When many of our favourite summer flowers start to fade, the garden can sometimes feel a little lacklustre. But with a bit of forward planning, it’s possible to keep your outdoor space vibrant and full of life well into the autumn months. Instead of packing up your trowel for the season, you can ensure your garden continues to pop with colour by adding plants that are at their best in late summer and autumn.
If you’re wondering what to buy, gardening maestro Adam Kirtland suggests reliable perennials that will not only perform year after year but also “grow back bigger and better”. Sharing gardening advice in a Facebook reel, Adam urged gardeners to think outside the box of the usual autumnal palette and opt for some brighter shades found in common florals. Three such plants are rudbeckia, Japanese anemone, and echinacea. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends them for their reliable and long-lasting displays.
Japanese anemones are known for their delicate, nodding flowers, which appear in late summer, typically around August, and can continue flowering right into October.
Rudbeckias, with their cheerful, daisy-like blooms, are at their peak from July through to October, while echinaceas, also known as coneflowers, typically flower from mid-summer until the first frosts.
This staggered and extended flowering period means you can create a seamless transition of colour that will keep your garden looking bright and beautiful for months on end.
1. Rudbeckia
Adam suggests ‘Sunbeckia Ophelia,’ which boasts bright orange petals in keeping with autumnal tones. This hardy perennial will look good for years to come, coming back “bigger and better every single year.”
One of its standout features is that it grows multiple flowers on each branch, so your beds and borders will look packed with colour and wonderful shades of green from the foliage.
Often called black-eyed Susans, Rudbeckias are known for being resilient and weather-resistant, making them perfect for UK borders. Plus, their sturdy stems and rich colours in shades of yellow, gold, and orange make them superb for cutting and bringing a piece of the autumn garden indoors.
Rubeckia will flower through to the end of September, though you can plant them year-round, according to the Royal Horticultural Society. It noted: “Container-grown perennial rudbeckias are sold throughout the year at garden centres and nurseries.
“Plant at any time as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged.”
2. Echinacea
If you like a pop of pink amongst the green and brown tones of your garden, echinacea flowers are a worthy addition.
The RHS suggests the ‘Sensation Pink’ variety for impressive colour through summer and autumn, when they bloom “with a stunning raised centre above mid-green foliage”, says Adam.
Echinacea is a compact, clump-forming perennial, with Pink Sensation offering branching, dark stems that grow to around 45cm tall.
Flowering from July to the first hard frost, ecinachea provide a long-lasting spectacle of colour and are particularly loved by pollinators. Their nectar-rich flowers attract bees and butterflies well into the autumn, and the seed heads that remain on the plant provide a valuable food source for birds, especially goldfinches, throughout the winter.
3. Japanese Anemone
Delicate shades of pale pink, white, and yellow come together to create a beautiful flower. Described as “stars of the autumn border” by the RHS, these easy-to-grow perennials are subtly distinct.
The Japanese anemone brings a touch of elegance to the late-season garden with its delicate, saucer-shaped flowers that appear to float on tall, slender stems. Flowering from late August into October, they are a vital source of colour when many other perennials are winding down.
You can pair Japanese Anemone with other late-flowering perennials, but when planted in large clusters, they really light up the garden.
These rewarding blooms flower for “weeks and weeks on end,” says Adam. Plus, their herbaceous perennial status means they come back bigger every year after dying back in winter.
Unlike many plants that require full sun to thrive, Japanese anemones are highly versatile and do well in partial shade, making them perfect for brightening up shadier corners of the garden.
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