Autumn is upon us this weekend & there are a few more perennials to enjoy that are in bloom right now. These purple ones are my favorites:
~ Aster (A. novae-angliae) – Easy to grow. Sun/Pt. Sun. Comes in pink & purple. If you cut back in early July they will stay bushy come bloom time, just like mums. Spectacular. Nice cut flower too.
~ Obedient Plant (physostegia) – Easy to grow. Sun. Great blooms this time of year. These get very tall (4’-5’) so I do cut it back, again like the asters, in early July. Take it down a foot if you like. It helps so I don’t have to stake. Keep deadheading for continuous blooms. Again, a nice cut flower.
~ Liriope – Easy to grow. Likes Sun/Pt. Sun. The purple blooms on the variegated variety are so beautiful. The tropical feel of the foliage on this hardy plant is wonderful.
~ Beautyberry Bush (callicarpa) – Likes Sun/Pt. Sun. So now an easy to grow shrub. The small, insignificant flowers down each stem are now forming tiny green changing to purple berries. So pretty & great food source for the birds. (Although I like to enjoy the berries for a few months yet!) If you cut this down in the spring you can maintain a smaller 3’ size. If you have room then go for it!
~ Butterfly Bush (buddleia) – Likes Sun/Pt. Sun. Another easy to grow shrub mentioned before in my blogs. The beautiful purple blooms of my bush are lovely & fragrant mid-summer through the fall. The silvery foliage will stay all winter long here. Again, cut down in the spring if you need to maintain its size.
Okay a few honorable mentions that aren’t purple: Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ & other wonderful varieties & Mums too. Salvia, Phlox Paniculata, Black-eyed susans, Lamium, Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ are all still blooming although not as vigorously.
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