My love of gardening extends well into the autumn season and there are always new fall flowers I want to add as summer blooms fade. I’ve listed a few of my favorites, along with others that I haven’t tried yet. Do you see your favorite on the list?
1. Helenium, also known as sneezeweed although this flower doesn’t aggravate allergy sufferers. This richly colored flower attracts butterflies.
2. Aster is a tried and true fall perennial whose purple flowers contrast nicely against the orange and yellow colors of the season. Enjoy its carpet of daisy-like flowers when the days start to shorten.
3. Black-Eyed Susans are a garden staple with their golden petals and dark center. Mine have just started blooming and I love the shot of sunny color they add to the garden.
4. Ornamental Cabbage or Kale is a popular fall plant I’ve not added to my garden yet. That’s about to change in a few weeks when I add it to the rock garden by my pond.
5. Garden Mums cannot be left off of any list of fall flowers. I’ve tried growing these as perennials but it’s always iffy here in Illinois. They do best as an annual in Zone 5 and I love the assortment of colors.
6. Coneflowers start blooming around mid summer but will last through early fall. A good variety to choose for autumn is “warm summer” due to its fall-like color.
7. Celosia reminds me of my mother because she loved these bright, cone-shaped flowers. Anything that was different or unique would end up in her garden.
8. Azure Monkshood is one of the few, almost true-blower flowers available. An autumn bloomer, I love pairing this color with orange and yellow flowers.
9. Golden Yarrow is one of my favorites for its easy care and sunny color. It makes a fantastic cut flower in addition to looking beautiful in garden spaces.
10. Autumn Joy Sedum is another of my autumn favorites. Its leaves are like a succulent and in summer its flowers come in green before turning to a lovely pink and then rust in the fall. Last year I found a small frog on top of one of the blooms by my pond.
11. Purple Fountain Grass has eluded me thus far but I told hubby that we need to add ornamental grasses to our landscape. Look how beautiful this frothy fluffy-headed grass looks next to goldenrod and ornamental onion.
12. Sweet Clematis Vine rewards you with the heady, sweet fragrance of its blooms. Our neighbors had some drifting across their fence and I would walk by just to inhale the intoxicating scent. I finally planted my own fall-flowering vine a couple years ago.
13. Ornamental Pepper is not meant to be eaten but it sure is cute! The tiny peppers come in a variety of colors – yellow, orange, red, and purple. Rather than plant these in the ground, I place them in baskets or pots to decorate both inside and outside the house.
Do you have any favorite fall flowers that aren’t on this list? There are so many to choose from. I could probably write 20 more posts to include them all.
More Fall Garden and Decorating Inspiration:
Why Fall Is the Best Season to Enjoy Gardens
My Late September Garden and Pond Tour
I just planted some late summer, fall plantings and this week we are having triple digit temperatures! Egads it will be getting to 110 degrees one day. I’m not sure they will survive – fingers crossed. The sneeze weed as you call it is looking the best so far.
Really inspiring. I bet your backyard is GORGEOUS! I admire your ability to do so many things so well. Keep inspiring us!
🙂
These are some wonderful picks, i have 5, 7, 10,that i love but saw a couple more i want. I know it’s a lot of hard work but when you retire you will have a beautiful place to enjoy and that’s what it’s all about.
These are beautiful. I tend to plant the same things over and over. Thanks for the ideas!