Thank goodness for those late bloomers that carry the landscape into fall.

Many of the earlier blooming perennials have had their moment to show off their attractive flowers but when planned carefully there is no reason not to have continuous blooms right into September and beyond. There are some perennials that are in full bud right now and are just waiting for their opportunity to show off.

Speaking of showing off, the ‘Showy Stonecrop’ is a perennial that brightens up the landscape. A member of the sedum family, it is a low maintenance, drought tolerant, plant that is a must for those sunny, partial shade areas of the landscape. Rarely bothered by pests or disease it is perfect for those gardens that do not require a lot of attention. It has thick fleshy leaves and on top of the thick stems you will find large flower heads that come is various shades of pink, depending on the variety.

‘Liatris’ commonly known as Blazing Star has tall attractive flower spikes that are either white or purple. A feature that stands out about Liatris is that unlike most flower spikes that start to bloom from the bottom up, Liatris bloom from the top down, making it a favourite for cut flowers, as they also have long lasting cut blooms.

A bright perennial for the back of the flowerbed ‘Heliopsis’ commonly known as False Sunflower have tall (60-90 cm) stems filled with bright yellow, daisy like flowers that start to bloom in mid summer and continue to bloom into fall. Remove the finished flowers for continuous blooms. This easy to grow perennial will tolerate different soil conditions and is drought tolerant.

Another tall growing, low maintenance perennial ‘Joe Pye’ has clusters of pink/purple flowers that attract butterflies.

‘Black Eyed Susan’ have long lasting, daisy like flowers ideal for cut flowers. The petals are yellow/orange and surround a dark brown eye. After they have finished blooming the dark seed heads can be left on the plant for added winter interest.

The long blooming ‘Coreopsis’ commonly known as Tickseed have bright yellow daisy-like flowers on slender stems. The clump forming plant is drought tolerant but will grow well in most soil conditions. Plant in a sunny location.

Perhaps not grown for their flowers, but ornamental grasses have very attractive seed heads as well as colourful foliage, that certainly add movement and colour to the landscape throughout the summer and into the fall and even winter.

A later blooming flowering shrub that can be seen blooming now in many local landscapes is the Hydrangea . The beautiful flowers are large and very showy and there are a number of different varieties to choose from.

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Home and Garden  Centres in Prince George:

• Highway 16 West at  Kimball Road
• Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road