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It’s official!  The weather men say we’re having an ‘Indian Summer’ .  Many Brits will be firing up the BBQ this weekend – but does your garden look like it’s already settling down for the winter?  At this time of the year many people usually find that once August is over, their gardens start to look a bit jaded. The flowers have gone, the leaves are turning and their gardens look like they need a bit of a tidy up.  Many of the summer flowering blooms that were resplendent in May June and July have begun to fade, and once the colour has gone, there is little left to catch the eye.  This might lead you to assume that it’s time for the garden to shut down for the autumn.

That’s a pity because this restricts the potential for your garden to just a few short weeks.  But did you know that in fact your garden can provide plenty to enjoy and look forward to throughout every month of the year.

With some clever planting there are numerous extremely attractive shrubs and plants that can provide striking colour for late summer and autumn. This is the last hurrah for your garden so here’s your chance to delay the onset of winter just that little bit longer.

Some of these plants have a very long flowering period and offer repeat flowering throughout the season.  Imagine seeing a vibrant injection of riotous colour in an otherwise neglected border or bed.

So if you’re not quite ready to give up on your garden just yet, here are some ideas for you:

Acer palamatum ‘Osakuzaki’

This is one of the best Japanese Acers for Autumn colour and a striking focal point. It beautifully complements the foliage of surrounding trees as their leaves begin to fall amidst the rich abundance of rust, terracotta and saffron yellow leaves of Autumn.

Rudbeckia occidentalis ‘Green Wizard’ (Coneflower)

This fantastic flower provides dramatic blue/black cones and supported by soft green ‘petals’ which are in fact sepals.

Ceratostigma willmottianum (Chinese plumbago)

This plant offers showers of unusual striking cobalt blue flowers, a rare colour in late flowering plants.  The dainty flowers are a lovely contrast to some of the heavier blooms of Echinaceas (coneflowers) and Heleniums.

Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’ (Sneezeweed)

These flowers offer cheery copper-red blooms which flower right through autumn.  When everything else is begining to die down, these exhuberant flowers have an incredibly long flowering season.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ (Zebra Grass)

Graceful and striking – our name’s sake!  Their attractive spikey leaves give height to any border and their late spidery flowers are the colour of dusky-pink satin.  As well as looking good you can hear them whispering gently in the autumn breeze.

Zebra Grass can help with any planting ideas whether it’s to enliven a tired border, bring interest to your garden all year round or perhaps planting for a particular occasion. We can also carry out the planting for you.

Call us on 01621 788718 / 07734 069609 or email jill@zebragrass.co.uk