Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.
Fall is renowned for its colorful foliage, and winter is dreaded for its bare branches after that fall foliage drops. Neither of these seasons generally comes to mind when it comes to flowers, but that’s just foolish. There are loads of fall flowers, and even winter blooms, to keep things smelling sweet and looking beautiful.
Fall flowers can be found in just about every plant form: herbaceous cultivars, beloved wildflowers, shrubs, vines, and even trees. They come in just about any color one could desire, and they have a collection of sizes and shapes.
Rather than feeling misled for all these years, maybe now is the time to get some of these fall and winter flowers planted so that all of our seasons are wildly colorful and full of blossoms. Why not start with a dozen choices?
Source: Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve/YouTube
1. Asters
Several types of asters hold off for fall to bloom. These are lovely flowers, with many native to the southern US. Some can grow to be quite tall, and they will liven up in early autumn with beautiful colors.
2. Camellias
It’s important with camellias, a flowering shrub, to get the fall-blooming variety. They will produce flowers from late fall to early winter, right when other plants are shutting down for the winter. They’re gorgeous.
3. Clematis
Clematis is a vigorous vine that has stunning flowers. There are native varieties in the US, but there are tons of cultivars with much more awe-inspiring flowers. Be sure to look for fall-blooming varieties. There are tons.
4. Heliopsis
Often called “false sunflower”, heliopsis have big yellow flowers that keep blooming well into fall. The plants can grow somewhere between three and five feet tall with a spread of up to three feet. There are several cultivars to choose from.
Source: Growit Buildit/YouTube
5. Nasturtiums
In warmer zones, nasturtium can continue to provide colorful flowers well into fall. They’ll survive until the first freeze gets them, but with a little protection, they may keep kicking for a while longer.
6. Joe-Pye Weed
This perennial wildflower reaches up to six feet and puts on a flower show in late summer and throughout autumn. The flowers show up in large clusters, are typically purple or pink, and attract butterflies.
7. Pansies
Pansies are classic cool-weather flowers that will survive in gardens or pots. They come in a wide selection of colors and patterns. Adding to the fun, pansies are also edible flowers, so they can add a flash of color to winter dishes, too.
8. Saffron Crocus
Yep! That wildly expensive spice called saffron is collected from a crocus. And, yes, those famed early-blooming crocuses have varieties that bloom in autumn. These are small perennial flowers planted as bulbs.
Source: Stacy Ling/YouTube
9. Sedum
There are hundreds of species of sedum. They are flowering plants with succulent leaves, and some of the species have flowers that do their work in autumn. The go-to cultivar for fall sedum is called “autumn joy”.
10. Surprise Lily
This plant, which is a lily, goes by several different names: resurrection lily, mystery lily, and naked lady. It grows strappy foliage in the springtime. Then, several months later, long after the leaves have died, a single stem sticks up a couple of feet from out of nowhere and blooms.
11. Violas
Violas have over 500 different species, including annuals, perennials, and even shrub-like incarnations. Many of the popular varieties are commonly confused with pansies. They have the same love of cool weather and a large collection of colors. Also like pansies, violas are edible.
12. Witch Hazel
A late fall to winter bloomer, witch hazel is a small deciduous tree with wispy yellow flowers that have red centers. They stand out on bare branches. For that reason, this is often a featured tree in garden arrangements.
Source: Forestry and Natural Resources Extension/YouTube
Imagine that. The spring and summer long faded away, with fall and winter winds chilling the world over, and flowers are there to remind us that life ain’t so bad. Isn’t funny how plants can do such miraculous things?
Related Content:
Easy Ways to Help the Planet:
- Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
- Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
- Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
- Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and essential stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
- Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in typical household and personal care products!
