This has to be the surprise plant of the year. Aster odoratum 'October Skies' doesn't look like much all year. It has sort of a lime-green color, small leaves, and it gives off a clove-type odor. Then, at the end of September it lights up a firework storm of 1" purple flowers. It is slightly shorter than New England Aster, but isn't self-supportive, so it looks like a small bush of color. Friends have told me that early season cutback can keep it as a bushy, low to the ground perennial. A good plant for color, prolifferation, drought tollerance, and surprise.
