Bring Colours This Autumn With These Fall Garden Flowers
Summer and spring usually come out on top for having the flashiest, boldest, and fairest blooms, though fall doesn’t need to be merely about the changing leaves! As the days quickly become shorter and the nights get longer, the moment has come to jazz up your flower beds, container gardens, and landscaping. All it needs is planting some annuals and perennials to keep your garden flourishing throughout the cold-weather season.
The annuals may last only for a short period if you have an early frost, though they’ll certainly make things brighter before then. While planting perennials in the fall is an easy way to have a lovely, colourful garden the following year.
Some will bloom just in fall, while others will begin blossoming ahead of the season until the first frost. Some annuals, usually regarded as spring flowers, will bloom in the cooler autumn weather, though they’re only short-lived. Some well-known autumn flowers include colourful chrysanthemums, canna lilies, dahlias, and bright yellow sunflowers.
If you want your fall flowers to bloom in your garden, plant them in spring or early summer to give them enough time to take root. Aside from picking plants that have a late bloom period, check their growing zones to ensure they will thrive in your yard before winter hits.
You can also receive more advice by visiting your local nursery to help you decide which perennials or annuals are the most suitable to plant for your autumn garden.
Check out this list of beautiful fall flowers representing your garden into autumn.
The annuals may last only for a short period if you have an early frost, though they’ll certainly make things brighter before then. While planting perennials in the fall is an easy way to have a lovely, colourful garden the following year.
Some will bloom just in fall, while others will begin blossoming ahead of the season until the first frost. Some annuals, usually regarded as spring flowers, will bloom in the cooler autumn weather, though they’re only short-lived. Some well-known autumn flowers include colourful chrysanthemums, canna lilies, dahlias, and bright yellow sunflowers.
If you want your fall flowers to bloom in your garden, plant them in spring or early summer to give them enough time to take root. Aside from picking plants that have a late bloom period, check their growing zones to ensure they will thrive in your yard before winter hits.
You can also receive more advice by visiting your local nursery to help you decide which perennials or annuals are the most suitable to plant for your autumn garden.
Check out this list of beautiful fall flowers representing your garden into autumn.
22 Best Fall Flowers In Your Fall Garden
Blanket Flower
With an incredibly lengthy bloom time, the blanket flower is among those rare perennials that can bring you from summer to fall without breaking a sweat. It starts flowering early in the summer and lasts until the freezing weather. In those days, a combination of red, orange, yellow, and maroon flowers will attract butterflies. These flowers have a trailing habit that is perfect for containers and hanging baskets.
Marigolds
Marigolds are among the most common and cheerful of all fall flowers. They add a splash of orange, yellow, red, gold, copper, brass, and white to container gardens. They thrive best in full sun with moist, well-drained soil but will endure drier conditions. Marigolds have a reputation for protecting veggies from pests, making them excellent companion plants. They also attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Enjoy these hardy flowers from summer to early autumn.
Bidens
The vigorous trailing habit and small daisy-like flowers make Bidens one of the best flowers for fall beds and containers. Bidens come in various hues of yellow, orange, red, pink, and white. Mix with other fall annuals, like mums, purple fountain grass, and pansies, bringing colour to the yard or garden in the summer and autumn. They tolerate drought and heat well and demand full sun.
Salvia
There are different varieties of salvia, like Pineapple Sage, Mexican Sage, Russian Sage, and Victoria Blue Salvia, and many of these species have a strong, pleasant smell. All of them bloom from mid-summer to well into fall. Salvias appear as colourful spikes of densely-packed tubular flowers over square stems and narrow, velvety green leaves. Most people recognize them for their blue, red, purple, white, and lavender flowers.
Japanese Anemone
Japanese anemone, also known as anemone x hybrida or windflower, is one of the most beautiful garden flowers yet not fully exploited. This long-lived, hardy plant blossoms for weeks in late summer and fall with single or double flowers in hues of pink or white. They are lovely for mass planting since they may spread and for setting in a woodland garden. Further, these fall bloomers make an excellent middle plant for containers, together with pansies’ purple or blue colours.
Sunflower
These flowers are one of the best options to plant in fall, besides other fall flowers. Sunflowers range from a few feet to more than 10 feet tall. Sow their seeds in spring for late summer and fall colours. Harvest when their foliage turns yellow, the petals die down, and the seeds look plump. But if you’re letting birds feast on the seeds, leave the seed heads on the plants. The sunflower usually represents longevity, joy, adoration, and the sun for years.
Asters
Asters are perennial flowers which blossom from late summer up until fall. The name ‘Aster’ is based on a Greek word which means “star,” and they are indeed the superstars of the fall garden. Some aster grows up to 6 feet tall with pink, blue, purple, lavender, and white flowers, giving a cool contrast to the warmer autumn colors of the changing leaves. Plus, the rich colours of aster make the ambiance very welcoming and festive.
Hardy Fuchsia
Fuchsia are stellar fall flowers that thrive on hardy, herbaceous, deciduous shrubs. Their flowers range in white, red, pink, magenta, and purple shades. Hardy Fuchsias are perfect for bringing a continuous source of colour from late June through the first frosts of late October and early November. When other plants have perished to the surge of cold winds, hardy fuchsias show off, a break from the upcoming melancholy of the winter months.
Stonecrop - Sedum
This perennial plant has flashy, fleshy leaves and produces bunches of star-shaped flowers that bloom from August into November. Abounding white, pink, deep red or yellow flowers are unleashed in the growing seasons for the pleasure of bees and butterflies. Not to mention, stonecrop’s dried flowerheads remain luscious until winter, providing you with several more months of interest. Stonecrops are relatively easy to grow due to low maintenance and fewer cultural requirements.
Balloon Flowers
Balloon flowers are clump-forming perennials. As the name implies, these gorgeous flowers – which can be seen in shades of light pink, white, and blue – mimic hot-air balloons before they blossom. They are favourites of gardeners because they are sturdy and fast performers, so the more, the better. They will periodically repeat bloom during autumn when old flowers are trimmed.
Black-Eyed Susan
This is one of the most cherry-picked flowering plants that bloom continuously until fall. They often flower from June to November and can be grown even in larger pots. Since this flower spreads by self-seeding, it’s an excellent choice for abundant wildflower gardens. Black-eyed Susan grows 1 to 3 feet tall with long, thin and oval-shaped leaves, and daisy-like blooms with dark brown centers and bright yellow to orange petals. Bees, butterflies, and other insects are drawn to the flowers for the nectar.
Shrub Rose
Roses are known to be demanding and challenging to nurture, but not all roses are alike. Shrub roses, also called landscape roses, are hardy and robust, and everyone can grow new varieties quickly, needing minimal care and are disease resistant. These fall flowers bloom all season long abundantly, and many types get a lovely flush of flowers in early to mid-autumn. Although their flowers are not as bright as classic hybrid roses, the shrub rose will still bless your garden with a mixture of warm shades from snowy white to deep purple flowers.
Chrysanthemums
Mums or chrysanthemums are autumn flowers and often the last plant to blossom before frost. They grow in various colours but are usually seen in sunset shades – befitting for fall decor. Their dense, bushy nature indicates that mums are very container-friendly, making them famous for front porch displays. Mums are cold-hardy perennials though has little chance of surviving through the frosty temperatures when planted late in fall. Hence, plant chrysanthemums in spring to provide enough time to become established.
Autumn Crocus
The autumn crocus does not appear until fall. These plants thrive best in partial shade, and slight dampness is fine. They grow only a few inches tall and are best placed in a rock garden, as edging plants in walkway borders or groups along the grass. The bulbs produce a bouquet of flowers in early fall, with 1 to 10 stems per bulb. Then, they go dormant until spring. During midsummer, the leaves begin to die. Autumn crocus emerges to bloom again in September.
Calibrachoa
Calibrachoa (also called Million Bells or baby petunias) grows and flowers continuously from planting until frost. The plant comes in just about every color of the rainbow and an array of patterns, including stripes, pinwheels, splashes, speckles and stunning double blooms. The trailing or spreading habit is perfect for mass plantings, baskets, containers, and window boxes. It turns out well mixed with other plants or planted into the front of a fence, where it can flow onto walkways or balconies.
Pansies & Violas
Pansies and violas are both annuals with cheerful little faces and grow in places with cool temperatures. They can survive light frosts and may even tolerate hard frosts, but some protection is recommended to help them over the latter. Plant pansies and violas in late summer to fall for small flowers of purple, blue, yellow, red, orange, or white that will last well through autumn and winter in mild climates.
Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum makes a colourful carpet of little blooms that you can use to beautify your landscape or garden. It is a fast-growing plant that bursts lavender, yellow, red, white, and pink flower clusters and has narrow green leaves. The flowers have a delicate, honey-like smell. Sweet alyssum thrives best in regions with cooler weather, so it will flower in the spring, wither to conserve energy in the summer, and re-bloom again during fall.
Dahlia
Dahlias are gorgeous flowers that blossom from midsummer through autumn. The cool nights and warm days linked to autumn drive them to produce plenty of flowers with more intense, richer colours. Flower colours include pink, orange, yellow, white, lilac, scarlet red, and peach, with shapes varying from small pom poms to massive, corsage-worthy blooms. A blooming, brightly-coloured dahlia garden can mesmerize anyone visiting your garden. Remember to use stakes and twine to keep them lifted and erect.
Flowering Kale
Flowering kale was a garden celebrity, providing a burst of colour to fall’s graying landscape. Their colours become more intense as the temperatures drop, making them an excellent choice for fall gardens. While they’re part of the same plant family as edible cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower (Brassicaceae), flowering kale is cultivated mainly as an ornamental plant. Its pink, purple or green, upright leaves spread outwards from a rosette. Kale delivers bold colour and texture and pairs well with every fall flower.
Canna Lily
Canna can brighten the garden during autumn with its spotted variations of red, yellow, orange, pink or apricot flowers. Their flowers are captivating to hummingbirds. They are famous for their outlandish blooms and unique, paddle-shaped leaves in multi-coloured, green, and bronze patterns, which wrap in creases around stems, tapering to delicate buds. Their vibrant flowers last from mid-summer to the first frost, so you can appreciate them all season long.
Chokeberry
In spring, it has a flashy bunch of white blooms. In fall, leaves change from green to a mixture of red, yellow and orange. Its stunning autumn color, along with its three-season interest, nutritious edible fruit, and tolerance to many growing conditions, makes it an attractive embellishment to your landscape. Plus, the five-petaled white or pink-tinged flowers, with pink to purplish red stamens, attract insect pollinators.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses come in various appearances aside from the traditional short, green look of lawn grasses. Usually, ornamental grasses reach up to 15 feet tall or more. Many are multicoloured, and patterned and may have an attractive flower or seed head. Their fascinating seed heads remain intact to provide winter interest. Whether planted in groups, used to edge the perimeter of your home, or grown solo as primary features, these grasses add fall color and form to your garden.
Tips To Fully Exploit Your Fall Flowers
Start Early
When setting up a breathtaking fall garden, start early. You should begin earlier because, once fall comes, most nurseries are preparing to close their businesses or change to holiday products like pumpkins and equipping for the Christmas tree season. Therefore, if you wait too late in the season, you may no longer meet your needs.
Extend The Bloom Season
Some practices, like deadheading or removing faded flowers, and pruning, will encourage more blooms of your favourite summer flowers until fall. Providing your plants with a snip in late summer will brush up their shape and keep them under control.
Put Perennial Plants To Bed
Skip Fall mulching if you want to leave perennial stems to provide winter interest. Apply a layer of about three inches thick mulch around the perennials once the ground has frozen hard to stabilize the soil’s temperature right around freezing. Roots that aren’t firmly established can “frost heave” out of the soil when the ground freezes and thaws, placing the plant at risk of dying due to cold. Once the mulch is placed, you’re equipped.
Shop For Late Bloomers
While it’s tempting and likely easier to have gardens that showcase one major, colourful scene in spring and early summer, don’t forget the final curtain of the gardening season. You’ll usually have to return to the garden center in late summer to look for flowering plants that blossom late in the season.
Some heat-loving tropical plants flourish in the cool weather of autumn. For instance, canna lilies typically don’t flower until mid to late summer and continue blooming until the first frost.
Some heat-loving tropical plants flourish in the cool weather of autumn. For instance, canna lilies typically don’t flower until mid to late summer and continue blooming until the first frost.
Bring Colour Theme Into Play
Some people enjoy using a colour theme in their flowering fall gardens. A typical theme is a garden which delivers red, orange, and yellow hues. Colour themes aren’t only for aesthetics; they also add character or mood to a garden. The warm fall colours bring energy and excitement to late-season plantings.
Go for plants that complement the classic fall palette to make colours even more dynamic. On the colour wheel, the complementary colour pairs are green-red, orange-blue, and yellow-purple.
Go for plants that complement the classic fall palette to make colours even more dynamic. On the colour wheel, the complementary colour pairs are green-red, orange-blue, and yellow-purple.
Put Out Flower Pots To Add More Color
Landscaping with pots may be the simplest solution when your fall garden demands more colour or texture. Arrange fall flower containers to enhance or fill dull areas in your flower beds.
Water Your Fall Garden Thoroughly
The heat of the summer is over, but your garden still needs water. Any new plants need plenty of water until their roots are established. Until the ground freezes, existing plants also need regular water if rain is scarce.
Note Your Frost Date
To know how long you can enjoy your fall garden flowers, it’s necessary to determine the chance of frost and average frost dates in your location and select your plants accordingly. Frost might appear like your greatest fall planting concern, but it’s really not a huge threat. The roots will grow until the soil hardens, usually weeks or months following the first frost.
If you live in a colder climate, plant hardy, frost-resistant fall bloomers, and they’ll return year after year.
If you live in a colder climate, plant hardy, frost-resistant fall bloomers, and they’ll return year after year.
Final Thoughts
With fall on its way, planting some fall-blooming perennials is the ideal solution to keep your lawn just as colourful as it was in the summer. Liven up the garden with striking, flowering plants that flaunt late in the season.
The best flower will be the one that fits your garden the most. Consider these eye-catching blooms this autumn if you’re looking for some bright flowers to star in your yard. You cannot go wrong with this list.
The best flower will be the one that fits your garden the most. Consider these eye-catching blooms this autumn if you’re looking for some bright flowers to star in your yard. You cannot go wrong with this list.
Colin Macmillan is a seasoned entrepreneur and the CEO of Riverwood Landscape, a leading landscaping company based in Canada. He has been at the helm of the company since leaving high school, demonstrating his strong leadership skills and business acumen.
Colin’s expertise lies in various aspects of landscaping, including lawn care, interlocking, sod installation, and commercial maintenance. His hands-on approach and dedication to the craft have been instrumental in building Riverwood Landscape into a reputable brand.
One of his most notable achievements is the creation of a successful landscape franchise that services multiple locations. This accomplishment underscores his strategic thinking and ability to scale operations effectively.
Colin has also had the privilege of working with Guelph Hospital for landscaping and maintenance, a testament to the trust and reliability that his company has earned over the years.
His professional mission is to offer the best services and experiences for customers, a goal that he tirelessly pursues. Colin’s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction continues to drive the growth and success of Riverwood Landscape.
