Abutilon 'Fool's Gold'
Plenty of sun loving perennials look good in the fall, you just have to choose the right ones. Sure, you might have a costume, but will it work come Halloween; that Santa suit just won’t cut it. The same is true of sun loving perennials. You might have some lovely gladiolus but come Halloween they won’t be adding any color to your garden, but Gladiolus dalenii ‘Halloweenie’ will. This lovely selection of gladiolus has lovely red and orange fall blooming flowers that bring color to the garden right around Halloween.
For a large selection sun loving perennials that dress up for fall like good trick-or-treaters are the Salvias (sages). These fall blooming flowers come in a large variety of forms and colors, so your yard can be as diverse and colorful as Halloween night all fall long. Salvias won’t even trick you if water is scarce, since many are drought resistant; you can’t say the same about greedy trick-or-treaters and candy.
If you want your fall surprises to be good ones, rather than an egged house, then Lycoris are the fall blooming flowers for you. Known as surprise lilies the lovely flowers come up suddenly without foliage in the fall, and come in a variety of colors from red to yellow, and even blue and pink. You can also get great fall surprises in the mail by ordering from Plant Delights Nursery for fall planting.