How To Fill Your Garden with Autumn Colour

Autumn bedding plants and shrubs are a fantastic way to bring colour into your garden after summer. The weather may be getting milder, but an array of different coloured plants can help to bring warmth and brightness to your garden throughout the end of the year.

Popular flowering autumn plants

By October, most summer plants will have died back or lost their flowers, leaving gardeners looking for a way to inject some extra colour into their garden borders, hanging baskets or plant pots.

There are many varieties of plants available through autumn, with most being picked for their hardiness during harsher weather. You can find a great range of flowering plants in shades of red, brown, purple, pink, yellow and orange; to name just a few!

We recommend these varieties of plants for your garden through autumn if you are looking for something with beautiful flowers:

Chrysanthemum, Aster, Pansy, Viola, Cyclamen, Heather, Colchicum (Autumn Crocus), Japanese Anemone.

Shop autumn plants at Longacres, here.

Autumnal shrubs

As well as fantastic flowering plants, you can also find a wide range of shrubs in great autumnal colours to plant alongside flowering varieties. Adding tall shrubs or trees to your garden helps to add height to an area, or can be great when you want to add more plants but have limited space in your borders! Did you know, autumn is the best time to plant trees? This is due to the lower temperatures resulting is less water loss from foliage and damper soil conditions, forming stronger root systems (why not also consider adding bone meal too?)

Some of our favourite autumn shrubs include;

Heuchera, Candy Floss Tree, Burning Bush, European Spindle and Himalayan Honeysuckle. 

Planting during autumn

Planting your autumn bedding and shrubs may seem the same as how you would throughout the rest of the year, though there are some extra factors you will need to consider. As the weather changes through the seasons, this can impact the condition and quality of soil, resulting in hard ground or waterlogged plant pots.

Here are our top five tips for successful planting during autumn.

1. Ensure the soil is warm and moist.

If there has been a spell of particularly dry weather, you will want to water the ground thoroughly before adding any plants. Also, save your planting for warmer days, as this will keep the roots of your new plants strong when they enter the soil.

2. Picking well established plants.

Plants with well established root systems will take to the ground quicker, and have a better chance at stabilising in the soil.

3. Well-prepared soil.

Make sure your ground is aerated well, with no large or hard clumps of soil. You can do this by using a dutch hoe to break up any stubborn pieces.

4. Supporting larger plants.

Larger shrubs, such as trees, may need some extra support during strong winds and rain. Use a large cane or wooden tree support and a tree tie to hold your plant sturdy.

5. Using mulch to increase warmth and moisture.

As the temperature in the atmosphere drops, so does the temperature in the soil, and roots can die when exposed to low temperatures. Ensure you keep your plants warm by topping the soil around the base with a layer of mulch. Not only does this keep them warm, but also holds in the moisture!