The Best Landscape Plants For Fall Color

Every year when the leaves begin to change, I always notice that we don’t have much fall color in the landscape at our house. And every year I think next year I’ll add plants that will give us a beautiful fall color. However, every time spring rolls around I forget.

So I began making this list for myself as a reminder come next spring! I thought this is something some of you might want to bookmark as well!

Fall Blooming Flowers

Of course, mums and sunflowers are great options for your fall landscape, but I want something a little more unexpected.

Coneflower Echinacea – These smell amazing and will come back every year. This is first on my list to plant next year though they can be planted in spring or early fall. These require a full sun location. Also called echinacea, these have many health benefits as well.

Sedum (Autumn Joy) – This plant will begin to bloom in late August. The flowers start out pink and then deepen to dark purple or rust and finally to brown. These will bloom through the end of October or the beginning of November depending on your climate.

Goldenrod – These yellow plants look almost like a wildflower and bloom in late summer and fall adding a nice pop of color to your landscape.

Climbing Black Eyed Susan – I bought one of these for the first time this year, I’d actually never seen a climbing Black Eyed Susan. It lasted all summer and fall until the first frost. During the hottest part of the summer I got the least amount of blooms. Once the weather cooled down, it exploded with new blooms. This one is an annual so you’ll have to replant each year. That’s not necessarily a bad thing considering how quickly it grows and spreads.

One other flower worth mentioning is the Yarrow. While this one blooms all summer long, it’s a beautiful dried flower for fall. You can see how I used Yarrow to make this fall wreath.

Landscape Shrubs for Fall Color

Burning Bush the green leaves of this pretty shrub turn brilliant red in the fall. Plant alone or in a row for a hedge.

Spicebush gets its name from its scent, when the leaves are crushed it gives off a spicy aroma. The leaves will turn yellow in the fall. This is a small to medium-sized plant that will even grow in partial shade gardens.

Spirea (Gold Flame) The foliage on this plant will change from bronze in spring to green in summer to copper in fall.

Barberry Another small and colorful accent plant, the barberry is easy to grow. In the winter, it produces bright red berries making it a pretty landscape plant year-round.

The Best Type Of Trees for Fall Color

Autumn Blaze Red Maple is a disease resistant tree that will give you brilliant fall color.

Coral Bark Japanese Maple – Colorful foliage all year long but will be the most brilliant in fall.

American Beech – Will provide a wide-spreading canopy and bronze colored leaves in autumn.

Sugar Maple If you want a show of bright fall color, the sugar maple may be your best bet, it’s has the most colorful fall leaves of most any tree.

Fall Grasses

Flame Grass The blades on this ornamental grass turn a brilliant red in the fall and the leaves retain a burgundy color through the winter.

Fountain Grass A low maintenance plant that will add texture to your garden from late summer through fall.

Pampas Grass – The tallest of the ornamental grasses, it makes for beautiful dried flowers you can bring indoors.

What are some of your favorite landscape plants for fall color? I’d love some more suggestions to add to the list.

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