Best Perennials for Late Summer and Fall in New England

Perennial flowers are fabulous additions to New England gardens. As opposed to Annuals, which live only 1 season, perennials come back year after year, some for more than 10 or 15 years – and even a hundred years like peonies! When carefully selected, wave after wave of colorful blooms will be enjoyed in your Northeast garden from spring to fall. Reliable, they come back stronger and bigger when winter turns to spring, ready to start another spectacular show.

Many gardens are at their best in spring and summer, but their fall display should also be given attention. Many spectacular late-flowering perennials have the potential to revive your garden in the fall and extend color and joy in your landscape.

Choosing perennials for late summer and fall planting has many benefits. Here’s why you should consider adding these plants to your garden:

• Extended Bloom Season: Late summer and fall perennials extend the color and vibrancy of your garden into the cooler months. Just as early and mid-summer flowers begin to fade, these late bloomers hit their stride, keeping your garden lively and appealing well into the fall.
• Wildlife Support: Late-blooming plants provide an essential food source for pollinators, like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as they prepare for winter or migration. They can also provide seeds and cover for birds and other wildlife.
• Less Maintenance: Many late summer and fall perennials are heat and drought-tolerant, requiring less watering and care during the dog days of summer. This can help you conserve water and save time.
• Variety and Interest: Incorporating late-blooming perennials adds a variety of textures, forms, and colors to your garden, making it more visually interesting. It also allows you to enjoy the gardening hobby for a longer period of the year.
• Fall Garden Cleanup: The timing of planting and caring for late summer and fall perennials can dovetail nicely with other fall gardening tasks, such as leaf cleanup, garden preparation for winter, and bulb planting for spring bloom.

Suppose you are looking for beautiful, low-maintenance, and hardy plants for your late summer or fall garden. In that case, you may want to consider these top-performing perennials, which will happily carry color through the end of the growing season.