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5 Late Summer Garden Flowers That Bloom Into Fall

Plant these 5 late summer garden flowers to help bring your garden into fall with extended bloom times and beautiful fall color.

Before fall planting season begins, the garden tends to quiet down while the summer blooms fade.

As the flowers fade, the garden’s color palette mutes and isn’t as vibrant.

However, we can keep the garden colorful, blooming, and gorgeous by planting flowers that have an extended bloom time in mid-late summer.

Plant these beautiful garden flowers that help the borders transition from summer to fall.

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5 Late Summer Garden Flowers

If you are looking for plants with mid-late summer bloom times, these garden flowers are my favorite to grow because they are easy-care, low-maintenance, and help the garden transition from summer to fall without skipping a colorful beat.

Plant or divide these summer garden bloomers in spring or fall to keep the color going as summer winds down and fall kicks in.

These late summer blooming flowers are perfect for the cottage garden.

But they are also wonderful blooms to include in a cut flower garden too as they make beautiful additions to flower arrangements.

black lab in fall garden with sedum autumn joy - what to plant in fall

Sedum Autumn Joy

I’m a huge fan of Sedum Autumn Joy.

They are super easy to care for and propagate.

And to me, they are a four-season perennial.

Sedum Autumn Joy adds visual interest in spring while it grows, adds a chartreuse color and texture to the summer garden, starts to flower in late summer, and turns a gorgeous deep burgundy in fall.

close up of sedum autum joy - a gorgeous plant for the fall garden

And if you leave the seed heads up all winter, it adds interest when the snow sits on it.

Not to mention, I love adding these seed heads in with my winter container designs.

Hardy to zones 3-10, it grows to roughly 18-24″ tall and wide, and prefers full to part sun in sandy, loamy well-drained soil.

To learn more about sedum autumn joy and why I love them, watch this video.

Backyard cottage garden in front of garden shed -cut flower garden in nj in late summer

Joe Pye Weed

Much like Sedum Autumn Joy, Joe Pye is a great easy-care perennial for the garden.

It adds a lot of color and interest while it grows and blooms spring into summer, the dried seed heads color the fall landscape with additional texture.

Joe Pye Weed is also a butterfly magnet, so if you want to see more pollinators in the garden, you’ve got to grow it.

In general, they are hardy from zones 4-9, prefer full to partial sun and thrive in rich, well-drained soil.

And if you leave those seed heads up in winter, the snow looks amazing on them!

close up of Joe Pye Weed

Summerific Hibiscus

Rose mallows are one of my new favorite late summer blooming flowers.

I picked up a few from Walters Gardens and they were real show stoppers in the garden.

Grown by Proven Winners, these 8-10″ blooms will pump up the garden with some gorgeous color and interest.

summerific hibiscus evening rose in garden nj - rose mallow or hardy hibiscus

And the foliage is just as beautiful as the flowers!

In general, hardy hibiscus grows best in zones 4-9, prefer full to part sun, and prefer rich to medium-wet soil moisture.

Rose mallows grow very large so leave a lot of room for them in the garden as they can reach 2-4′ tall and wide.

Deer do love to browse so be sure to spray them with deer repellent.

close up of rose mallow perennial flower - summerific hibiscus or hardy hibiscus

Dahlias

Dahlias might be my new favorite flower.

I avoided planting them through the years because they are a little more work than I cared to do while I was raising my family.

They need to be staked and in my hardiness zone 6a, they also need to be dug up before winter because they are tender.

But that said, dahlias make gorgeous cut flowers and look totally amazing in the garden, and are wonderful for cutting.

Dahlia 'Tropical' is great for the cut flower garden
Dahlia ‘Tropical’

If you plan ahead, you can choose colors that will look good in summer and in fall.

In general, dahlias are hardy to zones 8-10 but I’ve known gardeners in zone 7 that have been able to keep them in the ground without lifting them out for winter.

Depending on the variety, they can grow to be 1-6′ tall and 1-3′ wide.

Dahlias prefer full sun and thrive in loamy, well-drained soil.

The flowers are cut and come again, so the more you cut the more blooms you’ll have to enjoy both in and out of the garden.

close up of Dahlias Jowey Winnie
Dahlia ‘Jowey Winnie’

Limelight Hydrangeas

There are SO many hydrangea varieties out there but right now, I am loving the limelights!

They start blooming in summer and keep blooming through fall and are even more beautiful as they age.

The gorgeous white blooms change to pink.

They make beautiful cut flowers and are super easy to dry.

Close up of limelight hydrangea flowers in fall -9 ways to start preparing the garden for winter
Limelight Hydrangea in small garden

And you can keep fresh cut hydrangeas from wilting with these simple tips.

In general, limelight hydrangeas grow well in zones 3-9, they prefer full to partial sun in well-drained soil.

Limelight hydrangeas grow 6-8′ tall and wide, so give them plenty of room to grow.

I love to make wreaths from the flowers for my fall decor.

Learn how to make a simple hydrangea wreath for free with these tips.

Close up of limelight hydrangea flower as blooms fade -9 ways to start preparing the garden for winter limelight hydrangea
Limelight Hydrangea

Former Garden Photos

It’s amazing to look back and see my former garden.

It is much different than the garden I have now.

Here are the perennial flowers I mentioned above in my former garden.

Take an Enchanted Evening Garden Tour at My Friend Kim’s!

Take a walk in a gorgeous garden in the PNW at my friend Kim’s Shiplap and Shells.

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5 Late Summer Flowers to Bring Your Garden Into Fall

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18 Comments

  1. Pingback: An Enchanted Evening Stroll Through the Garden - Shiplap and Shells
    1. Thank you Danielle! Do you grow lots of succulents? I have a friend on IG who grows a lot of them and I love how she designs her containers!

  2. Your garden is so beautiful Stacy! I too love growing sedum autumn joy and dahlias in the garden. It’s such a great pick-me-up when other blooms are fading.

  3. Great set of fall flowers and they will help to beautify the garden during the fall season.
    Keep Sharing more on the maintenance of fall garden.
    Thank you.

  4. I’m always looking for ways to make my garden shine year round. I definitely need to add some dahlias! Thanks for sharing.

  5. A few other great fall blooming flowers I like to have in my garden are Pineapple sage,(red) Ironweed(purple) Goldenrod(yellow) and lots of grasses that send up beautiful plumes beauty berry (callicarpa)bushes which provide purple berries.

    1. Oh I LOVE pineapple sage too! I had callicarpa at my old house – need to plant it here. It’s a favorite!