Ten years ago when planning our perennial border, we assumed as I’m sure many novice gardeners do, that upon completion of the planting it was simply a matter of sitting back and enjoying the view!  After the first year it was apparent that the greatest challenge in gardening with perennials is to achieve constant and vibrant colours throughout the growing seasons.  Initially, we were attracted to the spring and early summer varieties that were loudly in bloom during May and June at the gardening centers.  We soon learned that it takes knowledge, planning, and some self-control to ensure good colour for the entire summer, and especially into the fall.  The weather in September and October can be the most pleasant time of year, and for some of us comes as a great relief from a torrid July and August.  At its best, autumn is a time of brilliant blue skies and sunshine, along with a subtle crispness that invigorates the avid gardener.

It took us several interesting seasons- not without failures- of experimenting and modifying until we achieved our goal of having a constant flow of colour from early spring into late fall.  In this article we have attempted to pass on some helpful advice to fellow gardeners who also desire a display that starts with the first snowdrops of spring and lasts until the final asters of fall.  During the in-between times, our garden is drenched with colour.   Finally Mother Nature cloaks the ground with hoary frost and the inevitable, but decorative, snow of winter.

In the following descriptions, plant material that gives us maximum performance in our Zone 6 climate, thus rewarding us with a dazzling display of colour, texture and shape will be discussed…

Emerging each spring from a bulb deep underground, a lily adds new stems each year and soon becomes a striking colony.  Lily flowers come in many forms and almost all colours, except blue and purple.  By selecting different varieties you can enjoy having blooms from early summer through to the fall.  The three groups are known as Asiatic, Trumpet and Oriental.  Asiatic lilies are by far the most popular – offering the greatest range of colours, the widest variety of flower types and sizes, and the longest blooming season.  In our St. Catharines, Ontario garden they reach their height of season in early July and many are still blooming well into August.

Lilium “Red Beauty”, with its scarlet blooms growing on 40” stems and with its exceptionally high bud count, teams up beautifully with a rich golden yellow variety known as “Connecticut-King”.  Both varieties bear 5 to 6” upward facing flowers with long pretty petals.  You are able to examine the throats of these lovely Asiatic lilies without having to lift them or bend down to inspect them.

Trumpet lilies bloom in midsummer, a time when many perennial borders would otherwise lack colour.  Their fragrant flowers can be funnel-shaped, bowl-shaped, flat-faced or backward curling.  A clump of five or six Trumpet lilies growing amid ornamental grasses is quite spectacular!  At the present time we have only one type of Trumpet lily- known as Lilium Regale.  The highly fragrant flowers have yellow throats with purple-pink outer colouring.  The stems stand up to 5’ or 6’ in height and require staking.

The most flamboyant personalities in the world of lilies are to be found among the Oriental strains.  Their huge flowers, intense fragrance and rich colours most certainly crown the late summer garden.  The exotic orchid-like beauty of the Oriental lilies is unsurpassed in the plant kingdom.  We have chosen two hybrids to close out the season in our garden, and they are well worth the wait.  Lilium Sangria is s star-shaped beauty, with purple-red blooms edged with white.  This lily is carried on sturdy 40” stems from mid-July through to August and is an excellent cutting flower.  The other variety, perhaps being the best known, is Lilium Stargazer (commonly used in bridal bouquets).  These stunning flowers are brilliant crimson in colour, edged with pure white and have a delightful fragrance.  The plants are shorter in stature than most late bloomers at 30 to 35” in height.

Our main border is 140’ long, with a scalloped edge ranging between 6’ and 25’ in depth, and filled with a profusion of grasses, shrubs, trees and many tall flowers.  Towering over all of this is the perennial Rudbeckia Nitida “Herbstonne”.  In the spring Herbstonne sends up its large, dark green foliage and rapidly reaches 4’in height.  In mid-June long wands of stiff stems rise up, topped by huge lemon-yellow daisies with drooping petals.  The first flush of 8’ high blooms commences in mid-July and lasts until October.  In our garden this tall beauty doesn’t require staking and isn’t bothered by high winds or storms.  The tall stems will bend, but won’t break.  Although Herbstonne appreciates the moisture, there are no special requirements and this plant certainly does well in our clay soil.  Herbstonne, like many other tall perennials, will grow in partial shade.  However, full sun is required in order to attain maximum height and an abundance of flowers.

Another variety of Rudbeckia that is a favourite of ours is fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, commonly known as Black-Eyed Susan.  Goldsturm is a sturdy, 2’ clump-forming plant with dark green leaves.  The golden-orange flowers are 3” to 4” across and are produced in profusion from July until frost.  For best results, Goldsturm requires full sun.  This plant stands tall without staking through summer and most of the winter months when the dry flower heads make ideal pedestals for puffs of snow. 

In the long blooming category we have chosen yet another star- Echinacea purpurea, or Purple Coneflower.  This perennial is similar to the Rudbeckia and highly valued for its large, brightly coloured daisies that first appear in late June and keep developing into September.  Plants thrive in average soil or hot, dry conditions; they shrug off the cold and are equally at home in full sun or partial shade.  Blooms last well and the large cone at the head of the flower turns black as the seeds mature, adding further interest and providing winter food for the birds.  Equally as enticing is the White Coneflower.  The flowers are the same size and vigor as the purple form.  Plant them together in large clumps for a sensational summer display!

Completing the fall fireworks of daisy-like flowers is the Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp Sunflower).  This showy seven footer thrusts a mass of coaster-sized dazzling yellow daisies against the sky like a banner of joy.  Bloom time for this wonderful plant starts in mid-September and lasts until the end of October.  It looks great teamed with fall asters. 

This is the closest we can get to bringing the Caribbean into our own back yard!  This Hibiscus truly adds a tropical touch with its huge 10” diameter flowers dressed in spectacular shades of red, pink and white, and exquisitely displayed on 3’ compact plants.  Southern Belle makes an impressive display, decorating the garden as if for a gala ball.  Plant these beauties in a moist, well-drained soil in full sun--- singly, in groups as a landscape focal point, or even as a flowering summer hedge.  They require very little care; simply cut down the over-wintered stalks in the spring and wait for their spectacular display.  In our garden, located in full sun, they flourish from the end of July until the frost cuts them down in October.  Having this plant in your garden will certainly turn some heads, especially when you nonchalantly identify it as Hibiscus.

Summer is over, but apparently nobody has told our garden!  It’s still very much alive with the pinks and purples of the genus Aster, the Latin word meaning “star”.  Come the month of September, the Aster certainly lives up to its name. 

In our garden we have three varieties that fantastically light up the border.  Of the three (although they are all beautiful) we are particularly fond of Alma Potschke.  Whether it’s the catchy name or the deep pink colour of the plant is open for discussion…  However, it is one of the stars in our books!  Alma Potschke grows to an impressive height of 4’ to 5’, and given enough space, it will also have a similar width.  The bright pink flowers cover the entire plant from early September to late October.

Harrington Pink performs equally as well as Alma Potschke with the shade of pink being somewhat softer in tone.  This variety of Aster is slightly shorter in stature, reaching 3’ to 4’ in height with an equivalent spread.  The third selection of Aster in our garden is known as Aster x frikartii “Monch”.  We use this variety for its seductive lavender-blue shade.  Growing 3’ to 4’ in height, and equally as wide, it provides our border with an interesting contrast in colour from the bright pinks of Alma Potschke and Harrington Pink.

Asters are easily propagated by division and cuttings.  Early July is an ideal time for taking cuttings as the plants are growing vigorously at this time of the year.  The first step is to cut stems in lengths of 4” to 5” from each plant, trim off the leaves from the lower half of each stem, and then plant in pots containing soil less mixture.  Watering on a regular basis will produce new plants in about six weeks.  When root growth of the new plant is strong enough, we plant them directly in the border.  These new Asters will produce blooms during the first fall that they are planted.  However, it takes two seasons for them to mature into full plants.

For the process of division, a transplant spade is used.  This specially designed spade is ideal for working in confined areas due to its distinct blade- 5” wide and 11 ½” in length.  In the spring, we take v-shaped wedges from the outer edges of the clump, and replant these throughout the border.  Again, the growing conditions in the spring of the year allow the newly divided plant to firmly establish itself in your garden.  Moving or dividing Asters in the heat of the summer is simply begging for disaster, and doing it in the fall often doesn’t allow enough time for the plant to settle in before the arrival of winter.

Most Asters need at least six hours of full sun a day.  Too much shade results in weak stems that will require staking.  If you suspect that staking will be necessary, do so early in summer.  If you delay to the point where stems have begun to flop over, regardless of the measures you attempt, the plant will tend to look sloppy!  It’s a good idea to divide your Asters regularly to ensure that they remain healthy and floriferous.  Annual division may be necessary for the more vigorous species, whereas every three to four years will be sufficient for many varieties.

This small genus of aster-like plants contains two wonderful late fall varieties – one a very nice white and the other a soft pink.  Snowbank, the white selection, is an airy plant of 3’ to 4’ in height bearing small grey-green leaves along stiff stalks.  In late August or early September, this plant opens thousands of 1” white daisies with yellow centers.  The flowers thrive until late October.   Plant Snowbank amongst dark-leaved shrubs where its airy, but neat growth habit, and bright white flowers will be most effective.  This plant always shows better massed into drifts rather than as a single plant.  For a stunning effect, team this plant up with Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia).

Pink Beauty carries thousands of 1” pink daisies massed like a cloud on a large open plant that will reach 5’ in height with a 4’ width by its third year.  The first flowers open in mid-August and continue to put on an outstanding display well into October.  Plant singly, mix with Russian sage, or succumb to the obvious and pair it with its sibling Snowbank for happy results.

            Grasses are dynamic plants animated by the slightest of breezes.  Where other plants jerk to and fro, grasses flutter and dance in the breeze.  They are large, upright, clump-forming plants, all with showy plumes that are a delight in the summer and fall garden.  Some are extremely hardy and can stand up even under snow and ice, adding interest to the winter scene.  Annual maintenance requires nothing more than cutting back in the spring.  Grasses tend to be disease and pest free, and tolerant of many soil conditions.  However, they are at their best in moist soil and full sun.  Since there is a wide selection of grasses available, it is safe to assume that there will be at least one variety suitable for any garden situation.  We have used the following grasses as focal points in our large mixed border:

Large, silvery white plumes are carried on 7’ stems above handsomely striped foliage.  Blooms appear late in August and will last well into October.

Miscanthus sinensis purpurasens (Flame Grass)

This is an early bloomer, with spikes of rose flowers in August.  It shows strong upright clumps of green leaves that turn flame-orange and rust in the fall.  It grows 4’ to 8’ in height.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ (Variegated Maiden Grass)

Slim, graceful foliage develops with bronze blooms appearing in October.  Each leaf blade is edged in silver.  Has excellent winter interest.  It grows 4’ to 5’ in height.

Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ (Zebra Grass)

Its green leaves are cross-banded with yellow as it grows into a large clump about four to five feet in height.

Pennisetum (Fountain Grass)

These mid-sized, clump-forming grasses are valued for their showy foxtail-like plumes and are effectively planted either singly of in groups.  They vary greatly in hardiness, from very hardy to very tender.  Perhaps the most handsome is Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ – Purple Fountain Grass with striking red foliage.  Large, red plumes accentuate this grass bringing it to 4’ in height.  Unfortunately this is one of the very tender varieties that cannot tolerate frost.  Consequently, this grass needs to be potted and wintered in the house.  The spectacular show that this plant provides during the growing season makes it worth the extra effort!

Another of our favourite fountain grasses is Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’.  Hameln is a charming, hardy grass with arching form and feathery plumes from mid-August to October.  This variety is well suited at the front of the border.

The use of grasses in the garden is endless and limited only by the gardener’s vision or imagination.  Don’t miss the opportunity to bring your garden to life by adding these wonderful plants with their graceful movement of wispy foliage and feathery plumes.

            We could go on describing wonderful plant material that will add longevity to your perennial border; however, it is time for you to start planning your own garden.  Don’t fall into the trap that many gardeners to by abandoning your garden after Labour Day.  Instead, make a visit to your local garden center and load up on some, or all of the plants covered in this article.  By adding just a few late bloomers each year and effectively combining these with early and mid-season bloomers, you too will gradually transform your garden into one that has colours throughout all the seasons of the year.  GOOD LUCK!

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