Autumn may be upon us, but it doesn’t have to mean the end of colour in your garden. Thanks to today’s warmer climate, summer now often goes into early October. Where once we pulled out the big guns in June and July, you can now benefit from a set of late-flowering plants to see you through September and October. Try some of the following plant choices to keep your pots and borders looking good this autumn.

Autumn Flowering Chrysanthemums
For a late-season fireworks display, Chrysanthemums are hard to beat. Hardy garden Chrysanthemums give colour from September right through until the first real autumn frost. Excellent as cut flowers too!

Wallflowers
The scents and colours of traditional Wallflowers are simply captivating, but the variety ‘Sugar Rush’ has three great qualities. Firstly, it’s dwarf – ideal for containers and less likely to be blown over in borders. Secondly, it branches strongly so develops into bushy plants, and the kicker is the third feature – it flowers in the autumn and then again in the spring. The first flowers open in autumn and may last into December. Snip them off as they fade and the plants will take a little break then come back into flower in spring.

Violas, Pansies and Cyclamen
You really can’t go wrong with any of these three when it comes to making your displays ‘pop’ with long-lasting colour. Their colours go particularly well with plants such as Cineraria, Heathers, Skimmia and Heucheras.

Cineraria ‘Silver Leaf’
A popular and attractive ornamental foliage plant that makes the perfect foil for flowers with strong or pastel colours. It’s great for adding interest to your bedding displays.

Sweet William Dianthus ‘Festival Mix’
Dianthus will brighten up any garden with their cheery colours and delicate scent in winter AND spring. The serrated edged petals are bi-coloured, in vivid shades of white, pink, purple, and red. Easy to care for and ideal for beds, baskets and containers.

Heuchera
Heucheras are great for filling gaps in containers surrounded by seasonal bedding plants such as Cyclamen, Violas and Pansies. The perfect way to add cheerful autumnal colour to your doorstep, patio or balcony. You can also add trailing plants like Ivy around the edges to make the container feel like it is overflowing. The foliage of Heuchera will really stand out on their own, making them a great addition to garden beds and borders.

Did you know… 

We grow over 80% of our total bedding plants on our 4.5 acre production nursery at The Gardener’s Garden Centre, Knockholt.