I wouldn’t dare say that summer is coming to an end, but it’s true that the days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. Often, the annuals in our gardens also begin to bloom less, weakened by a summer full of flowers, and the blooming of perennials that were in bloom at the beginning of summer is over or coming to an end. So soon there will be no more flowers in our flower beds… unless we plan ahead.
Many plants begin flowering in late summer or even fall, extending the beauty of our flower beds until the first frost and, in some cases, until the first snowfall. All you have to do is plant them! So head to your local garden center and see what’s still blooming. If you figure that about 20% of the perennials in your garden should be late bloomers, you’re on your way to a very flowery fall!
August Perennials
Some perennials are not strictly autumn flowers, but are at their best in August.
This is particularly true of garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), with its upright stems bearing clusters of fragrant flowers in shades of pink, red, purple, and white. Some have two-colored flowers. Some phlox begin to bloom in early August, others towards the end of the month, but their flowering period, which lasts a month or more, easily extends into September. Sun or partial shade. Zone 3 (3-8 USDA).
The Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida, A. hupehensis, and A. tomentosa) produces fairly large, cup-shaped flowers with yellow centers on slender stems. Its foliage forms an attractive ground cover, but beware, it is quite invasive due to its creeping rhizomes, a problem that takes 4 or 5 years to become apparent: plant it in an area where it can spread a little. Sun or partial shade. Zone 4b (USDA 5-9).
Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa) produces beautiful, deeply cut foliage and tall spikes of white flowers, reminiscent of candles. It blooms in August, but other black cohosh species bloom later, in October or November. It is a large, slow-growing background plant, but very permanent. Sun or shade. Zone 3 ().
Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginianum) is another great back-of-the-garden perennial with narrow spike-shaped flowers, but hers are more like candelabras than candles. They can be white, pink, or lavender. Sun or shade. Zone 3 (USDA 3-8).
Évidemment, il y a aussi les très populaires rudbeckies (Rudbeckia spp.) et échinacées (Echinacea spp.), ces «marguerites» de fin de saison, jaunes dans le premier cas, roses, blanches et orange dans le deuxième, qui comblent le fossé entre l’été et l’automne. Soleil. Zone 3 (USDA 3-9).
True Autumn Flowers
Some perennials really bloom in the fall, in September or even later. This is particularly true of asters (Aster spp. and Symphyotrichum spp.) and chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum). Both have daisy-shaped flowers, with chrysanthemums having larger flowers than asters, which are often double and pompom-shaped. There are many varieties of both, as well as dwarf varieties for borders. Almost all asters are very hardy (zone 3), but care should be taken with chrysanthemums. Full sun.
There are monkshoods (Aconitum) that bloom in summer or early fall, but one of the latest is the fall monkshood (A. carmichaelii Arendsii group), a giant perennial with dark purple hooded flowers: it usually blooms until the snow falls! Sun or partial shade. Zone 2 (USDA 3-8).
Other fall-flowering perennials include colchicum, sedums, Joe-Pye-weed, and even some hostas (Hosta plantaginea). When it comes to fall bloomers, there’s no shortage of choices!
I love fall bloomers – thank you!