15 Beautiful Flowers to Plant in August for Color All Fall

Asters are native perennials that offer late-season food for pollinators. Available in shades of pink and purple to purple-blue, these sturdy plants are an excellent addition to any garden for their beauty and support of native wildlife.

This native perennial has fuzzy pink flowers in late summer to fall. It’s loved by pollinators and is an underappreciated plant that adds structure and color to your late-season garden.

Blanket flowers are sturdy, short-lived perennials that last several years in the garden. Their brightly colored flowers are orange, golden or bicolor, and they work well in both containers and mixed borders.

Once considered more weedy than ornamental, goldenrod is actually an important late-season plant for pollinators. Its golden plumes of flowers make striking displays in the fall garden, contrasting with other plants such as purple asters. Though they’re often blamed for fall allergy symptoms, their pollen is sticky and spread by pollinators, not the wind. The real culprit this time of year is ragweed, a plant that resembles goldenrod but has tiny yellowish green flowers and windborne pollen.

There are many types of perennial sedums, but the upright varieties offer color and food to pollinators well into fall. They are succulents, so they don’t need to be watered often because they retain moisture in their fleshy stems and leaves. The flowerheads make excellent long-lived cut flowers, too.

Ornamental kale and cabbage are the pretty, ruffly relatives of edible kale and cabbage. They contrast beautifully in mixed containers with other fall annuals and perennials. These annuals don’t mind the cold at all, so they’ll survive well into late fall in most climates.

Sweet alyssum is a low-growing annual that is covered in tiny, sweetly scented white blooms that pollinators love. It makes a stellar plant for tumbling out of window boxes and containers and will tolerate light frosts.

Snapdragons love cool weather, and are quite happy in the fall. They also come in a variety of autumnal hues, from pinkish-orange to pure white to sunny yellow. They make a great upright or thriller plant for mixed containers.

These perennials, with their golden petals and dark brown centers, have a very long bloom time from late summer to mid-fall. They can be annual or perennial, so read the plant tag or description so you’ll know what you’re buying.

These charming low-growing plants can mound or cascade over the sides of planters. They prefer cool weather, so they’ll keep blooming well into late fall.

This perennial is grown more for its colorful foliage than for the tiny spikes of flowers that appear in mid-summer. Available in shades ranging from chartreuse to deepest burgundy, this low-maintenance perennial is a must-have for color all season, from spring to late fall.

Also known as floss flower, this annual has tiny flowers that resemble embroidery floss. It’s an incredible bloomer, and it’s an absolute favorite of butterflies, which are attracted in abundance to this late-season bloomer.

Flowers don’t deserve all the love; plant ornamental grasses, especially in mixed containers, for a punch of fall drama. Their upright forms and wispy seedheads look amazing blowing in the breeze.