The show must go on, and if you get late-summer and autumn bloomers in the ground now there’s no reason why it shouldn’t, says Hazel Sillver
WHILE autumn may never be able to compete with the flower power of summer, with the right planting it can give the sunshine season a run for its money. Via a combination of plants that bloom through summer into autumn, and late-season flowerers, your garden can retain its abundant bloom well into the autumn mists.
For proof, take a look at the Exotic Garden at Great Dixter in East Sussex where autumn is an explosion of flowers. Perpetual bloomers – including Verbena bonariensis, Spanish flag (Ipomoea lobata), red-hot pokers, dahlias and cannas – begin to flower in summer and are still going strong in October.
Such a cheering autumn show is easy on home turf, too. When filling the summer border, opt for hard workers that flower from June into autumn. There are several cranesbills up to the job, including Rozanne and ‘Anne Thomson’, which bloom all the way from early summer to November. Some salvias are arguably as long-flowering – shockingpink ‘Cerro Potosí’ and the purple ‘Caradonna’ bloom for five months.
Non-stop flowers
Then there’s sneezeweed (Helenium) ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’, which kicks off in June and keeps up the show into October, as does the moisture-loving Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’. Meanwhile, low-growing Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus) laughs at them all, producing its daisies from spring until the end of autumn.
Make room, too, for plants that start to bloom at the height of summer and continue into autumn. These include penstemons, red-hot pokers (Kniphofia), monkshood (Aconitum) and perennial sunflowers (Helianthus). Both the border king Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Goldquelle’ (lion gold) and the bog king Salvia uliginosa (sky blue) perform from July to October. And the shrubs Phygelius x rectus ‘African Queen’ and Ceanothus ‘Autumnal Blue’ boast flowers in autumn as well as summer.
Chrysanthemums may have fallen out of fashion somewhat, but they are invaluable for providing autumn colour and late-season cut flowers. Try ‘Allouise Orange’ (amber) and ‘Avignon Pink’ (shell pink). If you don’t have room for chrysanths, opt for little autumn bulbs and corms; the likes of Cyclamen hederifolium and Acis autumnalis are easy to fit into an already cramped plot. Fill borders and pots with a mix of long-flowering and late-season plants and your garden won’t sleep until winter.
9 autumn perennials and bulbs
A gorgeous meadow saffron that produces
