Autumn-Adorned blooms for your personal plot: 8 Garden-worthy plants to cultivate this fall season
As the autumnal hues begin to paint the landscape, the garden doesn't have to lose its vibrant charm. A variety of plants, from colourful flowers to cold-hardy vegetables, can extend the blooming season and thrive in the cooler temperatures and less sunlight of fall.
Flowering Stars of Fall
Marigolds, with their golden, copper, and brass blooms, continue to brighten the garden well into the fall. Cosmos, with their daisy-like blossoms in a spectrum of colours, can grow up to 6 feet tall and thrive in both beds and containers. Asters, a hallmark of the fall garden, boast blue or indigo purple blossoms. Globe amaranth, producing spherical flower heads in purple, pink, magenta, red, yellow, and white, blooms from June and can endure until October. Black-eyed Susans, with their bright yellow flowers and dark centers, are reliable in late season and good for part shade. Pansies and violas, hardy flowers that continue blooming through mild winters, are tolerant of cooler temperatures and less sunlight.
Perennials for Partial Shade
Japanese Anemone adds elegance to the garden in cooler months with its airy blooms. White Wood Aster, thriving in part to full shade and tolerating dry soil, is deer resistant and blooms late summer into fall with bright white flowers.
Cold-Hardy Vegetables and Edible Greens
Kale, Bok Choy, Tatsoi, and other Asian greens, arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips, and other vegetables are known to thrive in cooler temperatures and extend the harvest into fall.
Planting Tips
Well-composted organic matter should be mixed into the soil before planting petunias. Mums, although more commonly grown as annuals, are perennials that bloom until the late-fall frost. To maximize bloom and harvest periods, it is best to consider your USDA hardiness zone and first frost date, then plant accordingly between late summer and early fall.
By integrating cold-hardy leafy greens and brassicas with shade-tolerant perennials like white wood asters and seasonal colour from pansies and black-eyed Susans, you can create a fall garden that both extends blooming and adapts to cooler, less sunny conditions.
- Marigolds, cosmos, asters, globe amaranth, and black-eyed Susans are examples of plants that continue to brighten the garden in fall.
- In cooler months, Japanese Anemone adds elegance to the garden with its airy blooms, while White Wood Aster thrives in part to full shade and tolerates dry soil.
- Kale, Bok Choy, Tatsoi, arugula, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celery, garlic, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips, and other vegetables are known to thrive in cooler temperatures and extend the harvest into fall.
- To maximize bloom and harvest periods, it is best to consider your USDA hardiness zone and first frost date, then plant accordingly between late summer and early fall.
- For a vibrant home-and-garden lifestyle, integrate cold-hardy leafy greens and brassicas with shade-tolerant perennials like white wood asters and seasonal color from pansies and black-eyed Susans to create a fall garden that both extends blooming and adapts to cooler, less sunny conditions.
