Our pick of the plants that won’t let you down
Helenium selection
Bring an easy-to-grow splash of red, gold and yellow to a border with clay soil by planting heleniums. Producing flowering stems around 1.2m tall and bright flowers, they’re perfect for quickly giving the middle of a border a new feature plant. Remember to check the plant for slugs in wet spells. Grow in full sun and in moist soil. Clay soil gives good results.
Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’
Surely the most reliable rudbeckia to grow, producing robust simple mustardyellow flowers that are seemingly indestructible no matter how bad a late summer storm or autumn gale may be! A good choice for growing in heavy clay soil and sun or part shade. Height: 90cm.
Gaura lindheimeri
A daintier plant than many late bloomers, with an old-fashioned finesse about it. The star-shaped flowers start white to add a cool feel to the garden, before ageing to a shade of light pink. Capable of tolerating drought conditions once established. Grow in full sun and in soil that drains very well. Height: 75cm.
Aster ‘Kylie’
This is one of the New England asters, which are resistant to mildew, which can spoil the look of the plants when they should be at their peak. Making an upright plant around 1.2m tall, with slender foliage and masses of soft pink flowers, it’s a real border highlight. Grow in part shade in moist soil.
Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’
Despite its relatively short stature – growing 60cm tall – this is a truly eye-catching plant for giving your garden a late injection of colour, with its hot pink flowers standing out among its fleshy, darkest purple leaves. ‘Purple Emperor’ is also a very good plant for attracting butterflies to the garden. Grow in full sun in any soil.
Gaillardia
Gaillardias are a tremendous choice for adding some dazzling colour to the edge of a border or along the side of a path, growing to just 30cm tall. Their flowers resemble mini-sunflowers but unlike sunflowers, the blooms keep appearing relentlessly through summer and autumn. Best grown in very welldrained soil in a sheltered spot to help it overwinter.
Echinacea ‘Magnus’
There are many fancy forms of echinacea and yellow and orange types, too, but the more exotic they look, the chances are they’ll struggle to survive winter. ‘Magnus’ is a very reliable choice though and the blooms still look good after being subjected to heavy rains and strong winds. Grow in well-drained soil and mulch well before winter. Height: 1m.
If you’re a tidy gardener then you’ll probably want to rush out with shears or secateurs once the frosts strike and cut everything back. Some perennial plants can quickly turn soggy and unattractive once cold sets in and you’ll probably think that the quicker you can clear them away, the better. Others though, with attractive seed heads and intricate leaves, can look beautiful when framed by a hoar frost. Frost will exaggerate the differences in texture between the leaves of neighbouring perennials, and the old flower heads are a good source of food for birds scavenging the garden for seeds and provide shelter for hibernating wildlife. Leaving perennials intact in winter will also allow you to survey your beds and borders and decide if you want more or less of some plants, because they’ll be there as a visual reminder in winter when there’s more time to plan next year’s garden.