Amazingly Colourful Autumn Flowers

Well, we think it's all over, and yet autumn flowers still fill the borders in my garden. Even though the nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping, there is an amazing amount of colour to be seen!

It's a beautiful sunny October day and I've been sitting with a cup of coffee and my recipe books (checking the ingredients for quince jelly) enjoying the sunshine and my late flowering plants.

There are two schools of thought on when autumn really begins, whether it starts on the 1st of September, the beginning of the three months of autumn - September, October and November, or whether it starts at the solstice on the 21st of September. I tend to think of it starting on the 1st of September, certainly from a gardening point of view, but of course, there will be some plants later in the month that may have finished: even though I have listed them here.

Length of flowering often depends on seasonal weather conditions in terms of rainfall, sunshine, and periods of prolonged rain and drought. For example, if we have a few weeks of baking sunshine, some flowers will often finish earlier. I see this with my hanging baskets; the ones on the west facing, front wall finish flowering before the ones in dappled sun on the back, east facing wall.

Now let's take a look at some of the stars of the autumn show. Use fruits and berries, faded flower heads and vibrant leaf colours to bring your garden alive at this time of the year. 

In no particular order.....

Autumn Flowers - It's All About The Colour!

A gorgeous pot-grown acer with a pink-edged leaf, growing where it is most happy: sheltered, and in dappled shade.

Acers give one of the most vibrant colours in the garden at this time of the year and can be found in the most amazing range of colours.

There are some fantastic offers for these wonderful trees at the moment; they can be expensive plants, so do you look out for reasonably priced ones when they are on offer.

If you're thinking of planting one in your garden, prepare to be amazed at the incredible colours. Find many examples here, where they seem to have the best choice at a good price, with different sizes to suit your budget; and keep in mind that in no time your Acer will grow.

Apart from the usual planting we think about: the chrysanthemums, dahlias and asters, there are many other absolute gems that can be spotted in the borders in the autumn. So, what autumn flowers do we have in the garden that are still blooming?

Here are some plant pictures, showing that it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom!

This is the second flowering of the gorgeous blue 'Centaurea' which, if  cut back after it has flowered in the late spring and summer, it will reward you with a second flush in late summer and early autumn.

The autumn crocus; an unusual plant, to say the least! In spring it has lots of leaves that grow to knee height, and then they are cut down when they begin to wilt. In the autumn these beautiful flowers emerge without leaves. Much bigger than the spring crocus, the autumn variety makes a real show.

This stunning little plant is very prolific, looking amazing against green foliage. It is a potentilla with many flowers on the end of its long stems. Just beautiful! It flowers well into the autumn, too.

I just had to give a mention to my short rambler rose 'Open Arms'. It is the most exquisite rose, starting to flower in early summer right through to the end of October. I have planted it in many gardens for its beauty and long flowering season. It will easily grow over a pergola, and it just keeps giving!

This is one of my very favourite autumn flowers because it has the most beautiful form and colour, with a profusion of wispy blue, fringed petals and long elegant stamens running along the stems: the caryopteris.

And then there is the bold red centranthus, poking its head through the surrounding plants. Its flowers are a striking and bold deep pink; very useful in any planting scheme. This can also flower right through to October. It can also be found in white, and its common name is 'Valerian'.

We couldn't, of course, forget the statuesque Japanese anemone, with its tall stems of beautiful autumn colour. This really is a feature plant. Coming in both pink and white, both are very striking.

Here's my quince bush with the quince fruits forming very nicely. They create a lot of interest in my garden and are a very bright lime green, which is always useful as a foil for other plants.

The quince fruits can be made into delicious jellies, jams and a Spanish paste called Membrillo, which is usually eaten with Spanish Manchego cheese. It is quite a revelation. Find the recipe here.

Here is the quince jelly all potted up: beautifully clear, and tasting gorgeous!

...and these are the flowers that come early in the year. This shrub really does earn its place in the garden!

Here are the amazing red leaves of the wonderful sorbaria shrub seen here against the bright green of the bamboo. In summer the leaves of the soup area or green tinged with orange; in the autumn this is what happens. 

Runners from the plants root pop-up freely around the base. What a bonus. Sometimes there can be as many as three new plants each year. Well worth its place in the garden.

What form! What colour! These wonderful autumn flowers are part of the crocosmia family, originally native to south Africa. The orange, arching, tubular petals shine out in the borders at this time of the year. I would suggest planting Montbretia in either a pot on the patio or in a container in the soil, as the corms can spread rapidly. Be brutal! Pull out any stems, with the bulb attached, to thin them out. It is very forgiving, and one plant you absolutely cannot kill.

Campanula porschskyana is having a second flush too, and how gorgeous the intense blue looks in this cool autumn light! Gardeners and artists alike proclaim the effectiveness of blues in our climate. They do shine out in the sunshine and in the evening light, making them almost fluorescent.

Blues are always worth having in the garden. They look amazing with pinks, whites and lime green, as well as complimentary colours in the orange range. 

Hardy fuchsias are invaluable at this time of the year, and here we can see my 'Mrs Popple' in all her glory, with perfectly formed purple inner petals, red outer petals, and elegant stamens. Just exquisite!

Sometimes known as the kaffir lily, schizostylis are such wonderful autumn flowers, with their striking deep coral pink petals and elegant stems. When people first see the petals emerging, they are bowled over by the intensely vibrant colour.

They are also available in pale pink.

Just look at the vibrancy of this Echinacea! There are many different colours and forms flowering from summer right through to autumn: red, orange, pink, white, yellow and green. If you like it hot, Echinacea might be a good choice.

With its delicate pink flowers throughout the summer, this is the amazing fire-red of a true geranium in a large urn. It has been in the hot sunshine all summer and this is our reward in autumn.

The aster, or what is usually known as the Michaelmas Daisy, is a vibrant purple in the autumn border. The yellow eye sets off the purple petals beautifully.

Pale yellow daisy petals of this helianthus shine out in the early autumn sunshine.

Sedums are often called 'Ice Plants' and will flower well into the autumn. Their striking red clusters make a real show in the garden at this time of the year. Leave the heads on for a winter display.

Quite a few container plants are still flowering, as we've yet to have a cold enough frost to kill them! The diascias, even though they are grown as annuals, can survive a winter. Avoid moving them in the spring and they will keep coming back each year.

How lovely is this! A pale pink diascia growing happily with the gorgeous purple nepeta which, if cut back, will also flower into autumn.

This gorgeous trailing pelargonium (commonly known as a geranium) is still flowering, but its days, I'm afraid, are numbered. To preserve your favourites, take cuttings and replant them next year. Gorgeous!

One of my absolute favourite geraniums - 'Rozanne' - with its profusion of flowers and trailing habit: this really is the most stunning flower for trailing over a wall, and its flowering season is really long (something we treasure in our gardens), right from early summer to early autumn.

Just look at the beauty of this lace-cap hydrangea. What a show it is! These plants can grow to be quite large shrubs over time and have a good, long flowering season into late summer and early autumn. Leave the spent heads on for autumn decoration and to protect the plant during the winter months.

Find out how to grow these wonderful plants here.

Just look at this one for a beauty, with its darker edges and paler pink flowers.

Listed as only flowering until the end of August, the cream astrantia is unexpectedly still flowering, but what a bonus! It brightens up the garden with its flowers, which seem to glow in the more subdued light. Length of flowering time often changes with weather conditions either throughout the summer or into the autumn.

Known as polygonum or persicaria, this plant is very tough and will cover a space quickly. Its strong pink spires stand tall and erect, even against the most adverse weather.

The amazing fiery red of the Virginia Creeper, really standing out against the natural grey of the limestone walls.

The tall, elegant spires of verbena bonariensis will flower right through to October. It is only frost-hardy and may need to be planted each year depending on location, but it is so worth it for its architectural form.

Cover with a dry mulch before the winter to protect these beautiful plants from harsh weather.

Other Autumn-Flowering Plants and Shrubs

Some shrubs can be as useful and wonderful for their foliage colour and berries as they can for their flowers. Frost and spider's webs lend a magical air to the garden, providing exceptional interest. Keep a look out for striking autumn colours that will bring a garden alive in the cooler months of the year.

Just use one of the plant searches below if you've seen something you like and feel like delving a little deeper. The first is brilliant for its range of plants, and the second for details about height, spread, planting and care, as well as planting combinations, working very well simply as a reference guide.

Gardening Express Plant Search

Crocus Plant Search - Autumn Flowering Plants

Enjoy your garden in the autumn. It really can be a very attractive and colourful place to spend time, even though there is often a nip in the air!

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