Be bold and brassy

Energise your end-of-summer and autumn garden with these late bloomers

Fill your garden with the vibrant colours of autumn flowers

It’s the best time of the year – not too hot, not too cold, the earth is warm and your garden is ready for a fresh flush of golden growth. But you don’t have to look up into the trees to see the vibrant autumn colours of gold, orange and red, or clean up the leaves as they fall to the ground. Instead, get these power flowers right in your face and bask in their glow.

CHRYSANTHEMUM

You could have your whole garden planted just with chrysanthemums and every one would be different. The flower forms can be daisy-like, pompom, button, spidery – as well as some amazing decorative varieties – and their colours range from bright yellow, red, white and purple to subtle green, peach or pink. They flower at different times and at different rates so your garden is constantly changing.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape Garden beds, rockeries, containers.

Position Full sun

Height 30-180cm

Soil Most types, but ensure it is nutrient rich.

Care Fertilise before flowering. Deadhead to encourage more flowers.

When to plant Spring

Best zones Temperate to cool

FRENCH MARIGOLD (TAGETES PATULA)

If you’re looking for a happy garden, then the French marigold will bring out a wide smile. Not to be confused with pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) or African marigold (Tagetes erecta), it’s frilly rather than voluminous. Apart from its electric colour, other advantages include being heat and drought tolerant and resistant to pests. And it attracts pollinators.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape In pots, garden beds and vegetable beds to deter aphids. Position Full sun Height To 60cm Soil Light, well-drained soil. Care Don’t over water and deadhead often to encourage new flowers. When to plant Spring Best zones Sub-tropical and Mediterranean climates

SNEEZEWEED (HELENIUM SPP.)

Bobbing, nodding and throbbing with colour, these daisies have two attractions – the big, bright, brown heads speckled with golden pollen and the full skirts of drooping, fluttering petals.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape Mass planting

Position Full sun

Height To 1m Soil Rich, well-drained Care Frost and heat tolerant. Protect from strong winds. Deadhead to encourage more flowers. Cut back in winter.

When to plant Early winter

Best zones Subtropical to cold.

BASK IN THE SOFT KISSES OF THE LATE SUMMER SUN

CANNA LILY (CANNA X GENERALIS)

Take a trip through the tropics with this extravagance of all things big and bold. The bright red, orange or yellow flowers – some with sensational markings – stand tall, putting them in your face and making them impossible to miss.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape Back of a border, main feature of a circular bed, by a water feature or bottom of a slope. Position Full sun in cool areas, shade in tropics. Height 50cm-2m

Soil Rich, well-drained Care Feed regularly, as they get hungry and water often – they like boggy conditions. When to plant Spring Best zones Tropical to cool (may be treated as annual)

TORCH LILY (KNIPHOFIA SPP.)

When mass planted, the fiery red, orange and yellow bottlebrush-like flowers bursting from the tall stems resemble a torch procession guiding you to the light. The equally tall, sword-like leaves appear as sentinels, protecting the fire that lasts from autumn to spring. If you can get past them, cut a few of the pokers for a dramatic indoor display.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape Coastal gardens, mass planting, cottagegarden specimen.

Position Full sun

Height 45-180cm

Soil Rich, well-drained but moist

Care Drought and frost resistant, but won’t tolerate weather extremes.

When to plant Spring

Best zones Subtropical to cool

AUTUMN’S LINGERING WARMTH MAKES IT THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR

DAHLIA

So often confused with chrysanthemums, dahlias have all the fabulous floriferousness of the former, plus a few extras. They flower earlier than chrysanthemums and come in a greater range of colours. The key difference is the leaves. Chrysanthemums have lobed, lacy leaves, while dahlia leaves are ovate with serrated edges and a pointed tip.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape Garden beds, containers

Position Morning sun, afternoon shade

Height To 1.8m

Soil Most rich soils, including well-drained and good clay.

Care Stake tall plants, cut back after flowering, remove tubers during wet winters, water and feed regularly.

When to plant Spring

Best zones Temperate

BLACK-EYED SUSAN (RUDBECKIA SPP.)

Summer never fades when the black-eyed Susans stick their heads up. Usually a single row of golden-bronze or rust-coloured petals around a big black centre, new varieties now come with multiple layers of petals. They are easy to grow, vigorous and spread by rhizomes. They are a pretty and bright addition to your garden, and you can take this brightness indoors when they’re cut for display in a vase.

HOW YOU CAN GROW THIS

Landscape A perennial or border garden, mass planting, meadows and containers.

Position Full sun, light shade

Height To 90cm

Soil Loamy, able to retain moisture

Care Water frequently, and add fertiliser when flowering starts. Frost hardy.

When to plant Spring

Best zones Subtropical to cold

CHRYSANTHEMUM

FRENCH MARIGOLD SNEEZEWEED

French marigolds have the talent to repel unwanted pests because of their smell, but they are also rich in nectar – and that attracts birds, honey bees and butterflies.

Shape and size are two remarkable things about canna lily leaves and colour is another – green, maroon, black, bronze or vibrant variegations.

TORCH LILY OR RED HOT POKER CANNA LILY

Plant carefree and colourful black-eyed Susans in front of verbena for a vibrant, late-summer flowering. DAHLIA