15 Best Perennials to Carry Us Through Fall

Spring is one of the best times of the year. The gardens come alive, and colour bursts are all over the neighbourhood. We enjoy the thriving nature all summer long, but fall brings another season filled with its own list of pros and cons for our gardens. Some of your favourite flowers may no longer be in bloom, but you can still enjoy a pop of colour in your garden with the right perennial.

Read on to get inspired with the 15 best perennials to carry you through fall.

15 Best Perennials to Carry Us Through Fall

Choosing which plants complement each other and your landscape can be challenging. Luckily, our experts are here to help with our 15 favourite fall perennials. If you aren’t sure if they’ll be a great addition to your garden, our staff would love to make some personal recommendations when you visit our store.

Autumn Joy Sedum (Hylotelephium)

The autumn joy sedum is a whole lot easier to say and spell than hylotelephium.

Its beautiful pink, white, or red flowers bloom from late September to late October. Gardeners love its low-maintenance qualities that don’t require a lot of water. This perennial thrives in full sun, but it can handle some shade too. The fragrant-free flower will look its best when you prune them in the fall or spring of each year.

Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Want to see some more butterflies in your garden? The hyssop is a stunning fall perennial with lavender flowers that form in an upright position. You can even use the leaves to make herbal tea! These deer-resistant plants bloom beautifully from early summer to early fall.

They grow the best in full sun or partial shade and are drought tolerant once they become established.

Bee Balm (Monarda)

This show-stopping perennial struts a head-turning brightly coloured flower that really pops. You can enjoy their bloom from mid-summer to early fall, and they can act as a great border for your garden.

Like their other perennial friends on this list, they prefer full sun or just a bit of shade, attract butterflies and hummingbirds, and can tolerate dry conditions.

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower)

The purple coneflower is a popular addition to many landscapes because of its vibrant colour options, and it repeats its bloom from early summer until the first frost. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, (and believe it or not, finches for the seeds) love feasting on these flowers and will want to visit your garden more often.

Goldenrod (Solidago)

This perennial checks all the boxes!

• Isn’t picky about its soils (will tolerate clay, dry, and poor soils).
• It’s deer resistant.
• It brings out the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.
• It blooms beautifully in full sun or light shade.
• It has a long bloom period between late summer and early fall.

If you’re looking for a perennial that will add a pop of golden yellow to your garden, this late-season choice is perfect for you.

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium)

The Joe Pye weed is a late bloomer that can grow up to 7 feet tall if you don’t prune them regularly. Their flowers are often a purplish hue and are native to eastern and North America. They give off an appetizing vanilla scent for butterflies and bees and are fairly low maintenance for gardeners to take care of.

Sneezeweed (Helenium)

We admit it; this perennial does have a pretty awesome name. The sneezeweed is native to North and Central America and will enhance your garden with pops of colour from early summer all the way through until early fall after your other flowers begin to lose their spark.

The daisy-like flowers can range from light yellow to dark red, sporting a spherical brown cone that attracts pollinators like butterflies and bees. They’re also deer resistant and enjoy regular watering.

Asters

This perennial blooms with pizzazz from late summer into early Fall with its daisy-like petals that are often purple or white. Gardeners enhance their space by using them for borders, wildflower gardens, or even rock gardens.

If you have less than 1 inch of rain per week at any point in the summer, it’s crucial that you water them regularly. Remember that you’ll need to pay attention to find the ‘goldilocks amount’ – not too much, but not too little.

Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)

The blanket flower is often richly coloured and has a beautiful bloom from early summer to fall with yellow, wine red, orange, and peach. They’re another easy perennial that grows best in full sun, are drought tolerant, and are deer resistant.

They’re a great addition to any area you’d like to see more butterflies, act as a perennial border, or make spectacular cut flowers.

Russian Sage (Perovskia)

Exquisite lavender-blue flowers will explode in your garden from mid-summer through fall if you plant the Russian Sage perennial. They’re incredibly resistant to drought, heat, and pests and will also tolerate poor soil conditions. If you can, try to plant them in an area with full sun for the best results.

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed Susan)

This prairie plant adds some sunshine to your garden with its mesmerizing golden yellow or orange flowers that also showcase a dark dome cone to attract pollinators. You can enjoy these blooms from early summer until the first frost. They’re great for garden borders or a splash of colour in early-blooming spaces that may not have many flowers left by September.

Monkshood (Aconitum)

This late summer-fall perennial boasts smooth leaves with blue, pink, yellow, or white flowers. They may take longer to grow if you’ve had an overly hot summer because they prefer cooler conditions and moist but well-draining soil. They thrive in the sun, but if you’re in a warm area, you may also want to give them partial shade during peak summer hours.

Delphinium ‘Blue Butterfly’

The Blue Butterfly Delphinium will feature delightful blue flowers above the grey-green foliage beneath. The flowers resemble a blue trumpet, and you’ll notice its fine texture is what sets it apart. They’re great for border edging, an addition to rock gardens, or even putting in a planter.

Phlox Paniculata (Garden Phlox)

We’ve saved nearly the best for almost the last. After all, it is up to your personal preference. But we love these showy, fragrant flowers that have a long bloom from the summer through to the fall. They boast full round heads of lavender, pink, rose, red, white, and bi-colour blossoms for you (and the butterflies) to enjoy.

Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis)

While this ever-popular ornamental grass may not be a bloomer, it shows best in late summer all the way through to winter. You’ll notice its graceful dance in the wind and the feathery flow it provides the garden. It’s a great compliment to all the flowering plants mentioned above.

Just because it’s September doesn’t mean your gardens have to look depressing. You can add some late-blooming perennials to carry you through fall and enjoy your beautiful landscape a little longer. Visit our Calgary, Edmonton, or Red Deer location to find the best fall perennials for you and chat with our friendly staff about your garden plans.

Do you have any late bloomers in your garden? What’s your favourite perennial from this list? Share your thoughts with our readers who want a thriving garden through fall.