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Seek out some colour for your autumn Kent garden

Things in the garden can start to look a little shabby and frazzled as summer goes on. If you feel your garden is past its best there are few things you can do to give it a boost.

Cut back astrantia, pulmonaria and hardy geraniums, which can get a bit straggly. By giving them a good cut back and a water you will encourage fresh new foliage, make things look a lot tidier and perhaps even be rewarded with a late flush of flowers.

I know I’ve said it before but if you keep deadheading roses, dahlias and other summer perennials, more buds will come and you will have continued flowering right up to the first frosts.

If your containers are packed solid, they will need extra watering, so clear out anything that has had its day and replace with some fuchsias, pelargoniums or autumn pansies with a touch of new compost and water-retaining gel to perk things up.

Where early summer bulbs such as oriental poppies have died down in flower beds, you can fill gaps with pots filled with dahlias or fuchsias or lilies for instant impact.

If you feel autumn appeal is lacking in your borders, how about investing in a physalis alkekengi ‘Franchetii’ which has orange lanterns that also look good dried for floral decorations.

Michaelmas daisy ‘Monch’ a very long flowering aster has good foliage and large violet-blue daisy-like flowers on stems reaching 90cm.

Rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susan has golden yellow daisy flowers with dark centres and bristly stems.

Black eyed Susan
Black eyed Susan

Sedum spectabile ‘Autumn Joy’ flowers from August to November, starting in pink and maturing to copper. This is a must have and teams well with grasses.

And don’t forget the Japanese anemone with either white or pink saucer shaped five-petalled flowers and contrasting yellow stamens.

Japanese anemone
Japanese anemone

Grasses look great in the autumn sun, try Pennisetum orientale, reaching 60cm in height it has arching stems with soft bottle brush tops.

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