It’s not too late to get some ultra-colourful annuals in the ground to brighten up these last few months before the snow arrives! End your gardening season with a bang by planting these spectacular annuals that thrive in cool autumn temperatures.
Grow a grand finale garden with these late-season annuals, perfect for garden beds and containers! They’ll complement the surrounding scenery beautifully as our trees and shrubs transition into glorious autumn colours.
The quintessential fall flowers, chrysanthemums, are an all-time favourite for patio gardens. There are hundreds of cultivars to choose from—some have round, pom-pom flower heads, some resemble daisies, and others have long, stringy petals like a sea urchin! There are endless colours to choose from, but the red, orange, yellow, and purple varieties are especially beautiful in fall. Chrysanthemums are the November birth flower, so if you know of any November babies with a birthday coming up, a pot of chrysanthemums would make a fabulous gift.
This vivacious ornamental grass has deep plum, wispy foliage that splays outward just like a fountain. Purple fountain grass is the perfect thriller plant for container gardens—tall and showy, creating a central focal point that rises above your mounded fillers and trailing spillers. Feathery, tufted plumes emerge from this ornamental grass, adding beautiful texture and movement to your fall landscape.
You might be surprised that you can use cabbages and kale as decorative plants, but the ornamental varieties are truly breathtaking! Their swirling rosettes of ruffled foliage resemble one giant flower, boasting rich jewel-toned shades of teal and amethyst. Their mounded, compact form makes them an ideal border plant for the front of the garden or as a filler plant for mixed arrangements. Plant a few small ornamental cabbages and kale plants in your window boxes—they’re bold and unexpected yet undeniably lovely!
These cool-season flowers thrive in spring or fall—summer heat is just a bit too harsh on them. They’re closely related, but pansies are larger, whereas violas are smaller but bloom more plentifully. Deadhead your plants regularly to encourage continuous blooms until frost. Fun fact: these pretty little flowers are edible, too! Sprinkle them on top of salads, garnish cakes and cocktails, or mix individual petals into freshly churned butter for a fancy spread to bring along to an afternoon fall picnic.
While they are still technically edible, ornamental pepper varieties are grown for aesthetics, as their mega-vibrant fruits look like colourful holiday lights! They look especially beautiful as the fruits mature and take on different colours, creating a vivid multi-tonal display. If you grow your peppers in a pot, you can overwinter them indoors once the temperatures dip and then bring them back outside the following spring.
These distinctive fall annuals have plenty of personality! Their tufted flower heads look like tiny torches, lighting up the landscape with their bright, saturated shades of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple. They only reach about 6–12 inches at maturity and don’t spread out, so they’re great for planting tightly in a row along borders and paths. Plant a multi-coloured mix in containers for a festive display that never fails to perk up a cloudy October day.
Discover even more beautiful Ontario fall annuals, landscape plants, and more by visiting Royal City Nursery in Guelph. Fall is a perfect time for planting since the soil is nice and cool. Talk to our experts in-store if you need any tips on proper planting and fall care!
