Top Flowers for Fall Color

Fall Favorites

Just when you think you'll spend eternity shuttered inside an air-conditioned room, autumn turns down the thermostat. It's fall outside, the days are cooler, and the flowers are simply killer. Asters, mums, sedums, and fall sunflowers. For these and many other perennials, now is their time to shine.

So why aren't you planting? Maybe you're not sure what a perennial is (it's a nonwoody plant that comes back every year). Or perhaps you're worried that it's too late to start. Worry not. Garden centers know that instant color sells and are awash in blooming potted perennials. Give them sun, good soil, and enough water to get established, and they'll bloom for weeks this autumn and many autumns thereafter. Here are a few of our favorites.