Clippings No.12 Late Summer Favourites

Nine easy-going perennial plants that keep the show going long after the peak of summer has passed. These are the stars of my late summer garden.

As we dip into late summer, the garden can look a bit tired. Fading blooms. Ragged foliage. Parched earth. The garden looks like it’s just come off a three-day festival… slightly dazed, slightly crispy, and missing a shoe.

The roses have had their bountiful first flush, the towering foxgloves have gone to seed, gaps from early-flowering perennials (brutally cut to the ground for their own good), and the midsummer pomp has eased into something altogether more languid, if not entirely knackered.

But don’t be fooled into thinking the show is over… Oh no. Not yet.

August brings its own cast of characters. Plants that thrive on warmth, that revel in those long golden balmy evenings, and repay you with colour, scent, and (most importantly) stamina.

These are the plants I rely on to carry the garden through the tail end of summer and into the early days of autumn (and in many cases, right through winter with their crispy seedheads and toughened stems). A mix of mood-lifters and pollinator-pleasers. Some are exuberant and flouncy, others light and airy. But all of them earn their keep.

So here it is: a list of late-summer stars I couldn’t garden without. Most of these are thriving right now in my own borders.

---

Dahlias, Heleniums, Echinacea

---

1. Dahlia

The scene-stealers. The classic summer bloomers. The only garden divas who get away with needing constant support, yet still managing to upstage everyone else. Every year I promise myself I won’t go overboard, and every year I fail spectacularly. I’m always buying more (an entire bed for cutting) and playing with new varieties.

From the smoky Café au Lait and papery, twisted pinks of Labyrinth to the fiery oranges of Totally Tangerine and deep velvets of Chat Noir, dahlias come in every colour except true blue. If you want to keep the bees happy, choose single varieties with open centres. Magenta Star, Bishop of Llandaff and Bishop’s Children are all good examples.

They bloom from July (sometimes earlier) until the first hard frost, given regular deadheading. Feed them well, stake them early, and keep them watered. In return, you get the kind of indulgent, velvety petals that stop you in your tracks.

• Colour: Every shade imaginable including rich burgundy, coral, peach, white, near-black. Personally I er on the subtler side of the colour wheel.

• Scent: None

• Height/Spread: 60cm–1.5m tall

• Bloom Time: July to first hard frost

• Pollinators: Yes, particularly open-centred varieties

• Growth Habit: Grows from tubers, upright and bushy

• Self-seeding: No

• Notes: Feed and deadhead regularly. Squishy cone shapes are spent flowers. Firm buttons are the new flower buds. Stake early for best results.

---

2. Helenium

Heleniums are the late summer firework display, with shades of russet, copper, saffron, and deep mahogany - the garden’s equivalent of a warm hug and a very good sunset. My personal favourites all have that marmaladey toffee feel: Moerheim Beauty, Sahin’s Early Flowerer, and Carmen. Sumptuous!

They’re upright, tidy, and utterly charming. In my garden, they benefit from a good Chelsea Chop in June to keep them compact, as they do have a tendency to flop if left unchecked. I love them woven through grasses, or planted around the rich purples of Salvia ‘Amistad’ and the steely blues of Echinops.

Bees go wild for them, looping around the pollen-rich button centres. You’ll often find entire stems gently vibrating with fuzzy, golden bottoms.

• Colour: Amber, copper, mahogany, red-gold, yellow

• Scent: Lightly earthy

• Height/Spread: 90–120cm tall, 50cm wide

• Bloom Time: July–September

• Pollinators: Excellent — bees adore them

• Growth Habit: Clump forming

• Self-seeding: Rare

• Notes: Pinch back in June for shorter, bushier plants with more flowers.

---

3. Echinacea purpurea (Coneflower)

There’s a regal strength to echinaceas. Tall, commanding stems with bold daisy-like flowers and those lovely spiky cones. Purpurea is the classic deep pink, but I’m also partial to coral or soft white cultivars like ‘White Swan’. In my garden, ‘Magnus’ takes centre stage with large bubblegum-pink blooms.

Bees adore them, as do butterflies. Even as the petals fade, the cones remain sculptural, especially when dusted with frost. Clump forming, long blooming, and particularly striking en masse with grasses, salvias, and Geranium ‘Rozanne’ weaving her way through.

Reliable, photogenic, and full of nectar… if only more things in life were this low maintenance. Just give them good drainage and a bit of sun. They sulk in heavy clay and they’ll let you know about it.

• Colour: Deep pink, coral, white, orange

• Scent: Slightly honeyed

• Height/Spread: 80–120cm tall

• Bloom Time: July–September and beyond with deadheading

• Pollinators: Excellent for bees and butterflies

• Growth Habit: Clump forming

• Self-seeding: Occasionally, in lighter soils

• Notes: Needs moisture but with good drainage and plenty of sun. Avoid waterlogged soils.

---

Rudbekia, Sanguisorba, Crocosmia

---

4. Rudbeckia

If summer had a mascot, it would be this daisy-faced optimist, beaming through August and on into autumn, with an almost defiant cheerfulness. Every year I sow more Cherry Brandy, with its deep, velvety, chocolate-red petals. Rudbeckia laciniata is a different beast entirely: a towering plant, well over two metres, smothered in bright yellow blooms. It makes a brilliant back-of-the-border accent that I bounce down the garden.

They’re tough, drought tolerant, and look fantastic with purples, blues, and dusky pinks. Or plant them in great swathes, if you’ve the space, for maximum impact.

• Colour: Bright golden yellow, orange, and reds, with black-brown centres

• Scent: None

• Height/Spread: Mostly 60–90cm tall. R. laciniata is over 1.5m

• Bloom Time: August–October

• Pollinators: Excellent for bees

• Growth Habit: Clump forming

• Self-seeding: Occasionally, easily manageable

• Notes: Tough, low-maintenance, drought tolerant. Taller varieties may need staking on rich soils.

---

5. Anemone x hybrida (Japanese Anemone)

Soft, floaty, and wonderfully reliable. Japanese anemones bring a different sort of energy: gentle, romantic, and somehow rather charming.

They begin in August and just keep going. The pure white ‘Honorine Jobert’ is a classic, though she does have a bit of a thuggish streak. ‘Bressingham Glow’ offers bright pink, while ‘Königin Charlotte’ brings a softer pastel hue. They’re not fragrant, but their presence is subtle and striking all the same.

They spread by rhizomes (consider yourself warned), but in the right spot (especially dappled shade), they’re magic. They cope well in part sun or part shade, and they need moisture to flower at their best.

• Colour: Soft pinks and pure whites

• Scent: Fresh but faint

• Height/Spread: 80–120cm tall

• Bloom Time: August–October

• Pollinators: Loved by hoverflies and small bees

• Growth Habit: Rhizomatous (spreading)

• Self-seeding: Rarely

• Notes: Once established, they’re unstoppable. Use where you want something with movement and grace and have the space for these substantial plants.

---

6. Persicaria amplexicaulis

You know those plants that just keep flowering, no matter the weather? This is one of them.

I use Persicaria as a structural filler toward the middle to back of the border. With tall, slender spikes in ruby, deep pink, or rose (‘Pink Elephant’, ‘Firetail’, ‘Blackfield’, ‘Rosea’), it lifts and softens any planting scheme.

Pollinators love it. The mounding habit is lush but not unruly, and it pairs beautifully with upright grasses (I like Miscanthus and Molinia) or looser perennials like Veronicastrum and Sanguisorba. They can look a bit weary in dry soil, with a tendency to flop, so a little moisture goes a long way.

• Colour: Red, rose, or dusky pink spikes

• Scent: Mild and fresh

• Height/Spread: 1–1.2m tall

• Bloom Time: July–October

• Pollinators: Excellent

• Growth Habit: Clump forming

• Self-seeding: Rare

• Notes: Moisture helps, but they’re fairly tolerant. Pair beautifully with naturalistic planting.

---

7. Sanguisorba

This one’s pure poetry. Bobbing, bottlebrush blooms in deep crimson (‘Tanna’), soft raspberry (‘Red Thunder’), or gentle pink (‘Pink Brushes’). Tall and light, they sway on the breeze like wands.

My personal favourite is Sanguisorba hakusanensis ‘Lilac Squirrel’, with soft, silky, tassel-like blooms that are so tactile I insist on planting it near the path, just so I can stroke it on the way past.

Most cultivars aren’t showy plants, more of a background whisper. They’re especially effective when planted with grasses, Veronicastrum, and Verbena bonariensis. Utterly essential in naturalistic schemes. Bees love the clustered flowers, and they keep blooming through August and September if they don’t dry out. They hold their tall, floaty bearing well into winter.

They do best in moisture-retentive soil, but they’re adaptable if you choose your variety carefully.

• Colour: Deep red, raspberry, or soft pink bottlebrushes or tassels

• Scent: Grassy, lightly herbal

• Height/Spread: 60–150cm depending on variety

• Bloom Time: July–September

• Pollinators: Bees and hoverflies

• Growth Habit: Clump forming

• Self-seeding: Occasionally

• Notes: Don’t let them dry out. Beautiful with verbena, echinacea, or grasses.

---

8. Verbena bonariensis

One of the great see-through beauties. Verbena bonariensis adds floaty, airy height without bulk… tall, willowy stems topped with lilac-mauve clusters that hover like little satellites above the border.

It flowers for months on end and is adored by bees and butterflies, especially red admirals. It self-seeds politely into gravel paths and gaps between paving slabs. I let mine wander. It’s never thuggish, always graceful. They pop up like uninvited guests, but the kind you’re always happy to see. The seedlings are easy to remove and rehome, so I’m forever spreading the joy.

Deadhead if you want to limit spread, or just lean into the generous chaos.

• Colour: Lilac-mauve

• Scent: Faintly herbal

• Height/Spread: 100–150cm tall

• Bloom Time: June–October

• Pollinators: Bee and butterfly magnet

• Growth Habit: Tall, slender, self-supporting

• Self-seeding: Yes, freely, but easily managed

• Notes: Don’t plant just one, it shines when repeated. Excellent with grasses and late perennials like veronicastrum and sanguisorba.

---

9. Crocosmia (‘Lucifer’, ‘Emily McKenzie’)

No plant says late summer drama quite like Crocosmia. Fiery and upright, the sword-shaped leaves and arching flower stems bring movement and heat to the border, with a noticeable change in form compared to almost everything else around them.

‘Lucifer’ is vivid scarlet (the classic), but I’m also fond of the softer tangerine tones of ‘Emily McKenzie’. Both are loved by bees, especially on warmer days.

They grow from corms, clump up over time, and can be thinned and divided easily in spring. Be warned, though… ‘Lucifer’ can be a bit of a monster.

• Colour: Scarlet, tangerine, golden orange

• Scent: None

• Height/Spread: 60–100cm

• Bloom Time: July–September

• Pollinators: Very good

• Growth Habit: Grows from corms, clumps over time

• Self-seeding: No

• Notes: Divide when congested. Likes a warm, sunny spot, moist soil with good drainage.

---

Salvia 'Amistad', Althaea, Rudbekia and Verbena bonariensis

Bonus Picks for Late Summer Colour

I just couldn’t resist adding a few more favourites. These didn’t make the official list, but they’ve certainly made themselves at home.

Salvia ‘Amistad’ has thrived in my garden for years and rewards complete neglect by flowering for months, from July to November. Deep purple, tubular flowers appear endlessly, and they’re adored by bees and butterflies.

Althaea cannabina is tall, airy, and utterly whimsical. It’s a self-supporting tower of a plant, often reaching well over two metres, with pops of soft pink, mallow-like flowers. It will seed around freely, so keep an eye out for those pioneering little plants popping up everywhere.

Bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare ‘Giant Bronze’) brings mustard-yellow umbels and gorgeous feathery foliage. It makes a beautiful foil for those caramel and marmalade heleniums, or the ultra-blue tones of Echinops.

---

🌿 Final Thoughts

Late summer doesn’t have to mean fading glory with dull greens and dusty browns. In fact, this is one of the most rewarding times in the garden. The heat has eased, the evenings have a comforting warmth, the light is golden, and the plants that shine now are doing it with quiet confidence.

They’re not in a hurry. They’re taking their time.

Which is a good reminder for us too. Slow down. Smell the roses (quite literally). Watch the bees bobbing on the echinacea, the sunlight through a floaty flowers, the flicker of wings around a rudbeckia bloom.

The garden is still full of life. It’s just a little softer now 🌿

---

📝 Coming Up…

Next time: how to keep the colour going through late summer. I’ll share my best tips on deadheading, cutting back, feeding, and even a few favourite container refreshes.