Plants in Bloom

This shrub’s iridescent clusters of berries persist after its leaves drop, providing winter sustenance for many species of birds.

Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’ (beautyberry) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Stonecrops, or sedums, are a genus of succulents with an exceptionally varied array of flowers, foliage, and habits. A butterfly favorite, ‘Autumn Joy’ offers color-changing flower heads that blossom pink in the summer then transition to a dark rose in autumn. 

Hylotelephium Autumn Joy = (Herbstfreude Group) ‘Herbstfreude’ (stonecrop [Autumn Joy]) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This native tree is known for its custard-like fruit and unusual brownish flowers. Its large leaves turn a lovely yellow in fall.

Asimina triloba (pawpaw) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This versatile groundcover, native to China, has vivid blue flowers that appear later in the summer. Like many groundcovers, it spreads by sending out rhizomes, or horizontal underground stems.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (hardy blue-flowered leadwort) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Sumacs are among the first trees to change colors in fall. Staghorn sumac is a native species, and its vivid foliage can be seen lighting up roadsides and forest edges this time of year.

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac) in the Discovery Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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Lovely anemones first bloom in late summer and continue through fall, attracting pollinators when many sources of pollen and nectar have gone to seed.

Anemone hupehensis ‘September Sprite’ (Japanese anemone) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Lee Patrick.

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This later-blooming aster species has violet-colored flower heads and leaves that are fragrant when crushed. Bees and butterflies feed on its nectar.

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘October Skies’ (‘October Skies’) in the Rose Arc Pool. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Native to South Africa, this three-season bloomer can be trellised as a vine or grown as a shrub.

Plumbago auriculata (cape leadwort) in the Warm Temperate Pavilion. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Planted in 1916, this tree is one of the Garden’s most remarkable. It has multiple trunks and sprawls to 75 feet in diameter. To preserve this century-old tree as long as possible, cables have been installed to support some of the sprawling limbs. It still flowers every few years and displays vivid fall color.

Cladrastis kentukea (American yellowwood) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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This dwarf aster offers compact, dense blooms of pink ray flowers surrounding yellow disc flowers, a favorite of late-season pollinators.

Symphyotrichum novi-belgii ‘Wood’s Pink’ (Wood’s pink New York aster) in the Shakespeare Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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Native to the eastern two-thirds of the United States, this grass was especially common in the prairies that thrived in North America prior to European colonization. It can grow as tall as eight feet, and its spikelets change from green to purple as it matures in the fall.

Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This popular garden plant has flower heads that are darker and larger than those of other native asters. They also have more ray flowers, and can reach a height of up to five feet tall. 

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster) in the Water Garden. Photo: Alvina Lai.

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The lovely berries of this native holly relative persist through winter, sometimes spring. These fruits are a welcome food for hungry birds as the weather cools and other options get scarce.

Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’ (winterberry ) in the Discovery Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Toad-lilies, including this cultivar, often feature vibrant, toad-like purple speckles. Tricyrtis hirta is sometimes called hairy toad lily (“hirta” means hairy) because it is covered in fine hairs.

Tricyrtis hirta ‘Miyazaki’ (Japanese toad-lily) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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In fall, the oak-shaped leaves of Hydrangea quercifolia produce vivid shades of purple, red, and gold.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Snow Queen’ (oak-leaved hydrangea) on Magnolia Plaza. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This cultivar, sometimes misnamed autumn-crocus, is not a true crocus, though it resembles one! Instead, this delicate fall-blooming bulb belongs to the genus Colchicum. 

Colchicum ‘The Giant’ (colchicum) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This native North American tree has fall foliage that may vary from yellow to orange to red, sometimes on the same tree—or even the same leaf!

Acer rubrum (red maple) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This small goldenrod, named for its downy gray stems, produces clumps of yellow plumes that attract butterflies. Individual plants bloom at varying times, giving it an extended blooming season from late summer into early fall.

Solidago nemoralis (gray goldenrod) in the Water Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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This white-flowered aster grows well in the shade. Aster disc florets are attractive to many different late-season pollinators, and fade from yellow to red as they are pollinated. 

Eurybia divaricata (white wood aster) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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The American persimmon is native to the central and eastern United States, and can grow up to 80 feet high. Its spring flowers provide nectar for bees, and its fruits have long been enjoyed by people and wildlife across the region.

Diospyros virginiana (American persimmon) in the Plant Family Collection. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This lovely shrub rose hybrid blooms repeatedly starting in late spring through fall.

Rosa ‘Surf Rider’ (shrub rose) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Smooth aster has no hair on the stems or leaves and can be distinguished from better-known New England aster by its flowers, which are smaller and lighter in color. This cultivar, discovered in a Connecticut garden in 1988, produces violet-blue flowers and has an upright, freestanding habit.

Symphyotrichum laeve ‘Blue Bird’ (aster ‘Blue Bird’) in the Shakespeare Garden. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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Milkweeds are host plants to monarch butterflies, which can be seen flitting around them in the summer. The seedpods, which dry out during fall, are filled with silky filaments that help carry the seeds far from the mother plant when the wind catches them.

Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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A classic hybrid tea rose with a large, single bloom at the end of a long stem and a sweet fragrance, this pink cultivar was named after the Nobel Prize-winning French poet.

Rosa Frederic Mistral = ‘Meitebros’ (hybrid tea rose Frederic Mistral) in the Rose Garden. Photo: Jean-Marc Grambert.

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A native tree found in wooded wetland areas, the black tupelo can tolerate a wide range of conditions, from standing water to dry, drought-ridden soils. Its brilliant red autumn foliage can be seen in the Water Garden, the Plant Family Collection, and at the Visitor Center.

Nyssa sylvatica (black tupelo) in the Water Garden. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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The beautiful little flowers of this shade-loving plant look a bit like orchids and persist through October and even into November. They attract bees and other pollinators.

Tricyrtis ‘Tojen’ (Japanese toad-lily) in the Rose Arc Pool. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This flowering shrub belongs to the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle family. Abelia species tend to be low-maintenance, with a bloom time that extends into fall.

Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ (Abelia ‘Rose Creek’) in the Osborne Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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Quercus ilicifolia is a shrub, not a tree. Like other oaks, it provides food and habitat for an astounding array of wildlife, including bears.

Quercus ilicifolia (bear oak) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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One of the several maple cultivars in the Japanese Garden, Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’ displays stunning fall color.

Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’ (Japanese maple) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Brian Funk.

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Not all conifers are evergreen. This tree, native to China, is deciduous. The needles take on a striking gold color in the fall before dropping off in the winter.

Pseudolarix amabilis (golden larch) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Blanca Begert.

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Japanese maples are a popular bonsai tree, known for their brilliant fall color and easy cultivation. The Bonsai Museum offers a colorful autumn display.

Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) in the Bonsai Museum. Photo: Sarah Schmidt.

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Chrysanthemums are a classic garden flower. Native to Asia and parts of Europe, they bloom through autumn.

Chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ (chrysanthemum ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’) in the Rose Arc Pool. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This woodland shrub, native to the Himalayas, China, and Japan, is a member of the witch-hazel family.

Loropetalum chinense (Chinese fringe flower) in the Bonsai Museum. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This late-summer bloomer with dangling clusters of delicately fragrant pink flowers is a perennial species that survives Brooklyn winters. See an expansive understory carpet blossoming in Bluebell Wood in late September.

Begonia grandis (hardy begonia) in Bluebell Wood. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This deciduous conifer is found at pond edges. Related to the bald cypress, it is narrower with shorter, overlapping needles. This cultivar, ‘Nutans’, has slightly weeping branches.

Taxodium distichum var. imbricarium ‘Nutans’ (nodding pond cypress) in the Rock Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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One of the several maple cultivars in the Japanese Garden, Acer palmatum ‘Lutescens’ displays dazzling yellow color in fall. In Japan, such leaf colors inspire the tradition of momijigari, or autumn leaf viewing, in which foliage fans travel to gardens, parks, and into the mountains to admire the show.

Acer palmatum ‘Lutescens’ (Japanese maple cultivar) in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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This native plant has distinctive spotted, tubular flowers that are stacked along the stem. The bright pink bracts under each flower help attract wasps and bees.

Monarda punctata (spotted bee balm) in the Native Flora Garden. Photo: Michael Stewart.

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