Late summer colour in the garden.

It’s easy to have plants to brighten up the garden in early summer, think roses and annuals that are keen to strut their stuff, but it can all look a bit lack-lustre towards the end of summer.

When I used to design gardens most people asked for more colour in their garden later in the summer, and with just a little planning, it’s really not that difficult.

Rudbeckia [cone-flower] fit the bill nicely, plant them in rich well-drained soil and they’ll flower from August right through to October.

This border is in a garden I designed a few years ago showing bright yellow Rudbeckia fluid Goldsturm along with grasses [Calamagrostis acutiflora Karl Foerster] and Verbena bonariensis.

Sedum flowers come in a ranges of white, pink through to dark red.

I took this photo at the Highline in New York last September and I like the colours so much that I’m using it as my screen-saver at the moment. I don’t know exactly what the variety is but try Sedum Munster Dark Red or Sedum Purple Emperor if you want the type with red flowers. They like sun and well drained soil.

The flat plates of Achillea flowers make a good contrast with other late flowering perennials, the yellow ones look fabulous with blue Salvia flowers:

Dahlias take a bit more looking after than other flowers featured here, I dig mine up and keep them in a cold-frame or greenhouse over winter and they need stakes to support the flowers as they grow, but they’re worth it for their fabulous colours and to be able to have cut flowers for weeks on end.

These dahlias are from my allotment:

A combination of late flowering plants and dead-heading plants that flower earlier in the year, will keep  your garden looking interesting and pretty into early autumn.

Read more about how to dead-head flowers here and planting ideas from the Chelsea Flower Show here.

Happy gardening, Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson.