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Not only do fall-blooming perennials provide color and texture to the garden, but they bridge the gap as the summer annuals start to fade.
Whether aesthetically, as with flowering plants, or practically, as with vegetables, plant selection is indicative of your personal taste.
Choose plants that are adapted to your climate, you will save water and will spend less time trying to manipulate your landscape to suit them.
But that doesn't mean higher water-use plants don't have to be completely excluded from a water-wise garden. Group plants together in locations that suit their needs, recognizing that more water and attention will be required to maintain them.
Several sedums have nice color in the late summer and fall. Autumn Joy, Vera Jameson, Brilliant, Carmen and Meteor are excellent for our area. The buds and flowers, which last for many weeks, develop their color slowly and turn intense pink or red.
Fall-blooming asters are another great choice for our area. Asters come in all sorts of sizes and colors, like the Aster novae-angliae Alma Potschke, which has neon-pink flowers and grows 36 to 48 inches high, or the Aster nova-belgii Professor Anton Krippenburg, which grows 10 to 14 inches high and has lavender-blue flowers.
Pinch asters back to prevent tall, rangy growth and divide the clumps every two years in the spring to prevent them from spreading. Select shorter varieties if the wind is a problem or you don't like to stake your plants. Powdery mildew can also be a problem.
Another plant that closely resembles fall asters in growth habit and size is Boltonia asteroides. The flowers are smaller but attractive. Snowbank, which grows to 48 inches, is a good cultivar that features white flowers. Solidago, or goldenrod, is another great performer. The plants have bright graceful flower clusters and tolerate a variety of growing conditions.
If you like large spreading plants, Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) is another great plant for late-season color. Its average height is 36 inches, but it may grow much taller under the right conditions. The flowers are purple and the foliage has a vanilla scent. There are also several plants that provide almost seasonlong color including gaillardia, rudbeckia and coreopsis.
Blue Mist (caryopteris) and Russian sage (perovskia) are woody perennials that are best cut back each year. Plant them for carefree, fall color. Both are drought tolerant and do well in Utah soils.
One other group of great perennials are ornamental grasses. Many have interesting flowers or seed heads as well as the foliage. There are dozens of kinds with different heights, foliage colors and other characteristics that make a great show in the garden.
