Late summer colour

How has your garden performed this year? What has worked well and what turned out to be a disappointment? It is important to stop and smell the roses. When something works well, analyse why and capture the happy moment on camera just in case it doesn’t happen again. It may help you learn how to improve other areas. Designing planting schemes is the hardiest thing. You need to consider plant height, shape, texture, foliage and flower colour and of course growth rates, to give you rhythm, balance and unity.

Now is a good time to write an autumn to-do list of all the plants that need to be moved, removed or divided. Good gardeners have to be ruthless folk , constantly assessing whether plants have worked hard enough. This only tends to happen in my own garden when I have run out of planting opportunities and new planting spaces are required.

Spring and autumn are the best times to play around with different positions for plants; the ground is moist and warm for good, quick root establishment.

Gardens in late summer tend to lose their lustre. Leaves have got ragged, nibbled and many plants have already flowered their hearts out. If you are short of time just concentrate on tidying the plants in the front of borders by dead heading, removing scruffy leaves and spent flowers to encourage fresh growth, more flowers and prevent the spread of unwanted seed. Removing decaying blooms encourage more flowers and prevents the spread of unwanted seed. Obviously don’t do this if you wish to propagate by seed or if you like dried flowers for structural interest in winter.

It is wise to grow plants with good foliage at the front of a flower bed. Heuchera, Hosta, Brunnera and Francoa are all useful as they have leaves to the ground so you don’t see any stems or untidy foliage of plants behind.

Layering is the secret to a good planting and don’t forget the bulbs. In July-August there are a number of bulbs to bring colour as the summer fades. Try Schizostylis, Cyclamen, Colchicum, Nerine and Gladoli.

Still needing inspiration? Take a look at Scotland’s garden scheme website for private gardens that open during late summer. Gardeners with the confidence to open at this time are likely to have planned for a succession of interest. If you admire their work try visiting the same garden throughout the year to see how it transforms.

Published in ‘at Home’ a supplement of the Scotland on Sunday on 25 July 2010