Chicago-area gardens typically experience that first fall frost in mid-October, but this year we’ve been lucky. It’s been pretty darn mild up until now.

That’s been a boon for some annuals, like the blue-flowered Salvia guarantica, cosmos and sweet alyssum, which have bloomed for several months.

Gardening season has pretty much come to the final chapter for 2011, but this is a good time to evaluate your landscape. Do your plants offer more than one season of color? That’s something to think about as you plan for next spring’s purchases.

—Nina Koziol