Floriferous Autumn

April in Africa means warm and mild weather that many late summer-flowering perennials love. Take advantage of this by adding their flower power to your autumn garden to keep the summer look for longer.

- Anna Celliers

They have herbaceous stems and will live longer than three years due to strong root systems, enabling the plants to overwinter even though the top growth has died down. These powerful root systems will penetrate deeply in search of nutrients and water and will keep on ticking over with fresh sprouts as soon as the season has changed and conditions are favourable once again.

We love these herbaceous perennials because...

• They are easy to grow and will soon form dense clumps which can be divided in spring to get more plants.
• If you plant many of them, you do not have to plant such a lot of seasonal annuals to keep your colour run going.
• Most will give you a harvest of good cut flowers.

Note: One can however, not expect them to last forever. Regularly replace your collection with fresh stock and new hybrids which are constantly released. Also note that some discussed here might fare better if treated like long-flowering annuals needing to be replaced every summer.

General growth tips

• Plant all in compost-enriched, welldraining soil with bonemeal added.
• Water them regularly.
• Fertilise during summer and early autumn with a slow-releasing allpurpose granular fertiliser.
• Deadhead them frequently and then cut them back in early winter, supplying an organic mulch around the root system afterwards.

Angel wings