Fall flowers and grasses:
Show-stopping perennials
for late season color
A lot of gardeners seem to miss out on fall flowers. As August comes to the perennial garden, they're ready to throw in the towel.

It's a shame: for northern gardeners the growing season is short enough, so why not extend the flower show well into fall with some lovely late-bloomers and ornamental grasses?

I'm enchanted with the autumnal look pioneered by contemporary garden designers Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden in the United States, and Piet Oudolf, in Holland.

Fall flowers So I've designed my own garden, shown here and below (in pictures taken in August), to be at its peak in late summer because I adore fall flowers and the ornamental grasses that look so good with them.

For the most part, plants that bloom in late summer and fall are tough, drought tolerant and many of them grow tall and dramatic.

Another interesting thing about many of these fall flowers is how many of them are North American natives, which probably accounts for their toughness: they shrug off the drought, heat and humidity of our summers because that's the very climate that shaped their evolution.

Best fall flowers for the perennial garden
Asters: With their clouds of daisy-like flowers in pink, rosy-lilac or deep purple asters are classic fall flowers. Robust and hardy, many garden hybrids stem from the native New England and New York asters. Old favorite taller varieties growing 3 to 4 feet tall include the glowing salmon-pink 'Alma Potschke' and the lavender-blue Aster frikartii 'Mönch'. The more recently introduced 'Purple Dome' grows a compact 18 inches tall.

Asters thrive in full sun in moist, rich soil, but can look a little weedy during the growing season, so tuck them in among other earlier-flowering perennials. In late June, pinch or prune stems back by half to prevent floppiness and stake taller varieties. Keep asters vigorous by dividing in spring every two or three years.

Some of the older varieties were plagued by mildew, but newer ones are resistant: look for Aster laevis 'Bluebird', with single violet blue flowers, Aster lateriflorus 'Prince', which has unusual dusky plum-purple foliage and tiny white star-like flowers with a raspberry colored eye, and Aster oblongifolius 'October Skies', which has blue flowers in September to October.

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorim):Another plant I wouldn't be without has the unfortunate common name, Joe Pye weed, which I try to avoid because this North American native is not the least weedy. Its botanical name Eupatorium maculatum is much more gracious, just
like the plant. Tall (in the 4 to 6 foot tall range) and stately, it's a real butterfly magnet for almost six weeks in late
summer when its large heads of tiny,
dusky pink flowers bloom.

As shown above in a picture from my garden, it makes a terrific accent plant and goes well with other late season stars, such as Echinacea, Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum', Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and S. 'Matrona' and ornamental grasses.

Heleniums: For show-stopping daisy-like flowers in hot colors, try hybrids of the North American native, Helen's Flower (Helenium autumnale).

Its other common name Sneezeweed, is misleading - Helenium won't cause sneezing as its pollen isn't wind-borne, but carried by insects.

'Bruno', a Bressingham selection from England boasts crimson-mahogany flowers; 'Red and Gold' produces brick red and gold yellow flowers; 'Butterpat' has deep yellow flowers and 'Moerheim Beauty' bright, reddish-orange blooms.

About 3 to 4 feet tall, Heleniums complement autumn's palette of golds, crimsons and oranges. These late summer to fall flowers thrive in full sun in moist humus-rich soil. Regular moisture is important, so don't let them dry out in summer.

Turtlehead (Chelone oblique): This is another interesting and unusual fall flower. A North American relative of snapdragon, it's named for the long-blooming pink or white flowers that resemble small turtles with half-opened mouths.

About 2 to 3 feet tall, this plant is lovely near a garden pond, but will do well in any moist to wet, rich soil, in sun or part shade.

Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida, A. hupehensis var. japonica): For shadier spots in the garden, consider delicate-looking fall-flowering Japanese anemones.

Growing 2-1/2 to 3 feet tall, these fall flowers grow on slender, branching stalks. Lobed leaves form attractive mounds of foliage. Favorite cultivars are silvery-pink 'September Charm', light pink 'Queen Charlotte' and glowing white 'Honorine Jobert'.

Plant Japanese anemones in rich, moist, well-drained soil, where they'll have afternoon shade. Anemones benefit from a winter mulch and regular deep watering in dry weather.

Yellow Waxbells (Kirengeshoma palmata: Also lovely for shady woodland gardens is Kirengeshoma palmata, pronounced "ki-reng-ge-sho-ma paul-may-ta".

In spring, it produces attractive serrated leaves on reddish purple stems; in fall, plump flower buds open into unusual lemon-yellow flowers resembling badminton birds. About 4 feet tall, it thrives in rich, moist woodland soil in a sheltered, partly shaded spot.

Crown of Rays Goldenrod (Solidago'Crown of Rays'):The is one of the new generation of goldenrods that I hope will help gardeners overcome the prejudice against these plants as roadside weeds.

Goldenrod is unfairly blamed for causing hay fever. Ragweed, which blooms at the same time, is the real culprit. 'Crown of Rays' is clump-forming goldenrod hybrid with many tiny, bright yellow flowers on dense, horizontal, plume-like panicles.

This late summer to fall flowering plant thrives in full sun and well-drained soil and grows about 24 inches tall. The plant may need to be divided every 2 to 3 years to control growth.

Ornamental grasses to go with fall flowers:

The late summer flower garden isn't complete without the splendor of the grasses that we think of as ornamental. Their airy appeal comes from their form, texture and movement with the slightest breeze.

Another plus is the all-season interest they provide: in summer, appealing foliage, which is followed by flowers and changing foliage color in autumn. And, don't cut them back until early spring because they'll give your garden winter interest with straw-colored foliage that moves in the wind.

There are many annual and perennial ornamental grass varieties available. The following are some of my favorites: they're all well-behaved clump-forming perennial types.

Dramatic, upright growing feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Forester') was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2001.

Fall flowers with grasses The white and green variegated Morning Light Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'), shown right with later-blooming perennials, is one of the best Miscanthus cultivars.

The tall airy cultivars of purple moor grass (Molina caerulea) seem always to be in motion. Look for cultivars 'Transparent', 'Skyracer', or 'Windspiel', German for "wind's play” - a terrific description of the wonderful dance of grasses on the breeze.

Tips for jazzing up the late season in your garden

So why do many gardeners feel the flower gardening season is all over by August? My hunch is that most gardeners shop the nurseries in the spring and are attracted to what's already in bloom or what soon will be, so they miss out on many of the later blooming flowers.

To avoid a late season lull in the garden:

1. Make a checklist by season of bloom, but don't over-complicate things by going month-by-month - early, mid and late season bloom categories will do.

2. Then pick plants so you have at least one-third of your perennials flowering in each period.

That way, you won't miss out on the fall flowers. Late summer and autumn can be one of the most rewarding times of the garden year. Really!

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