Enjoy Japanese anemones

For beautiful late-flowering perennials that light up shadier areas of your borders, choose Japanese anemones to take your garden into autumn, says Camilla Phelps

- Camilla Phelps

AS the light slips at the end of summer, you can go bold, brassy and hot in your colour schemes to catch the final flourish of the season - or you can savour those dipping rays with the cool, pale blooms of Japanese anemones. If you can accommodate a swathe of them, the clouds of delicate flowers bring a luminosity to the fading light of late summer and early autumn days.

Also known as windflowers for their airy habit, Japanese anemones are guaranteed to light up shadier areas of your borders. They are supremely elegant in shades of pure white through the palest pink and deeper rose tints.

Making a real impact

Japanese anemones generally peak during August and September. Of the 120 or so varieties to choose from, many grow to heights of around 5ft (1.5m), with some of the newer hybrids coming in a more compact form. Foliage is attractive and the emerging buds are a beautiful prelude to the flowers. Once open, they catch the light beautifully and pollinators will be drawn to the ring of golden anthers at their centre.

Best planted where they have room to spread, they ideally need to be en masse to make a real impact. They add height and a sense of space to borders; or plant them either side of a path so you can immerse yourself in them.

Yet while they appear quite ethereal, Japanese anemones have a tough, hardy nature and can be more or less left to themselves. They don't need pruning or staking, and in very dry periods they might be affected by powdery mildew, but otherwise are pest and disease free.