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Late summer perennials - again |
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As the long summer evenings start to shorten there are some gardens that suffer a dearth of interest because they lack some of the later flowering plant varieties. If you are willing to invest more than a few pounds in more plants then go ahead, the plantsmen of Sussex will be more than happy to accommodate you in September, & provide you with all the flowering shrubs that you could wish for.
If you are sneaky, however it is possible to deceive many early plants into providing maybe not a second show, but at least a fresh face on a tired plant. One of the easiest methods of achieving this is to repeatedly deadhead your flowers. As the main reason a plant produces flowers is to produce seed, then it is only simply a case of removing the spent flowerheads that contain seed to convince the plant to try to produce more flowers & so more seed. Some plants will not be fooled, but experiment & see which of them respond best.
Ground cover can be rejuvenated by nothing more than a good haircut. Alchemilla mollis & some of the perennial Geranium species respond beautifully to a severe shearing. The fresh young foliage of these plants adds a touch of spring to any border, &, with a small dose of fertiliser, soon fill out. The Alchemilla, or 'Ladies Mantle', holds the early morning dew on its' leaves until mid-morning, so is spectacular in a mass planting at this time of year if it is cut back. Definitely one plant I recommend.
Other, mostly neglected, late summer jewels come under the all-encompassing banner of 'Autumn Bulbs'. When you consider that this loose band of suspects features such spectacular favourites as Nerine bowdenii, Colchicum speciosum, & Amaryllis belladonna, it is surprising that more is not made of them. Bulbs are not just for spring, & as most people tend to forget where they have put their bulbs then they are a stunning bonus just when you think the summer has run out of ideas. Not to be forgotten in this category are the beautiful woodland Cyclamen species which I consider to be far superior to the large Christmas specimens foisted on you by in-laws, only to waste away neglected in the post festival malaise. Do check from where your bulbs originate as (& I'm sure I've said this before) stealing bulbs from their natural habitat is decimating the wild population of bulbs & corms. Any reputable bulb will have a 'grown from seed' label prominently featured.
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