Best for Last
By: Garden Gate staff
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The big finale
Don’t let your garden fade away! By summer’s end, a lot of flowers look tired, but not the three plants ahead — they continue to bloom well into fall, and even up to the first frost.
With just a little planning, you can have show-stopping flowers until just before winter arrives. Click ahead to find out more about these showy blooms.
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Mealycup sage Salvia farinacea
Mealycup sage prefers moist, well-drained soil, but it’ll grow in anything from clay to sandy soil, and it’s drought-tolerant. The blue flowers of ‘Victoria’, at left, get more intense as the days get cooler. Cut the stalks for bouquets — it’ll encourage more blooms.
Type Tender perennial, grown as an annual
Blooms Spikes of blue or silvery white from late spring to frost
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Size 12 to 36 in. tall, 10 to 16 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 8 to 11
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 12 to 1
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Japanese anemone Anemone x hybrida
Keep Japanese anemone sheltered from wind or you’ll have to stake it. Otherwise, this plant fits in almost anywhere — ‘September Charm’, on the left, would be a great addition to any cottage or woodland garden. Leave plants standing throughout fall. Hummingbirds use the fluff from ripe seed pods as nesting material.
Type Perennial
Blooms Shades of pink or white in summer to early fall
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, humusy, well-drained
Size 2 to 5 ft. tall, 1 to 3 ft. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 4 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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Reblooming bearded iris Iris hybrids
If you want to grow bearded iris, try rebloomers — they flower in June and often again late in the season. Fragrant ‘Immortality’, at left, sends up two or three flowering stems, so you can enjoy cut flowers indoors and still have blooms in the garden!
Type Perennial
Blooms All colors except true red; late spring and late summer to midfall
Light Full sun
Soil Average, well-drained
Size 24 to 36 in. tall, 18 to 24 in. wide
Cold-hardy USDA zones 3 to 9
Heat-tolerant AHS zones 9 to 1
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