Fall flowers are a valuable source of nectar and pollen for butterflies and other beneficial insects at a time when food sources are scarce.

Believe it or not, now is the right time to be planting your perennials for next season while the soil is still warm and your plants know not to flower. Putting your perennials in the ground now will help them thrive in the springtime.

A cool-season flower that can be set out in early spring, sweet alyssum fades in the summer heat, but its clusters of tiny white, pink, or purple blooms will likely cover your garden again in the fall when temperatures stabilize.

Catmint is the ideal low-maintenance perennial for any garden setting. Available in heights ranging from 8 inches to 3 feet tall, the silvery-green foliage has a minty-spicy scent that deer and rabbits tend to leave alone. Spikes of pink or purple flowers appear for weeks in mid to late summer.