Who doesn’t love a bargain? Plants can be purchased at a discount if you grow them from seeds or buy them as seedlings. It’s sometimes the only way to get the plant because it isn’t common enough to sell in garden centers. What’s the trade-off? It will take a while for those plants to bloom. The plants that I am about to show you are ones that have been in my garden for several years but only just now started to bloom. All of these plants are unique, so they might be the perfect alternative to black-eyed susans and asters.

Three years ago, I bought Persicariaamplexicaulis from a Rock Garden Society plant sale as a seedling.

It had one flower stalk last year, but it is now starting to show its true colors. Mountain Fleece, also known as Mountain Fleece, is a plant that grows in the mountains. Piet Oudolf a prairie/meadow-style planting. It is growing in my Slope Garden which I think of as being Oudolfesque.

In the Slope Garden, you will also find several plants of Sanguisorba tetrafolia ex “Purpurea”

These were grown from seeds that Nan Ondra had sent me. The seed was sown in this clump five years ago. This year’s seedlings are not as flowery as the ones planted two years ago. It could be that they are shaded out by peonies behind them.

This year I purchased two seedlings from Odyssey Perennials of Verbascum Roripifolium, but only one bloomed.

It has a habit that is very airy, unlike most mulleins. I hope that both plants survive the winter, and will be even taller and floriferous next season.

Which ironweed is this?

It was a good deal Vernonia glauca Three years ago, I got (upland ironweed or broad-leaved) at a plant sale for a rock garden. You can get plants for free at plant sales You can also find out more about the following: When you wait until the very end and they give the plants away that didn’t sell. This name was valid to me until I began writing this post and found out that everyone who sells the plant thinks it is only hardy in USDA zone 6. They could be wrong. It’s possible that no one has ever tried it during colder winters. It could be that I haven’t experienced a zone 5-like winter for a long time.

It could also be the more common New York Ironweed ( Vernonia novaboracensis). The leaves are not shown on many websites, and the color of the flowers varies according to how long the inflorescences have been in bloom. Also, I have never seen New York Ironweed “in person”. New York ironweed should be taller. Broad-leaved Ironweed would have broader leaves. However, I don’t have anything to compare to.

Look at these leaves. Do they resemble New York ironweed?

Yellow wax bells were given to me by another gardener.

Kirengeshoma palmata flowers hang down like primrose-yellow bells…

It’s worth a peek inside.

This plant prefers moist soil with a little shade. It’s described as a “shrub” in online sources, but my plant is only four to five feet high and not yet very bushy. My division is only three-years-old.

Black Negligee is a sexy alternative name for Snakeroot, which sounds threatening.

Actaea simplex Black Negligee departs from this post’s theme of young and cheap plants, as I received it in 2009 . But, it You can learn more about it here. A perennial that blooms in the fall. The flowers are scented like grapes that have been warmed in the sun. Dark foliage contrasts nicely with the yellow wax bells.

Another plant with a sexy name: “Hot Lips”.

The common name pink turtlehead is a far cry from the actual flower. Those flowers are a zing! A friend also sent this. In the background, you can see some yellow wax bells. The same conditions are preferred.

Daylilies may not be unusual, but Hemerocallis “Steeple Jackie” is.

It blooms in the autumn (late in daylily speak, which for me is the autumn), and the flowers are smaller. It’s also tall for a Daylily. Once it grows, I plan to divide it and spread it out in my garden.

I hope that you have learned about at least one plant to add some variety to your garden this fall. If you grow any of them, or all of them, please tell me why you love them.