I'd like to try some asters!

Have you tried a Sedum like Autumn Joy? or amsonia? both change color in autumn

Also, some salvias and sage are blooming right now in my area.
of course there are violas and pansies... :)

For winter, Camellias are gorgeous, but I'm still having trouble growing those properly.
and then of course there are early blooming spring bulbs, or autumn blooming bulbs.

Alot of people recommend picking a grass that changes color in autumn for more year-round interest, and then if you live in a place with winter, they look pretty under the snow. (I don't live in a place with winter. :) )

Also, crazily, my cherry tree thinks it's spring and is blooming. (Haha. ) but that doesn't really count. ;)

I have Autumn Joy and another type of sedum. I also have a camellia that is beautiful in the winter. My osmanthus should bloom between now and February so at least my yard will smell good.

I also have three Magic Carpet spirea that changes colors in the fall, but I don't think the leaves last long once it gets cold. They are still pretty small, but should fill out to their full size in the next couple of years.

We may get a good snow every couple of years, but it just mostly rains here in the winter.

Firespike, Pineapple sage, turk's cap, Mexican bush sage, Country Girl chrysanthemum, Itea virginica 'Henry Garnet', sweet olive.

Here camellias don't start blooming for another month.

Trees I've added in recent years:

Bald cypress
Nuttall oak
Swamp red maple

I've tried Autumn Joy sedum a couple times, but never gotten the impressive 'show' that others get.

Will be planting pansies, violas, and dianthus next week.

A wonderful tree that is native to the eastern US is sourwood. Oxydendrum arboreum. It is a fairly narrow tree with flowers in mid-summer that look like lilies of the valley. The fall foliage is spectacular--absolutely scarlet.

The Smoky Mountains are full of them but they grow here north of Boston too. I have had one for many years and love it. It needs sun for the most flowers.

I'm growing caryopteris for the first time this year. I LOVE it! And so do the bees and butterflies. Started blooming about the time everything else died down. Can you tell I'm excited about this? :)

Spider lilies are blooming here now, too.

I've also got some helleborus to plant new this year.

And pyracantha is really putting on a show now, too. It blooms in the spring and the berries last all winter, until the birds eat them.

Here is a link that might be useful: caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue'

One of my favorite fall blooming flowers is japanese anenome. This one is called Margarete, and has been blooming since early Sept.

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Sweetgum trees are concidered trash trees in the forests here, but they have the most beautiful fall colors. Red, wine, gold and orange leaves, sometimes more than one color on an individual tree. And they have unique star shaped leaves.

The downside is the hundreds of stickery seed balls that they produce. Many unsuspecting persons trip on them. So mine are located far from the yard, but still so enjoyable.

Interesting plants you all have mentioned. I'll be researching them to see if any will work in my garden. I want a 4 season garden but spring is really the only season where I have a garden that is really busy with blooms. So now I'm working on midsummer through winter plants.

lois, anenomes have to be a favorite of mine as well. I have them here and there around the property. One of my purple/magenta ones is a double, could it be Margaurite? It's way down in the orchard border where no one gets to see it. I should transplant a piece.

Blueberries! Here, I grow a lot of Chippewa, but there are blueberries for almost every region. Beautiful fall color (Chippewa are red) and cute little flowers in the spring...not to mention the berries. If you don't eat them, the bird will :)

For winter, if I didn't have the horses, I'd have holly planted all over the garden. It's so pretty and cheerful in the winter!

Crepe myrtle trees get a lovely color, a nice orange/purple, with exfoliating bark and berries that dark pop open. They should do fine in your zone.

I've cut down over 2 dozen sweetgums in the past year that were either suckers or seedlings from the larger ones that are already here. I won't be planting any of those on purpose!

Crepe myrtles also sucker and put out seedlings horribly in this area, but I'm making an exception and planting one purple one in a spot where it can be mowed around. They are really nice when people don't commit "crepe murder" and top them off every year. I prefer them to get full sized.

I just planted a river birch by my pond today which also has lovely peeling bark.

I'm looking for roses that have hips in the fall and native hollies. There is a huge nursery not too far from here that has a great selection and I hope to get up there next weekend.

My gardening budget is waaay over the limit, but I also grow cut flowers for sale, so some of it is an expense at least. :)

I've never had a problem with crape myrtle's suckering and I have 5 different varieties.

Wish I had never planted a river birch 3 years ago. It gets a horrible infestation of aphids every spring and then looks like crap the rest of the year. I'm hoping it'll eventually outgrow that.

My two newest fall show-offs are toad lily & black snakeroot, both blooming now long after the pretty foliage has fallen on the lawn. The toad lily started blooming in August and shows no signs of letting up. The black snakeroot had buds for a couple of weeks before they started to open last week. The black snakeroot pics are still on the camera but here's the toad lily:

Tricyrtis hirta/toad lily

Right now things that are really blooming are: zinnias (large ones and small ones), morning glory, mums, knockout roses, caryopteris. I do have several ornamental grasses, and I've added more shrubs over the years. I've added for winter interest becoz I get depressed in winter. I have hollies, weeping yaupon, oakleaf hydrangea, pyracantha, cleyera (love these shrubs), yew, burning bush, camellia, jap. maples.

I just bought a Japanese anemone today, we'll see how it goes.

I didn't plan it, but some of the zinnias dropped out seeds, and when I noticed them, I left them alone. They are blooming now. The plants are a lovely fresh green, about 12 to 14 inches tall, and the blooms are so bright and inviting...and the migrating butterflies love them. I have planted pansies and violas, but I am really enjoying these "accidental" late zinnias.
kay

These are some of the plants/trees I have planted in my garden for Fall and Winter interest, which are my favorite times of the year in the garden.

- Sedum "Autumn Joy"
- Red twig dogwoods
- Mexican bush sage
- Osteospermums
- Pieris
- Nandina donestica + Firepower cultivar
- New Zealand tea tree
- Smoke bush
- Beautyberry
- Strawberry tree
- Serviceberry
- Viburnum opulus
- Viburnum nudum "Pink Beauty" (new addition this year, the jury is still out on this one)
- Dwarf pomegranate (ditto)
- Viburnum tinus (laurustinus)
- Abelia
- Camelia
- Datura
- Naked ladies
- Nerine
- Hollies, including variegated ones
- Ruscus aculeatus (a.k.a. danae racemosa)
- Firethorn hedge, an absolute favorite with the birds
- Crape myrtle
- Sweetgum tree - my favorite tree in the garden, by far, excellent Fall color in a climate where Fall color is never guaranteed

I usually add a couple of pots with coleus and mums which last until it gets cold. The fuschias I grow in hanging baskets in the porch usually keep going until December as well. I also have a small birch which I grew from seed, but it's not yet big enough to make much of an impression.

Eduarda