Your summer flowers may be dropping off and turning brown, marking the end of the Summer season. What used to be a brilliant display of gorgeous flowers and gardens is now becoming a faint memory of those hot summer days. 

Not to worry though!

There are many different flowers you can still plant for a beautiful fall season curb appeal. Many of the flowers recommended below are native, or at the very least native somewhere in the United States. Our last blog where we discussed how to make our lawns pollinator friendly may have left out some ideas on native flowers you can plant to extend the season for them so this one can help fill in the gaps. 

Now onto some of the best flowers for your fall landscape! 

 

• Asters. Asters add a nice pop of color to your autumn landscaping. In general, most asters bloom in late summer and into the fall.

They come in several colors, such as purple, pink, blue and white. There are over 600 varieties so odds are you’ll find an aster for every preference. They pair well with coneflowers, and are a great last-feeding opportunity for pollinators before winter comes.

They tend to be low maintenance, only requiring a loamy, well-draining soil, and prefer regular watering and feeding. They can be prone to powdery mildew, but good watering habits can help prevent it. As long as you water the base of the plant and don’t pour water over the top of the plant, powdery mildew shouldn’t be much of a problem. More care may include deadheading spent blooms which will increase the longevity of asters and promote new flower growth.

 

• Chrysanthemums (Mums). You know fall is on its way when you start spotting mums in gardening and hardware stores. Mums are a classic fall blooming flower and are very popular. They come in many colors, so you’re bound to find one you love. They have an added bonus of being generally pest and deer resistant due to their less than savory flavored leaves.

Although they are often sold as annuals, they can be grown as perennials in some areas in the United States.

If you’re looking for a permanent, classic flower to complement your landscape, you will need to find seeds or live plant starts and plant them in the spring time so they have enough time to establish a good root system before it gets too cold. If planted in the fall, they may not survive over the winter, making them an annual if you try to start them too late.

 

• Joe Pye Weed. Any plant that has “weed” in the name must be invasive or otherwise obnoxious, right? Wrong!

Joe Pye Weed is a native flower that can grow to heights of up to 12 feet. Before you dismiss this plant and decide you don’t want it in your garden, just wait. They produce pretty purple flowers to add some color to your fall landscaping.

Because they are native to many parts of the U.S. including Western North Carolina, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators adore them. This is also due to the fact the flowers on this “weed” are incredibly fragrant and reminiscent of vanilla. Another benefit is that since they bloom later in the season, they are a great plant to have so pollinators can feed to their heart’s content before a long, cold winter at the end of the summer season. That’s not all though! These plants have also been used medicinally as a remedy for typhus fever and as a source of pink and red dye for textiles.

Because they are native, they are low maintenance and don’t require a lot of special care, only lots of sun and moist soil. Due to the heights they grow to however, you may not want to plant them in front of other plants that also need full sun, as they will likely block light from other plants shorter than them. Planting them as a backdrop to your landscape is ideal so your other plants can have a chance at growing beautifully as well.

 

• Thread Leaf Coreopsis. A member of the aster family, thread leaf coreopsis is also a native plant popular with pollinators. They are pretty yellow perennials, so they’re easy to care for and low maintenance. These native plants stay pretty small, growing only to about 1-2 feet and the flowers are large, making them an ideal flower to put in your landscaping that won’t outcompete others. They attract birds and butterflies, and can handle some shade. They enjoy sandy, well-drained soil and have a high drought tolerance.

They bloom well into the fall, depending on the grow zone you live in and are a cheerful addition to any fall landscape where many other flowers may have died off for the season, and are a worthy contender to any fall flower garden.

 

• Anise Hyssop. Although not native to this part of the U.S. and instead the mid and central west, anise hyssop has benefits to pollinators, as well as for culinary and medicinal use. They are a member of the mint family but don’t have the tendency to wander and become invasive like other types of mint. Donning upright, purple, white and red-violet flowers depending on the type, and a sweet alluring scent, it serves as a great food for pollinator species through the fall.

They are drought tolerant, and require well-draining, fertile, sandy, loamy and clay soil in order to grow well, and neutral soil. Fortunately, much of Western North Carolina has these soil properties, so adding anise hyssop to your fall display can really pack a punch for pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds as well as for personal culinary use.

 

• Echinacea AKA “Coneflower.” One of the hardiest, toughest native flowers, this daisy relative is a popular choice for fall and spring flower gardens. They grow from 2-4 feet tall, grow fast and self-sow their seeds prolifically. They are perennials, and not only do they attract native pollinators such as butterflies and birds, but they are also used for medicinal purposes to help combat cold and flu symptoms, and making tea. Because they are native to the Southeast, you should have very little trouble adding them to your landscape and caring for them.

They come in a wide variety of colors, and although the purple ones are most common, they also come in shades of yellow, orange, pink, red and white. They require very little maintenance once established and are heat and drought tolerant. Deer tend to leave them alone as well. They only require well drained, loamy soil, and full sun.

We hope you enjoyed reading about some popular native flowers that give your home and garden fall curb appeal, as well as appeal to late-season pollinators before they bunk down for the winter!

For more information on different types of fall blooming flowers to add to your landscape, check out Southern Living and House Beautiful for more ideas!