| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Treacodactyl |
Late season colourI'm after some ideas for things flowering around late summer to about this time of year for our garden. Ideally something that'll survive light frosts and is cheap and easy to grow.Something like hardy fuchsias, some verbenas and simple chrysanthemums. |
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| gil |
None of the flowers here have survived the frosts.
However, the medlar tree's autumn foliage is luridly autumnal. Well worth planting for autumn colour. |
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| BahamaMama |
Michelmas daisies, pretty and tough, Schizostylis - pink or white flowers, Japanese anemone (beware, plant them and you have them forever), I have a ground cover rose that is still flowering its socks off, as are the hanging baskets 
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| marigold |
Michaelmas daisies http://www.autumnasters.co.uk/ | ||
| Millymollymandy |
There is plenty still flowering in my garden -
Verbena bonariensis and Astrantia major will carry on flowering through into November and are hardy. Bidens (bought one last year, don't know much about this plant), it's very tall so for back of the border and is late flowering and I think it spreads and can be a bit invasive. Winter flowering pansies - I bought some last year and they self seeded all over the place (most notably in a tub of spring onions!  ) so they have been pricked out and potted on and now replanted in more suitable places, although there are still some appearing in my gravel drive.
Wild violas - they self seed all over my gravel drive (much prefer that to my flower beds  ) and are a riot of colour all year round and would survive a nuclear attack, I'm sure! They do much better than the big pansies when it is frosty.
Jap anemones don't seem to like my garden  maybe they like limey soil?
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| Millymollymandy |
More to add but the reply screen won't let me type beyond its boundary, grrrrrr  anway.....
In my (only!) dampish shady bed: Persicaria - still flowering away, low growing ground cover, likes moist soil, spreads Hellebore Pink Lady - flowers from August Lamium, been flowering for months now and plenty of annuals which self seed which are still flowering like cosmos. Oh and add Perovskia to the list - looks good for about 6 months of th eyear! Bloody screen is bouncing up and down again as I've reached its limits and can't see what I am typing any more!!! 
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| Millymollymandy |
I should say if you want cheap then V. bonariensis self seeds EVERYWHERE to the point of being a weed so you only need to buy one plant..... ditto some Astrantias. My white one has self seeded too but I have a red one (rubra I think) which can't because of botanical reasons beyond my comprehension. 
Loads of my non edible garden comes from original plants which self seed or spread or are easy to take cuttings from. That's cheap.
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| Treacodactyl |
I've been growing plenty of V. bonariensis to plant around the place. I've also got plenty of colour from the turning leaves of various things and berries such as pyracantha. We do have Japanese anemones as well but they don't do that well. We also have a large clump of Persicaria that I'll split.
Thanks for the other suggestions, I'll try some Asters, I think you can get mildew resistant ones these days which I would need due to our dry soil. I'll look up the other ideas, ideally I'd like something cheap and I can either grow from seed or grow on from small plants bought earlier on in the season. |
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| wellington womble |
Dahlias are still going round here. Not too expensive if you buy a couple and take cuttings. I've never bothered lifting mine, and they seem to be OK. I bet they'd be fine on your light soil. | ||
| Treacodactyl |
I'd forgotten about dahlias, as they would say on Masterchef, bags of colour. I shall choose a couple that fit in with other things and, perhaps, grow a few in large pots to fill in some gaps. | ||
| ros |
cosmos still going strong here. If anyone wants seeds ( pinks/purples singles) I'm collecting loads | ||
| cab |
Our penstemon, fuchsias, nasturtiums, and roses are still in bloom. Primroses out front are blossoming too. Oh, and dahlias in the sheltered corner of the garden are blossoming happily, but the ones on the more exposed spot down on the plot are past it. | ||
| Lorrainelovesplants |
Pheasant berry - looks nice, easy & cheap. | ||
| Jenna |
Nasturtiums do really well for us here, still flowering strongly (have only had a couple of mild frosts though, enough to do for the courgettes). We only planted them once, and they have prolifically self-seeded every year since, so if you plant some, make sure you'll be happy to see them there again next year! There's a winter flowering viburnum that I want some of for when there's really nothing else flowering - used to grow at Durham uni and was very smelly (in a nice way), never got round to nicking any for cuttings though
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| marigold |
Calendulas look scruffy, but still have some flowers in my garden. | ||
| Treacodactyl |
We do have nasturtiums, calendula and cosmos and I really like them but they do get a bit scruffy for more formal parts of the garden. | ||
| wellington womble |
you have formal parts in your garden?  
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| sean |
He gardens wearing a frock coat and top hat. | ||
| dpack |
for autum/winter colour berry bearing bushes are good and perenial
edible and pretty is good |
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| arvo |
Have been spending a lot of time at Ness Gardens on the Wirral. The two things I noticed there were the berries that everyone has been mentioning (even a plant with pink berries!) but also Gentians, some variety called Gentian Sino-ornata. Beautiful things, about as blue as its possible to be, really stunning against the grass. Dunno what climate they like though and the soil on the Wirral is pretty heavy. | ||
| Treacodactyl |
Not really, hence the question. I'm specifically after some ideas for next year when we, hopefully, tidy the garden up and get the house ready to sell. At the moment, for example, there's loads of nasturtiums rambling over the front garden but to give the best impression for the type of people who might move in something a bit tidier around the front and first part of the back would be ideal. Now I've got some good ideas I don't mind less formal suggestions.
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| cab |
For more formal areas, for late summer, I'd definitely plant penstemon. | ||
| Slim |
you could get all bonsai on a witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana or maybe a winter hazel H. chinensis - blooms in January/February in the coldest weather here!) | ||
| Annette H |
Rudbeckii and late sown calendulas are still looking good in our garden. Also late sown "love in the mist", I think the variety is hispanica. | ||
| earthyvirgo |
Re: Late season colour
This was a question on GQT on Sunday. I can't recall what the 'experts' said but it may be available to download? Sedums still looking pretty good here, and japanese anenomes (can never spell anenomes?) still flowering. EV |
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| vanessa |
Hardy cyclamen, too. Very neat, will naturalise but not go mad. | ||
| Millymollymandy |
Have another one - Lychnis Coronaria, still flowering away like mad but only in the shady or semi shady areas of my garden. It can't take full sun and dry conditions despite what you might think with the fluffy grey leaves! | ||
| gunners71uk |
i still have nastutians flowering on allotment well up to yesterday at least cos i aint been down today
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| gil |
Just noticed that down in town, the oregon grape (mahonia??)shrubs are in flower - evergreen leaves and spikes of yellow blooms. |