Five Perennials to Liven Your Fall Garden

Once Autumn arrives and the spring and summer flowers begin to turn in for the winter months and lose their color, a gardener still needs color to liven the yard and landscape. Luckily, there are available late blooming perennials that can create lively colors for the cool autumn season. Some may bloom in the latter summer while others begin to bloom during the fall seasons beginning in the month of September.

In northern England, Asters are popular perennials in the garden. Some grow as high as four feet tall, and bloom in the colors of lavender, purple and blue. Asters should be planted in an area that has plenty of sunshine and well-drained soil.

One perennial that loves the sunlight and has flowers that are a rich golden yellow color are Rudbeckia. Their centers are cone shaped in the colors of black, brown or green and its petals are often droopy. They are popular perennials that bloom from the months of July all the way to frost. Some Rudbeckia can grow as tall as nine feet.

Perennials that are ideal for borders and is known for its flat clusters of red, yellow or pink flowers are Sedum. Sedum is also sometimes called "stone-crop." One type of sedum that blooms in the late summer and through fall is known as "Autumn Joy."

A perennial that is one of the relatives of the Aster, Boltonia, begins its blooming period in September. It blooms many small flowers on silver blue-green foliage, giving the flower its nickname, "thousand flower aster." Boltonia should be planted in the back of a flower bed or in a meadow garden. The flower thrives in full sunlight and moist fertile soil. Its growing height ranges from three to five feet.

For flower gardeners who are looking for perennials to place in the shade or to decorate their landscape under the tree, the Toad Lily plant would be considered ideal. The toad lily thrives in an area with moist soil and partial shade. Its blooming season begins in September and lasts through the time it frosts. It blooms flowers that are orchid-like in shape and in the colors of pink, red or even purple dots. Toad Lily's grow up to three feet tall.

With the variety of late blooming perennials that are available, landscapes in the fall can still be colorful and luscious. Although cooler weather may be pending, gardeners can still enjoy the colorful blooms of flowers within their beds and yard.

RESOURCES

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/gardenerscorner/issue_06/summer_06_10.html

http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource001252_Rep1611.pdf