There’s plenty of interest in the garden now and here’s a selection of a few plants in flower and looking great at the moment.

Anemones
Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a fantastic plant for brightening up the garden in late summer. It grows in sun or shade and has masses of elegant, cup-shaped, white flowers on tall, wiry stems from August to October.

 

Asters
Masses of long lasting, daisy-like flowers with orange centres from August to September. Best in full sun, they are ideal for mixed borders.

 

 

Colchicum speciosum
Also referred to as the autumn crocus are at their best now. Most colchicums produce their flowers without any foliage and this has given rise to the common name of Naked Ladies or Naked Boys. Their goblet-shaped flowers appear in colours ranging from white, lilac-pink and purplish-pink to purple, with their glossy leaves appearing in the spring.

Cyclamen
This delightful perennial provides colour often when little else is flowering, particularly in late winter or early spring. They are ideal for naturalising under trees, on banks or in a shady border. They make ideal companions for hellebores, snowdrops and other spring flowering bulbs. All have exquisite flowers and often have quite distinct fragrances, but even when not in flower, the foliage of many of these cyclamen species is outstanding.

Dahlias
Currently flowering beautifully in my hot border at the moment, Dahlia ‘Art Deco’ is an apricot-orange with a darker centre. The undersides of the petals are red – a colour which is revealed by their softly twisting form.

 

Echinacea purpurea
It has pink daisy-like flowers with large, prominent cone-shaped centres. It’s perfect for growing in drifts among the border or amongst grasses and perennial prairie-style planting schemes. As an added bonus it is also extremely attractive to pollinators. The flowers are long-lived and are excellent for cutting and bringing indoors to enjoy.

 

Helenium’s
Helenium plants take their name from the Greek work ‘Helios’, which directly translated means Sun. This robust, upright perennial looks wonderful planted in bold drifts in a sunny moist but well-drained spot. It provides a splash of colour when many other perennials are starting to fade and a great companion for ornamental grasses and yellow, white or earth-toned flowers. Bees and butterflies love it.

Kniphofias
Tall bright and imposing, Kniphofias lend height, vibrancy and drama to any garden. Originally from South Africa, the elegant, torch-like flowers of Kniphofia make vertical accents in a sunny border and look particularly good as an exotic scheme based on ‘hot’ colours. Kniphofia rooperi is a fantastic variety at this time of year as it continues flowering well into the autumn. It also has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden merit.

Pyracantha ‘Soleil D’or’
This a tough, hardy evergreen shrub, bearing a profusion of brightly coloured berries at this time of year. During summer, plants produce white blooms which are followed by displays of bright yellow berries, providing food for birds throughout the winter. It is tolerant of a wide range of demanding conditions, including shaded and exposed positions. It grows into a dense thorny evergreen hedge and is perfect for covering boundaries as well as training against a wall.

Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’
An RHS AGM winning Black Eyed Susan which bears bright, golden-yellow, daisy-like flowers up to 12cm across, with dark button eyes that make excellent cut flowers. The radiant, coneflowers of  this Rudbeckia  are produced over a long period, attracting bees and butterflies to their long lasting blooms. These compact perennials are easy to grow, reliably filling gaps in borders, and returning year after year. It looks great planted in bold drifts with other late summer-flowering perennials and ornamental grasses. It copes well in a sunny spot and is ideal for the middle of a border that doesn’t dry out over summer.

Sedums
Succulent leaves, topped with salmon-pink flower-heads in summer, maturing to pinkish-bronze then coppery-red in autumn. This versatile perennial is a perfect filler plant for a sunny, well-drained spot. A valuable late source of nectar for butterflies and bees, the dried flower heads provide structure and colour in the winter garden.

 

Verbena bonariensis
This flowers over a long period and will add height without becoming too overbearing. The flowers appear in small clusters, adding splashes of colour and this creates a lightness which is very appealing. The flowers will attract bees, butterflies and moths, so they are great in a wildlife garden.