We have had several hard frosts at the house and yet, there are still some perennials that look beautiful.

 

Rudbeckia, and Showy Stonecrop, continue to bloom and add fall colour to the landscape. Both of these perennials are late bloomers.

 

 Rudbeckia, commonly known as Black Eyed Susan,  is a hardy perennial that is drought tolerant, rarely bothered by pests and disease and easy to grow. The daisy like flowers are bright yellow with a black/brown centre.

 

Showy Stonecrop is another easy to grow flowering perennial that requires very little maintenance and care. They are drought tolerant, grow in most soils and do well in hot sunny locations. The foliage is thick and fleshy and the pink flowers rise above the foliage in large clusters. Leave the flower heads on over the winter as they add winter interest to the landscape.

 

Some perennials not only bloom but also have beautiful foliage such as Bunchberry, Lamium, Pulmonaria, Lambs Ears, Heuchera, Hens and Chicks, Bergenia (Elephant Ears), and Ladies Mantle. These perennials all bloomed at different times during the spring and summer but are still attractive this time of year because of their foliage. The foliage is not killed by a frost and remains until the snow covers it up. Next spring when the snow melts many of these will still be attractive after a good clean up as the foliage does not die back completely.

 

Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) is a very hardy native woodland plant used as a ground cover for moist shady areas. It produces single white flowers in early summer and the green dogwood foliage has a nice fall colour.

 

Lamium has silvery foliage that creeps along the ground, making it a good ground cover. Depending on the variety, flowers can be white, pink or purple.

 

Pulmonaria, is a low growing, low maintenance plant that grows well in shaded areas. The finely haired foliage is green with silver or light green splotches. An early bloomer with blue or white flowers depending on variety.

 

 A very fuzzy leafed plant Lambs Ears (Stachys) has leaves that look like little lambs ears. The silver foliage is very attractive. It is a low growing plant, great for edges, borders, and rock gardens.

 

There are new many varieties of Heuchera. Foliage comes in a wide array of colours including shades of purple, red, bronze and greens. Many of them have silver markings.

 

Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum) are part of the succulent family and do well in hot dry areas. The evergreen leaves form rosettes that surround smaller rosettes (the chicks). They are often used in rock gardens, borders and pots.

 

Bergenia is an easy to grow, perennial that has large green leaves that turn reddish in the fall. It is one of the earliest perennials to bloom in the spring with stems that rise above the foliage with clusters of pink flowers.

 

Ladies Mantle form mounds of rounded leaves that catch the water drops. It is another easy to grow perennial that does not require a lot of work. The sprays of yellow blooms rise above the foliage in early summer.

 

These are some of the perennials that will give you long lasting colour and year round interest to the landscape.

 

Ornamental grasses are an attractive addition to the fall landscape.

 

The Blue Oat Grass has long wiry blue stems that remain throughout the year. It grows 75-90 cm tall and 75 cm wide. In the summer it produces seed heads that remain throughout the fall. It is clump forming meaning that it is not invasive and will not take over the yard.