September in the garden

September in the garden

With the days becoming shorter and nights longer and cooler, this is the time to enjoy the last throes of flowering from late perennials, now is the perfect time to think about creating a border using plants that will look great during the autumn months and bring some much needed colour and interest to your garden well into the winter, something to help beat those winter blues.

Below are some plants that are just perfect to recreate the warm colours of Autumn in your own back garden, if you don’t have a large garden with beds all of these plants will be happy in pots or tubs, so are excellent for the patio gardener too.

Sedums are an obvious choice, as are asters. And both sedums and asters will survive an early frost while dahlias collapse into a messy heap. Reliable and brilliant colour, sedums are especially good for dry gardens. So are perfect for the low maintenance gardener. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is a tried and tested performer, massed with bees and butterflies and it will carry its flat heads long into winter. Plant this at the front of the border to make the most of the interesting foliage.

Asters take their name from the Latin word meaning “Star” and there are over 600 varieties to chose from, available in a rich range of colours these long lasting and colourful daisies really brighten up the border – they also make great cut flowers, pick them, put them in a vase and keep cool and they can last for well over a fortnight.

Rudbeckias or ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ will inject some vibrant colour into the bed and are perfect alongside Heleniums, creating a mass of orange and yellow, It should almost feel as though Summer is still here!

Also this month:

Deadhead perennials and annual plants to encourage them to continue flowering. If you are interested in wildlife in your garden leave some flowers to develop seed heads, rather than cutting them back, to provide food and shelter for wildlife. For instance some Roses can form hips which will be a good food source for birds.

Late September is the perfect time to turn your attention to your lawn. Renovate established lawns by scarifying to remove debris (known as thatch) and spike to allow air into the soil and allow surface water to drain away. It is also a good time to sow new seed and patch up areas that have been affected during the summer.

Before autumn truly sets in, roses still need to be sprayed against mildew and hedges neatly trimmed as well as getting spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips planted.

Have a lovely and productive September.