Also for fall: toadlilies, grasses, asters of all kinds, goldenrods of all kinds, sweet autumn clematis (blooms earlier for me, but should bloom later for you), lecojumn autumnal which is a bulb (and I spelled it wrong), helenium, russian sage.
For you, the best winter interested are things that you leave even if they are brown and crumbly. Maybe it's blackeyed susans with the heads left on to attract winter birds, or tall grasses that look so beautiful encased in snow and ice. The fluffy heads of spent clematis on a trellis provide winter interest out my Mom's windows in Canada. They are the most incredibly beautiful thing encased with a thin layer of ice. Like jewlery.

GGG

I have a variety of sedums - Autumn joy, brilliant, Frosty Morn, and a yellow varigated Sedum. I love that little section of the garden in Sept. Also, a couple mums and asters, also a couple of dwarf burning bushes. I would love to get some red twig Dogwood for the winter.

Last year I left all my Black eyed susan seeds. What a mistake. I had them coming up everywhere this year. Had to totally clear that section of garden. Never again will I not deadhead my Rudbeckias!

I don't care for the grasses in the summer, but I do have to say they do look great (in other peoples yards) when they have the snow drifting against them. sigh, the snow will come won't it.

Oh, and I do have a couple daylilies still blooming. But I will show you one I that just started blooming and will bloom till frost.

Greywoods Java Illusion - a late bloomer. And yes, the colors are true.
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The others still blooming are Darla Anita

Some evergreens with red berries mite be good for winter interest(pretty in the snow). How about pyracantha?

Becky

You could try to grow a few hollies that are hardy to your zone: maybe the Blue Hollies? For me, nothing spells Winter/Christmas more than hollies and a live Christmas tree. Have you planted one? Dwarf conifers are also wonderful additions to the Winter garden and they come in many colors now - green, blue, yellow, bronze. They look wonderful mixed with hollies and perenials like coneflowers, sedums and rudbeckias. Pyracantha is a wonderful sight in Winter, loaded with berries, but you´d have to check whether it´s hardy in your zone. I have an entire hedge of it and it not only sets the Christmas mood for the entire street but the birds also go bezerk with it at a time when very little food is available.

For Fall you could try beautybush, smoke bush, snowball viburnum (or any other viburnum that is hardy to your zone) in addition to the already mentioned asters and mums. Also Fall flowering crocus. This should get you going till Spring again.

Eduarda

Ooh, erm.. there's the winter-flowering Iris Unguicularis. And berry plants are always good - Callicarpa looks gorgeous with pinky/purple berries. And you can't go wrong with some ornamental cabbages for that potager look. :)

Aside from that, yup, seedheads like allium and poppy always look good in winter.

Melanie

It actually blooms in summer, but my all time favorite plant for fall/winter interest is the pink astilbe called 'Erica'. I have a half dozen other astilbes, but 'Erica' seems to be the best. She is an arendsii hybrid and has good strong stems and plumes that hold up amazingly well, considering the delicate appearance. I have 5 plants grouped together in both my front and back gardens and when frosted with snow the effect is enchanting. (Be sure to plant your winter interest things where you can enjoy them from inside the house!)

My other fav that you mentioned is 'Autumn Joy'. People complain that there is far too much of it in the world, but I say for a good reason! AND I would add that THE MORE THE BETTER. A few 'Autumn Joy' are nice for winter interest, but a couple dozen of them in a mass planting are really wonderful and what could be easier to propagate!?
Patti

Hope this helps...I keep it on me in the fall so that when I travel to garden shops I focus on Fall color.

Fall Blooming Perennials
 Aconite Aconitum - Zones 3 - 7
 Autumn Crocus Colchicum speciosum - Zones 4 - 9
 Balloon Flower Platycodon grandiflorus Zones 3-8
 Black-Eyed Susan Rudbeckia (various) - Zones 3 - 9
 Boltonia Boltonia - Zones 3 - 9
 Frickart's Aster Aster x frikartii - Zones 5 - 8
 Goldenrod Solidago - Zones 3 - 8
 Hardy Mum Chrysanthemum x morifolium - Zones 4 - 9
 Heath Aster Aster ericoides - Zones 3 - 9
 Japanese Anemone Anemone x hybrida - Zones 5 - 8
 Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium maculatum - Zones 2 - 8
 New England Aster Aster novae-angliae - Zones 3 - 8
 Peach-leaved Bellflower Campanula persicifolia - Zones 3-7
 Phlox Phlox paniculata - Zones 3 - 8
 Plumbago Ceratostigma - Zones 6 - 9
 Ragged Coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata - Zones 3 - 9
 Rhone Aster Aster sedifolious - Zones 4 - 7
 Russian Sage Perovskia atriplicifolia - Zones 4-9
 Showy Stonecrop Sedum spectabile - Zones 4 - 9
 Snakeroot Cimicifuga - Zones 4 - 8
 Sneezweed Helenium - Zones 3 - 9
 Sunflower Helianthus - Zones 3-9
 Tall Verbena Verbena bonariensis - Zones 7-9
 Tickseed Coreopsis - Zones 4 - 9
 Tree Mallow Laventera - Zones 7 - 10
 Turtlehead Chelone - Zones 3 - 9
 White Snakeroot Eupatorium rugosum - Zones 3 - 7
 White mugwort Artemesia lactiflora - Zones 5 - 8
 Yellow Wax Bells Kirengeshoma palmata - Zones 5

I like annuals in my garden right up until a freeze. My zinnias, petunias, cleome, dahlias, morning glory and black-eyed susans (vine) will be a riot of color through fall. In the winter dwarf evergreens look so nice. My friend has dwarf birds nest spruce dotted in with her perennials. I have a few little junipers here and there and prune them to whatever size I need.

I agree with Bean counter. Last fall my cosmos and snaps kept blooming even through the first few frosts. They were real gangbusters.

Also a second on the grasses. My mom's ornamental grasses looked great all winter. The foliage was brown, but it was a nice addition to the otherwise blank slate the garden becomes. You can also leave the flower plumes on there for even more interest. I love the way they sway in the winter wind.

Tracy

My caryopteris (bluebeard) is just coming into bloom now and will continue through September. It's backed by helianthus "First Light" (medium yellow) and next to Nippon daisies (white) which will bloom come late October.

I also like contorted hazelnut (Henry Lauder's Walking Stick) in the winter. The knarled and twisted form is striking in a winter landscape.

American Cranberry viburnum is beautiful during the holiday season. I actually prefer its berries for holiday decorations over holly. The berries hang is beautiful clusters and they are a transluscent (sp?) clear red...georgous things, IMO.

I second, or third, the comments about ornamental grasses. They look terrific and draw birds to the garden which provide their own splash of color on a cold January day.

There are many evergreen shrubs to consider as well...daphne comes to mind at the moment and hasn't been mentioned. Rhoddies/azaleas are others. And, of course, the conifers are indispensable in winter. If you like juniper..the blue berries not only look pretty but they are edible (used in a lot of venison dishes but also work w/beef).

It does take thought for the fall/winter garden. It's so easy in May when the garden centers are full of blooming perennials. Very easy to forget about August-April!

I'm rather proud of myself in accomplishing consistent seasonal interest throughout my beds. I hear comments all the time that my garden "always looks good" no matter the season. While I am humbled by such comments, I am secretly patting myself on the back.
Too much emphasis is put on perennials/annuals, or just flowers in general. Often times, texture, form, non-flower color, etc. are tossed aside for a single bloom.
Grasses are my primary source of interest for fall/winter. I have +/- 20 varieties scattered throughout the gardens. The colors and textures are amazing even before the plumes appear. I keep them all up for winter and the efect is striking.
Shrubs like Oakleaved Hydrangea retain their flower stalks all season. I love the color of the dried flowers in the fall next to the red leaves. The birch-like exfoliating bark looks great in the winter.
It is obvious to bring up Redtwig Dogwood, but how many use Japanese Kerria? The stems are a bright green and look great in the winter landscape.
Anything with berries is a given, as well as evergreen shrubs and trees. There is so much available now.The key is to do a bit of research and think out of the box.

"Too much emphasis is put on perennials/annuals, or just flowers in general. Often times, texture, form, non-flower color, etc. are tossed aside for a single bloom."

So true! With the exception of roses, I hardly ever take a flower to be center stage of any garden bed or area. I plan on overall beauty, multi-season interest whenever possible, easiness of maintenance is also important (I enjoy babying a couple of plants, I will NOT do that for an entire garden), texture, foliage color, etc. THEN, when flowers do come, they are a BONUS on top of everything else, but their absence does not mean the garden is devoid of interest.

I´ve posted a link to my garden last November. I think it illustrates my point quite clearly.

Eduarda

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden back in November

For winter interest my favorite is heath (erica darlyensis, I think). Mine blooms from Dec to about April or May, and the foliage looks great all year. I also love hens and chicks (sempervivum), sweet williams, scabiosa, low sedums, and moss/creeping phlox. I have a little gem magnolia, indian hawthorn (blooms in spring), blue star juniper, and rosemary for evergreen interest. I try to plant pansies early in the fall; here some will bloom off and on through the winter. I've also stuck evergreen branches / berries into pots of soil to fill in empty spaces in winter.

Toomanyanimals: I know this is an old post but I found it doing a search. I came across your photo (beautiful pic BTW) and noticed the small blue and white flower in the background. Please can you identify (or anyone?) I've been searching for it's identity for awhile now. I have a pic of a still-life painting as my wallpaper on my computer with this flower in it. I think it is so cute!

Here is a link that might be useful: Jan Frans Van Dael's Vase of Flowers on a Ledge

annabeth-is this it?

HW

Here is a link that might be useful: blue convolvulus

A similar question came up on the Perennials Forum under "How do you keep your garden blooming through August". I posted some suggestions there along with some pics. Check it out.

I love Burning bush. In the Fall the foliage turns bright red. After the leaves fall off, the bark splits, looking like it has wings. The snow hangs on these wings, making for great winter interest in the garden.
Sedums are good, but I prefer 'Autumn Fire' instead of 'Autumn Joy' simply because the color is richer.
Other winter interest plants I have in my garden include Crepe Myrtle, lilac, magnolia, Rhodie (they are evergreen) and Azaleas. Rosemary is another good one.
You can also experiment with ornamentation too. I've seen gazing balls that glow at night by way of special solar crystals (I'm planning on getting one of these), statues, concrete planters, and anything else that suits your fancy.
Also, instead of just thinking about what flower colors will bloom during the Fall (and possibly Winter), think about leaf texture, color, and contrast. You can still have awesome Fall color without having flowers.

One of my favorite perennials for fall is Persicaria Amplexicaule "Firetail". It's beautiful when massed and has tall pink blooms that flower (in z8)from late July through November. I also love bunchberries,burning bush, smoke trees and acer griseum (birch bark maple) for fall color.

Here is a link that might be useful: Persicaria Amplexicaule

Hedgwytch:
Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou! It looks beautiful and best of all it looks like I can grow it in my zone! Even better. You made my day. Now, I wonder...can I get it now and get some blooms on it before winter? I live in So Cal so it seems possible to me. I might go for it this year instead of waiting til next spring.
Annabeth