Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center is a gorgeous former estate that is unlike anywhere else in the city. Located in Riverdale in The Bronx, the site’s gardens are gorgeous all year long and feature one-of-a-kind views of the Hudson River and the Palisades.

In this week’s Garden Guide, I took a tour around the garden with Sandra Schaller, a horticulturalist at Wave Hill, to share a few really special autumn plants.

Asters are like mums but better because they’re native. That makes them lower maintenance and a magnet for pollinators.

This particular aster is a crawling variety. At Wave Hill, you’ll find it alongside a creeping juniper, which stays evergreen when the aster goes to sleep for the season.

You know the gorgeous giant blooms on Helianthus annuus, which is a short-lived annual that needs to be regrown every year by seed, but did you know we have several native sunflower species, too? At Wave Hill, a grouping of these looks especially spectacular. They are gigantic and in full bloom September to frost.

Autumn crocus

This incredible flower doesn’t have any leaves! Despite its common name, these spectacular plants aren’t related to crocus and they have a very odd way of growing. Colchicum autumnale grows leaves in the spring, disappears in the summer and reappears with flowers in the autumn. This plant is related to lilies - and like other lilies, it is toxic if ingested.

As the weather cools down, you’ll see so much more revealed at Wave Hill. The winter sun can feel warm even on a cold day, especially inside their greenhouse. The view of the river is unobstructed by trees after they lose their leaves.

The gardens are open six days a week (closed on Mondays). You can find more information on Wave Hill's website.