Oh no! The summer is fading. The September equinox has been and gone. We have nothing to look forward to but Halloween Strictly and Christmas musak.
But hang on, the garden still has some cockle-warming flowers and foliage out there, and we’d like to tell you about a few that we really rate for bringing sparkle to early autumn…
Yes, I know you saw the word ‘Stunners’ in this week’s title, and immediately thought we were referring to ourselves🤣, but in fact we are discussing those plants that will lighten up a gloomy day in this rather average September. My first is a little tree called Cercis canadensis ‘Eternal Flame’. It’s actually still a VERY little tree, but I am assured by Crocus that its eventual height will be 4m. It was Chelsea Flower Show’s Plant of the Year in 2021, and that was where I managed to snaffle my specimen from under Laura’s acquisitive nose. Its symphony of ruby, gold and copper leaves makes me sing a little (or at least whistle a tune) as I wander past with my wheelbarrow.
Arbutus unedo is my next choice – it’s again a tree, but a much sturdier subject this time. September is when it is covered in the sweetest little pink/white bell flowers, literally humming with bees and butterflies. It’s in fact quite a tough evergreen with shiny leathery leaves and amber shedding bark, and I like how such a rugged customer produces dainty blooms – think Bear Grylls making fairy cakes. It’s known as the Strawberry Tree for its bright red fruits which follow the flowers (they are edible, but ‘Unedo’ means ‘Only eat one’, so perhaps not for bingeing….)
Erigeron ‘Lavender Lady’ is another very pretty addition to my early autumn garden. Bought from the wonderful Kevock Garden Plants a while ago, I grow it in a pot in a sunny position, water only sparingly, and deadhead regularly. Its sweet little daisies still look fresh and full of bounce.
If I’m allowed one more, I would choose Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ – lovely in every season, but particularly now as the domed flowerheads gradually turn from cream to dark pink.
In this wet cold autumn (what my farmer husband calls a soggy back-end) I’m afraid I can’t raise Elaine’s enthusiasm, and in any case isn’t it slightly cheating to quote a plant that has been looking good all summer as a ‘September Stunner’? And yes l am STILL nursing a grudge that she got the Cercis ‘Eternal Flame’ from under my nose at Chelsea.
But despite this rather belligerent mood I am finding solace in a few intriguing flowers that have crept out of their summer hiding places to bring some understated charm to proceedings. First up is the aptly named toad lily, Tricyrtis formosana, which thrives in the dark damp corners that its namesake inhabits, and is our featured picture at the top of the blog, with a close up below.
And then there are the first of the autumn crocus Crocus speciosus ‘Albus’ emerging from the damp mulch on naked flower stems as spindly as the legs of the crane flies that crawl out from their earthy leather jackets at about the same time.
My final pick me up (and there will cries of foul from E&C as it is tender) is the sight of buds on the Maderian squill, Scilla madeirensis, heralding that its translucent lilac flowers are on their way. This rare bulb was a gift from colleagues from my days working on conservation projects in Madeira, and radio presenter Jean Griffin and I had a little reminisce about our time together on this project during my interview on her Sunday Gardening programme last Sunday – there’s a link to a recording of this at the end.
I can’t believe neither of my sisters has mentioned the quintessential autumn superstar – asters. These ‘back end’ specialists wait in the wings all summer to bring cheer when we’re all feeling a bit ‘meh’.
Mind you, be careful which you choose. I don’t want to be ungrateful but the Aster divaricatus Elaine gave me a few years ago is hardly the ‘life and soul’. I know a lot of plants droop a bit in the autumn but A. divaricatus seems to emerge in a state of emotional collapse. She needs to get a grip more in the style of A. ‘Little Carlow’ or ‘Monch’ which have just the sort of stoical pluck needed in a Highland garden.
Yes, you can trust me to bring you the headline acts and next of course it’s sedums (I’m not a fan of the new hylo-whatsit name). Not the ones that sprackle around your rocks all summer, but the autumn flowering ones the butterflies love. If yours are a bit floppy, remember to give them a Chelsea chop at the end of May. ‘Autumn Joy’ is the standard ‘go to’, but personally I can recommend ‘Purple Emperor’ for a bit of dark and dangerous sedum sex appeal!
On the topic of ‘ooomph’, Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ has to be centre stage in the autumn Hall of Fame. I was totally bowled over when my (wonderful) neighbours readily shared a wheelbarrow of divisions with me last year. I understand their readiness a little more now, as it rushes about my garden setting up colonies faster than Queen Victoria, but it’s robust, enthusiastic and that rich yellow sums up ‘Harvest Festival’ in a way a giant marrow can only dream of. Fab-u-lous.
If you fancy lots more ideas for plants that look wonderful in autumn, have a browse of this list that we put together, which includes links to the articles where we discuss them.
Do listen to Laura talking on local radio last weekend about the3Growbags and our recent article about Gardening for Wellbeing – she did very well!
And in another pick-me-up here is a short video of Elaine in her Happy Place – in amongst her roses, showing us what sort of autumn pruning we should be giving our various roses now.
Louise, our wonderful plant columnist, never anticipated that two of the plants in her garden would become such fantastic complementary partners, but they certainly have! They have teamed up to become this week’s Great Plants this Month:
How about a beautiful and versatile trowel for all types of planting, and especially for shallower digging and scooping when planting bulbs? It would make a fantastic gift for a gardening friend or a lovely treat for yourself.
NB If you’re not already a subscriber and you’d like a bit more gardening chitchat from the3growbags, please type your email address here and we’ll send you a new post every Saturday morning.
2 replies on “10 stunning plants for early autumn”
Wonderful timing, Elaine. Was just wondering what on earth to prune on my climbing roses!
Glad to be of assistance, Anne! This kind of autumn pruning of climbing roses is not essential for flowering next year – people often leave all this cutting back until late winter or early spring, but I find it helps hugely with the problem of wild autumn winds if you give them a good spruce up now. Thank you for writing, all the best, Elaine