The autumn season has some fantastic colours which Mother Nature herself has designed. If you have a predominantly evergreen garden, you may be missing out on some of the wonders non-evergreen planting brings. Now the seasons are turning, it is the ideal time to begin to see where your borders may lack interest.
I have some recommendations for plants that you can either mix into your current borders or dedicate an autumn zone within your garden. By incorporating some autumn colour into your garden, you can tick off another season of interest that you’ve achieved for a beautiful garden all year round.
Verbena and Michaelmas daisies are statuesque Verbena Bonariensis and they can flowers for months and is often still going strong in October. Matched with the pastel shades of Michaelmas daisies (or Aster) you can create an abundance of frothy delicate flowers well into late autumn.
Cornus and Carex are a great example of the balance between evergreen and non-evergreen
planting. Evergreen grasses, like Carex, really earn their keep in autumn and winter. Their low growing habit teamed with the colourful stems of Cornus after it has lost its leaves looks stunning in sunny or slightly shady borders.
Miscanthus and Echinacea technically both begin to fade during the autumn, but they’re
fantastic at holding their structure as they transition into rustic autumnal tones. Paired together they are a delight in an autumn border.
For more shadier borders team Japanese Anemone and ferns go together for a lush look. The bright flowers of the Anemone will lighten a shady spot, and the softness to the leaves of the fern provides the perfect ground level layer and foil for the flowers above.
If bedding plants are more your thing, there is still plenty of options to choose from here too and these could last well into the winter if cared for correctly. Winter pansies provide dependable colour from autumn until mid-spring. Smaller-flowered varieties are more weather resistant and easier to combine with other plants than those with big flowers. All are hardy and colourful; their little faces providing cheer on even the darkest days. Cyclamen persicum produces delightful flowers until the first hard frosts. It will continue blooming into the winter in sheltered gardens or protected positions.
Whatever you choose to have a bit of colour in a garden can brighten any autumn or winter day.
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