Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food and Recipes
  • Culture and Lifestyle
  • Style
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • Home
  • Gardening Ideas
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      The Best New Haircuts to Try in 2022

      Here are the haircuts you'll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More
    • 50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      50 Thoughtful Messages for a Meaningful Thank You Note

      Not sure what to write in a thank you card? Here's how to show your gratitude with a handwritten note. Read More
  • Food and Recipes

    Food and Recipes

    See All Food and Recipes
    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    4 Easy Ways to Tell if an Egg Has Gone Bad

    It’s not all in the senses, but they sure can help.
    • Recipes
    • Quick and Easy Dinner
    • Kitchen Assistant
    • Casserole
    • Holiday and Occasion Food
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Healthy and Light
    • Side Dishes
    • Party Food and Drink
    • Appetizers
    • Meat
    • Breakfast
    • BBQ
    • Drinks
    • What's Cooking
  • Culture and Lifestyle

    Culture and Lifestyle

    See All Culture and Lifestyle
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with these unique nicknames.
    • Quotes and Sayings
    • Biscuits and Jam Podcast
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Healthy Living
    • Coastal Living
  • Style

    Style

    See All Style
    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The Coziest Winter Nail Colors for January 2022

    The beginning of a new year often has us all feeling like starting off fresh by taking on better habits, getting rid of old ones, and—most commonly—changing up our look. While others are hitting the squats and going into the salon for a pixie cut, why not start slow and steady with a cozy winter manicure in a color that feels new to you? It takes only a little courage to step outside your usual OPI Lincoln Park After Dark or Essie Bordeaux, which is all you need to kick 2022 off on a fanciful foot.  From new wintry takes on classic dark nail colors to unique pops of color that'll have you feeling the opposite of boring, these are the best nail colors to try this January and tick off all the way into spring. 
    • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Fashion
    • Short Hairstyles
    • Nails
    • Medium Hairstyles
    • Skincare
    • Long Hairstyles
  • Holidays & Occasions

    Holidays & Occasions

    See All Holidays & Occasions
    • Thanksgiving
    • Gifts
    • Christmas
    • Mother's Day
    • Hanukkah
    • New Year's
    • Easter
    • Mardi Gras
    • 4th of July
    • Weddings
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home
    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    16 Kitchen Design Trends Southern Designers Predict Will Be Everywhere in 2022

    There's no denying how the pandemic fundamentally changed the world—including how we live (and work) inside our homes. An overall trend toward celebrating the history and originality of our homes is displacing ultramodern aesthetics and sharp lines as we all look to create cozier, colorful, more personalized spaces that better suit our lifestyles. We're turning away from big-box stores and toward vintage items—first, out of necessity due to supply-chain issues, and now, for design reasons—to add charm and character to every room in the house, including the kitchen. Here, interior designers from around the South share their predictions for what's trending in kitchen design for 2022 and beyond.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Kitchen Design
    • Before & After Photos
    • Bathroom Design
    • Curb Appeal
    • Bedroom Design
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Color Palettes & Paint
    • House Plans & Builders
    • Inspired Communities
  • Gardening Ideas

    Gardening Ideas

    See All Gardening Ideas
    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    If You Keep Finding Ladybugs in Your House, Here's What You Need to Know

    Plus a few strategies for keeping them out-of-doors
    • Container Gardening
    • Gardening Flowers
    • Fruit, Vegetable & Herb Gardens
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Guides A-Z
    • Indoor Plants
    • Fall Plants
    • Landscaping Ideas
    • The Grumpy Gardener
  • News

    News

    See All News
    • Celebrities
    • Local News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Southern Living
  2. Gardening Ideas
  3. Gardening Flowers
  4. 5 Grumpy-Approved Fall Flowers Not Named Mum

5 Grumpy-Approved Fall Flowers Not Named Mum

Steve Bender, The Grumpy Gardener
By Steve Bender
Skip gallery slides
FB
Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
Credit: Justus de Cuveland/Getty Images
Walk into any garden center right now and about half the space is crammed by potted mums. Grumpy holds no grudge against mums – they're great in containers and make nice gifts. But year after year of buying nothing but mums is like eating a baked potato every night. The menu gets old.With that in mind, I present to you five outstanding perennials with lovely autumn blooms to spice up your garden and also attract butterflies and other pollinators. Look for them in garden centers and online.
Start Slideshow

1 of 5

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Aromatic Aster

Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolius)
Credit: Southern Living

Symphyotrichum oblongifolius

Native to the central U.S., aromatic aster is the perfect foil for mums, as its blooms supply the blue and purple colors mums don’t. It gets it names from the pleasant scent emitted from its leaves when crushed. This plant forms a dense, tidy mound about two to three feet tall and wide. It blooms for weeks in fall in USDA Zones 3 to 8, unhindered by frost. Give it full sun and good drainage. Recommended selections: ‘Fanny’ (bright purple flowers with yellow centers), ‘October Skies’ (sky-blue), and ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ (bluish-purple).

1 of 5

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 5

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Japanese Anemone

Japanese Anemone (Anemone x hybrida)
Credit: Justus de Cuveland/Getty Images

Anemone x hybrida

Anyone need a fall flower for shade? Japanese anemone is the ticket. Wands of showy flowers rise two to three feet above tufts of handsome, basal leaves. Blooms flaunt bright yellow stamens circling a central green eye. Clumps slowly expand, but don’t take over. Give Japanese anemone light shade and fertile, moist, well-drained soil in USDA Zones 4 to 8. Recommended selections: ‘Honorine Jobert,’ (white, shown above), ‘Queen Charlotte’ (pink), Prinz Heinrich (rosy-red), and ‘September Charm’ (silvery-pink).

2 of 5

3 of 5

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Autumn Sage

Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii)
Credit: Southern Living

Salvia greggii

This Southwestern native does fall flowers one better. It starts blooming in late spring and continues nonstop through fall. It forms a rounded mound from one to three feet tall and wide. Copious blooms of red, pink, salmon, white, lavender, magenta, purple, and bicolors decorate foliage that remains evergreen in the warmer parts of the plant’s range. Give autumn sage full sun and well-drained soil. It takes heat and drought very well in USDA Zones 6 to 10. Trim it back by half in early spring before new growth starts.

3 of 5

Advertisement

4 of 5

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

Pink Muhly Grass

Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)
Credit: Roger Foley

Muhlenbergia capillaris

If you think of grass as pretty drab stuff, you haven’t seen pink muhly grass glowing in the sun like a rock star in sequins. This native grass forms a mound of slender, upright leaves three to four feet tall and wide. In autumn, wispy, rosy-purple plumes float like smoke above the foliage. A border of it in bloom is stunning. It likes full to part sun and well-drained soil. Grow it in USDA Zones 5 to 9. Cut it back to near the ground in winter.

4 of 5

5 of 5

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print

‘Fireworks’ Goldenrod

‘Fireworks’ Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks')
Credit: Ralph Anderson

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks'

Do I have to say it again? Goldenrod does not cause hay fever! Some species can be weedy, but this isn’t one. Native to the eastern U.S., it becomes a well-behaved clump about three feet tall and wide that doesn’t spread by wide-ranging roots. It gets its name from the sprays of bright yellow flowers that literally explode into color in late summer and fall. Pollinators love it. ‘Fireworks’ thrives in full sun and well-drained soil in USDA Zones 4 to 9. Set some off today!

5 of 5

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Steve Bender

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 5 Aromatic Aster
    2 of 5 Japanese Anemone
    3 of 5 Autumn Sage
    4 of 5 Pink Muhly Grass
    5 of 5 ‘Fireworks’ Goldenrod

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message Print
    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Southern Living. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    Sign in

    View image

    5 Grumpy-Approved Fall Flowers Not Named Mum
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.