We have been closely following the planting trends at RHS Chelsea (21-26 September). Being the first-ever autumnal Chelsea it has been interesting to see the new trends the season has brung. Burgundy and orange colours feature in both flowers and foliage. Also popular are attractive grasses and structural seedheads, they add texture in many of the display gardens.
With Chelsea as inspiration, our plant area team has picked out their top eight favourites for autumn’s interest in the garden.
1. Nandina – Cerys (pictured above) chooses Nandina because they are colourful all year round, she has lots in her new garden already! They are evergreen and a very low-maintenance plant. At this time of year, they are amazingly bright.
2. Aster – Megan likes this late flowering perrenial because their late seasonal vibrant blooms of purple and pink really stand out this time of year.
3. Ornamental Grasses – Josh loves grasses because they add beautiful texture to your garden, you can leave them all winter and they will look amazing with frost on their seed heads. Birds will also use the foliage for their nests in the spring.
4. Hydrangea paniculata – Steph chose the paniculata, they are her favourite because they flower later than other varieties, giving you summer colour into autumn. As the flowers age, they turn from white to pink and red. Steph says “I have some in my garden already, if I had the room I would add more!”
5. Callicarpa – this plant really comes into its own in early autumn with its eye-catching bright purple berries in compact clusters. These beautiful berries overlap with the golden purple leaf tints and then stay in place after leaf fall. They are easy to grow and this ‘Profusion’ variety is highly recommended as it fruits well on its own but for an even better crop of berries, plant in groups.
6. Heather – this plant is great for colourful ground cover and also works well in planted containers. They flower from September through to November, their tiny blooms contain an abundance of nectar, which is great for pollinators as it provides an opportunity to stock up before the winter begins.
7. Heuchera – this shade loving plant has the most wonderful coloured foliage. Varieties vary from a deep burgundy through to a coppery orange, they look really good clustered together. They produce tiny flowers on long stems that the bees love and are great for filling shady borders with colour and interest.
8. Sedum – we love the sedum on the edge of a border. The fleshy evergreen leaves on this succulent type of plant mean they are drought tolerant. They like a sunny spot and are very easy to grow. In autumn they produce pretty flat-headed blooms of pink flowers, again a great asset to pollinators at this time of year. After flowering, the sedum leaves behind attractive seedheads to add structure to borders over the winter.
Read more on Perrywoods take on RHS Chelsea in our news posts.
