Are you wondering what Fall/Autumn flowers are for your garden?
Just because the season changes and the weather cools down doesn’t mean that your flower garden has to quit producing bloom color. With the right plants, you can keep the blooms coming and the color alive throughout autumn.
Check out some of these fall flowers that are easy to grow and that will extend your flower gardening season several more weeks.
Balloon Flower (Platycodon grandiflorus)
This perennial plant produces blue blooms that start out in the shape of small balloons, then pop open to form outward-facing, bell-shaped flowers.
Very few plants produce blue blooms, but this fall flower is one of those few true-blue beauties. This easy-care plant is also known as Chinese bellflower and will reach a mature height of 2 feet (60 cm).
Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
Hardy perennial shrub that grows 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and equally as wide. Beautyberry provides beauty for most of the year, with lilac-colored blooms in spring, greenery all summer and clusters of purple berries in fall. The berries will remain on the shrub throughout winter or until the birds eat all of them. Great shrub for attracting pollinators.
Celosia (Celosia argentea)
Commonly known as cockscomb, these fall flowers bloom in the same color palette as the fall foliage. Plumes of blooms sit atop tall stems and fill the flower bed with shades of red, orange, yellow, and gold.
These annual plants will reach a mature height of anywhere between 6 inches (15 cm) to 4 feet (120 cm), depending on the variety planted. Leaves of the celosia are edible and have a flavor similar to spinach.
Helenium (Helenium autumnale)
Better known as Sneezeweed, is a tall plant that produces unique fall blooms in shades of orange, red and yellow. The common name of Sneezeweed is not because the plant makes you sneeze, but years ago the leaves were dried and inhaled to induce sneezing which supposedly rid the body of evil spirits.
Helenium is a perennial that starts blooming in summer and continues to bloom until the first frost of fall. The plant is drought tolerant and deer resistant.
Sweet Alyssum (Alyssum maritimum)
Low-growing fragrant plant that will create a carpet of colorful blooms in fall. Bloom colors are white, purple or pink and can be planted in-ground as a slow-growing, perennial ground cover. Sweet alyssum is also ideal for planting in a hanging basket for fall flower color on your porch.
You may be interested in my other article “How to Design a Cottage Garden” where you can explore some other seasonal plants.
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