Now is the perfect time to plant fast-growing, heat-loving plants that will reward you with vibrant colour well into autumn. Here are our plant team's top picks for keeping your borders, pots and baskets glowing through to the first frosts.
Flowers to plant now for autumn colour
Dahlias
Dahlia flowers are the stars of late summer. Available as young, budded plants throughout August, they range from dinner-plate blooms to dainty pompons in almost every colour. These will keep flowering right up until the first frosts.
Salvia
Loved by pollinators, heat-tolerant varieties such as 'Amistad' and 'Hot Lips' will flower continuously into October. They give height and movement in a border and make a lovely, vibrant addition to your outdoor space.
Verbena bonariensis
This versitile perennial is hard to beat, with it’s tall, purple spikes loved by butterflies. Plant in full sun, at the front, middle or back of borders. A great drought-tolerant plant.
Rudbeckias & Heleniums
These bring a warm, prairie-style glow in gold, orange and rust tones. Crocosmia offers fiery reds and oranges that thrive even in fairly poor soil and pair well with ornamental grasses.
Cosmos
Ideal for pots and containers, cosmos is an easy, cottage-garden favourite. They are incredibly productive, bursting with delicate, airy blooms and make great cut flowers too.
Agapanthus
This tall favourite adds architectural interest with its striking blue or white flower heads. Known as the African Lilly, these summer-flowering perennials look great in containers and borders and are great for pollinating insects.
Trailing petunias
Ideal for giving your hanging baskets a late-summer refresh. Their cascading habit and continuous flowering make them a reliable choice for containers. Deadhead when flowers are spent to make them last well into autumn.
Bidens
Also excellent for reviving hanging baskets in late summer, Bidens have bright, star-shaped flowers. A trailing plant that pairs well with petunias for extra colour and coverage.
Miscanthus
Another ornamental grass in demand this season, valued for its form and soft, swaying plumes. An easy plant to add texture and movement and help extend your garden's appeal well into autumn.
Bulbs to plant now for autumn colour
Looking ahead, there are bulbs you can plant now for a fresh wave of colour once your summer displays begin to fade. Colchicum is one of the most reliable choices, producing large, crocus-like blooms in September and October, while autumn crocus offers a more delicate effect and works well naturalised in grass, tucked into borders or planted beneath shrubs.
Cyclamen hederifolium thrives in shade or dappled light, making it a useful choice for tricky spots, while the smaller Cyclamen cilicium suits more naturalistic planting. Sternbergia lutea, often known as the autumn daffodil, brings a cheerful splash of yellow to a sunny, well-drained spot. Lastly Nerine bowdenii offers a more elegant finish, with tall stems and pink, lily-like flowers that look especially good in a border or pot.
Late Summer plant care
Deadheading spent blooms on dahlias, cosmos and salvias will encourage continued flowering well into autumn, while a weekly feed of high-potash fertiliser will support blooms in pots and containers.
Mulching borders now will also help retain moisture, suppress weeds and protect tender bulbs and roots as the weather begins to turn, giving gardens the best possible start heading into the colder months.
