Summer Hangs on by a Thread

This summer seems to have gone by so quickly - and now I look out in my garden and everything is starting to look worn out and old - but look more closely and some plants are doing all they can to keep going - the sweet peas are fighting for their last few buds to open, the Verbena bonariensis is bravely soldiering on and still has a lot of life left in it - and the roses are in their 3rd flush!...and some flowers are only just beginning to show off as their turn in the spot light approaches...September is a strange month in the garden with so much on its last legs and many other plants just beginning to live - here's some that love the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn...Anemone hupehensis - saucer shaped flowers that like semi shade and sun and show off shell pink to white flowers.Aster x frikartii 'Monch' - a dainty cool lilac daisy flower - adding a fresh colour to an autumn borderCallicarpa bodinieri var. giraldii 'Profusion' - stunning berries that have to be seen to be believed! Bright, metallic beads of bright violet turn this quite ordinary shrub into something spectacular every autumn - its a must if you have a large garden!Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Heavenly Blue' - A shrub that looks as though it should flower in spring and is running late! Delicate blue flowers charm the silver branches of this lovely shrub right through September. A really lovely plant for the autumn garden.Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue' - another shrub that looks like it is running late - gorgeous sky blue flowers drip from this evergreen shrub from late summer into autumn.Dahlias - mixed varieties - What can I say about these loud and jolly blooms! They'll keep producing the fireworks right up to Bonfire night!Euonymus europaeus 'Red Cascade' - This tree-like shrub shows off the oddest of colours reminiscent of an 80's crime of fashion! Bright cerise fruits that unfurl to show off bright orange seeds - at the same time! sounds revolting - looks great!Lirope muscari - These lovely plants are relations to the grape hyacinth and look at home on a woodland edge. The strap like leaves fall away from little spires topped with a cluster of purple flowers. A real cheery site on a cold autumn day!Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' Are you brave enough to let these lively chaps into your borders? Go on - give them a go - they won't disappoint!Sedum 'Ruby Glow' Play host to this year's butterflies last supper with this lovely sedum - great for front of border and is a luscious deep red - very opulent!There are so many fantastic plants to grace an autumnal garden - these are just a tiny fraction of what is available. And don't forget to leave the seed heads on your herbaceous perennials and grasses over the next few months - and you will be rewarded with a beautiful display of diamond encrusted spiders webs - followed by even more sparkles in the first frosts!-Jane

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Comments

T & S Plants September 8, 2010 at 6:24pm

Good points, most people think that their gardens die at the end of August, and that's it till the Spring.

Autumn is the best time of year, and Callicarpa, which looks crap for most of it comes into it's own just about now, even better when the leaves fall... Callicarpa is not just for large gardens, as it can be pruned each Spring, very easy.

Malus Red Sentinal normally holds fruit up until Xmas, and is the best of the bunch.