5 Perennial Plants for late colour in the garden – Part 3

And so to my final five perennial plants for late colour in the garden.

When we get to September it’s easy to start thinking the garden season is coming to an end as many plants begin to die back, but with the right perennial plants mixed into your borders, you can go on having colour right into winter.

I have all five of these plants in various forms and although some are only just about holding on to a few flowers, others are still flowering profusely here in November.

As our climate warms up and we have less severe frosts, the late flowering plants go on and on which is nice for us to enjoy and good for the hardy pollinators still looking for food. But ultimately a bit of a worry.

Today though we’re going to enjoy the late colour.

Chrysanthemum

I only have one chrysanthemum plant in the garden and I’m not entirely sure what variety it is, although it looks very similar to one called ‘yellow pompom’, so that’s what I call it.

We were having a barbeque early in the year and the chrysanths were brought as a gift from someone I always thought of as a ‘proper old gardener’, something I hope to be myself one day!

I popped the little plants into the border knowing that they flowered late on in the summer but having no idea quite how long they would bloom for. To my delight they go on right through until the first frost browns them.

They look lovely with a dusting of icy frost.

Eupatoria

Eupatorium purpureum atropurpureum, to give it its proper name or Joe Pye Weed for those of us that don’t speak fluent Latin.

It’s a monster of a plant, reaching 2m easily after a couple of years and eventually forming a thick clump, but as it doesn’t need staking it’s very easy to look after.

The flowers start off a dark maroon pink, getting lighter as they open and eventually the seed heads are as fluffy as a dandelion.

They contrast well with yellow and orange Rudbeckias and Heleniums that flower at the same time.

Finally, they are loved by the bees which is a good enough reason to grow them on it’s own!

Fuchsia

Fuchsias are the dancing girls of the autumn/winter borders seeming to relish the cold weather.

The white variety ‘Hawkshead’ I have growing down in the white garden, gets better and better as we descend into winter.

On dull and dark days as I head down to the compost bins beyond the white garden, they stand out like little dancing ballerinas, bobbing up and down in the breeze.

I did have a dark pink variety in the woodland border but it just got too big for it’s position. It’s hard not to get carried away when planting a new border, we all end up putting too many plants in forgetting how big they will eventually get!

I am lucky enough though to benefit from my neighbours extremely tall pink fuchsia that peeps over the wall, much to my pleasure.

Penstemon

Every garden should have at least one penstemon as they are such amazing value. Starting to flower in July, they are covered in blooms all summer long until the first frost, which now seems to be November.

Penstemon are also happy in partial shade which is a benefit to me as I quite a bit of shade on the right side of the garden.

I have five varieties of them in the garden:

‘Catherine de la Mare’ – I was initially disappointed when she first flowered, as I was expecting a deeper shade of purple and she is a definite pale mauve. I’m not really a fan of pastels but I have to admit that she is rather pretty.

‘Garnet’ – Some people consider garnet to be a bit of a thug as it does get quite large, 90cm high and around 60cm wide. But with deep magenta flowers all summer long, it’s my kind of thug.

Two varieties from the ‘Pensham’ collection, which have a signature white centre. A pale pink and a plum purple. I don’t know the exact names as they were a gift.

‘Snowstorm’ – As the name suggests it’s a white one, offering bright white flowers that stand out as the days get darker.

Salvia

If you are looking for ultimate choice then the salvia genus gives you that! As well as a huge array of perennials, salvias also come as shrubs and annuals.

I have four salvias, three perennial and one shrub.

The three perennials varieties are ‘Deep Blue’, I think you can guess what colour that is! It is the most vivid electric blue, but it’s quite tender. Luckily I have quite a sheltered garden and more importantly very well drained. So far, it’s survived about four years.

‘Amistad’ which is the deepest, darkest, purple and also has a tendency to be on the tender side, but so far so good.

Salvia nemorosa ‘caradonna’ which is a tall variety with purple flower spikes. It’s about a metre tall and forms a fabulous clump which is covered in bees and other pollinators all summer.

A final mention goes to the intruder in this list as it is really classified as a shrub, microphylla ‘Pink Blush’, but as it gives the brightest pink colour through into winter I thought I’d include it.

So if you think your borders start to lack in colour from mid-summer onwards, you now have plenty of choices to extend the season.

If you are looking for more ideas of perennial plants to take you into autumn and in some cases winter garden, take a look at Part 1 and Part 2 of 5 perennial plants for late colour in the garden.

Happy gardening.