Perennials vs Annuals: Fall Edition

colorful astilbe blooms

Native Tennessee perennials and annuals will make you fall in love with fall all over again.

As summer winds down, it’s time to consider what your fall landscaping will look like. One of the biggest questions we hear from clients is whether to plant annuals, perennials, or both. Here at Master’s Landscape Design, we have a comprehensive plant catalog and work with your preferences to choose and install quality plants for your landscape design.

To help you decide how to make the most of fall, we’ve compiled an overview of which plants are best for your fall landscape in Mt. Juliet, Lebanon, and nearby areas of Tennessee.


What Are Annuals?

Blanket flowers with fire colors near Mt. Juliet, TN.

Annuals are often bright, showy, and colorful, which is why we love them. Annuals thrive during the growing season and can perk up your property. However, annuals are called annuals because they die at the end of the growing season and must be removed and replaced.


Benefits of Perennials

Perennials, on the other hand, live year-round and generally require less care once they are established. We love using perennials as the foundation of our landscaping designs because they become more effective as they grow into place.

Perennial stonecrops plants at a Lebanon, TN home.

The one downside to perennials is that they often don’t have quite the same color show as you get with annuals. That’s not to say there is no color, but they generally don’t have quite the same showy display.

Using perennials as your base plant type for landscaping will give you a more permanent look that requires less maintenance throughout the year. Because we use native plants, they will thrive in our region.


Common Central Tennessee Fall Landscaping Plants

So, you are probably wondering what grows best in middle Tennessee now. You can check out our complete catalog for perennials, but here are a few that look beautiful in the fall:

  • Stonecrops – This family of perennials offers beautiful, colorful blooms in the late summer/early fall, and even when the blooms dry out, they still look spectacular.
  • Autumn Joy Sedum – A particular variety of stonecrop, the Autumn Joy blooms in the fall and has showy, reddish-pink flowers.
  • Christmas Fern – Christmas ferns are green year-round and grow well in whole or part shade. They typically require very little maintenance.
  • Astilbe – There are approximately 25 different types of astilbe, all with colorful fern-like blooms in the summer. If you leave the spent blooms on the plant, you’ll have some additional interest in the fall.
  • Shasta Daisy – This charming daisy is picture-perfect and blooms in the summer and fall. It loves full sun and makes for a beautiful cut flower.

Are You Ready for Fall Landscaping? Schedule a Consultation Today.

Master’s Landscape Design specializes in extraordinary landscape designs suited to your unique property. We serve residential and commercial properties in Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, and surrounding areas of Tennessee. We would love to work with you to produce a stunning property—call us today at (615) 288-2052 to schedule a consultation with our team.