period, which lasts from late summer to late fall. After the flowers fade, the plant continues to provide interest with attractive seed heads that persist into winter.
Pure Joy Stonecrop thrives in full sun and is extremely drought-tolerant, making it ideal for low-maintenance gardens or rock gardens. It forms a neat, mounded shape, growing to about 12 inches tall and spreading 16–20 inches wide. Hardy in zones 3–9, this versatile plant is suitable for various climates across North America.
7. Prairie Winds Desert Plains Fountain Grass
Prairie Winds Desert Plains Fountain Grass is a stunning ornamental grass that adds movement, texture, and color to fall gardens. This large fountain grass variety is known for its showy bottlebrush flowers, which emerge as a vibrant red before aging to a warm tan color.
The flowers of Desert Plains Fountain Grass are set against tall, vase-shaped green foliage that provides interest throughout the growing season. As a bonus, the foliage turns a spectacular mix of red, orange, and gold in the fall.
This fountain grass blooms from early to late fall. It thrives in full sun and adapts well to average soil conditions with regular watering. Growing to an impressive height of 4 feet and spreading 3–4 feet wide, Desert Plains Fountain Grass makes a bold statement in the landscape. It also works in various conditions, as it’s hardy in zones 5–9.
