Japanese-style mums lend their unusual style to the perennial border outside the English Walled Garden and cascading yellow mums brighten up stone walls in the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden.

Large containers of pink and purple asters in the Heritage Garden show visitors another good option for fall flowers. In the Circle Garden, unusual giant salvias, with red stems and yellow flowers, appropriately named Salvia madrensis ‘Red Neck Girl,’ are sure to delight. Dark purple violas planted around giant pumpkins at the entrance to the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden spark the imagination for annual combinations with great effect.

Besides fall annuals, visitors will also see an array of interesting fall plants, including many golden weeping willows and red sugar maples; brilliantly colored aquatic plants; sweeps of golden grasses and lush perennials on Evening Island; displays of asters, goldenrods and sunflowers in the Dixon Prairie; and blazing red sumacs and orange serviceberries along the lakeshore.

In the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden

Celebrate the bounty of the season at the Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16. Enjoy chef demonstrations and a farmers’ market atmosphere in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden, selling such items as fresh bread, fall produce, baked goods, spices, pumpkins, roasted nuts, taffy apples, seasonal beers and more. Navigate the straw bale maze, make fall-themed crafts and guess the weight of the pumpkin. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Catch the Garden Chef Series, which features cooking demonstrations with fresh, seasonal ingredients at 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 7 in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden. The Garden Chef Series is sponsored by Barilla. The schedule includes:

Sept. 1 David Richards Sweets & Savories/ Barcello, Chicago

Sept. 2 Pedro Martinez Café Central, Highland Park

Sept. 8 Victor DeLeon O’Donovan’s, Chicago

Sept. 9 Mary Ellen Diaz First Slice Pie Café, Chicago

Sept. 15 Janine MacLachlan The Rustic Kitchen, Chicago

Sept. 16 Leslie Jacobsen-Cohen Pear Tree Catering, Buffalo Grove

Sept. 22 John des Rosiers South Gate Café/Bank Lane Bistro, Lake Forest

Sept. 23 Mas Morimoto Kamehachi, Northbrook

Sept. 29 Greg Mistak Omaggio, Evanston

Sept. 30 Brian Wright Rosebud, Highland Park

Oct. 6 Malika Ameen Aigre Doux, Chicago

Oct. 7 Rick Jansen The Tavern, Libertyville

Additional activities in the Regenstein Fruit & Vegetable Garden this fall include plant giveaways on Wednesdays to Sundays through Sept. 30 and family drop-in activities on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 7.

In honor of the Jewish harvest holiday Sukkot, or “The Festival of Booths,” the National Council of Jewish Women create a sukkah, on display from Sept. 30 through October 3. Families are invited to take part in arts and crafts activities to decorate the sukkah from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30. -- www.chicagobotanic.org