Providing a garden with on-going colour throughout the growing season is quite a challenge for gardeners, especially as the flowering season starts to wind down. I like to take a stroll viewing the gardens in my neighbourhood at this time of the year to see who has risen to the challenge and see what they selected for late season colour.
One of the most popular late summer/early fall flowering shrubs is Buddleja, and this is hardly surprising. You have to admire its attractive cone-shaped panicles of colour as well as its capability of luring multitudes of butterflies and hummingbirds to feast on energy-giving nectar covetously obtained from each of the tiny floral funnels that make up every cone of colour. Not only are these gorgeous plants ‘butterfly magnets’ but just last week I had a yellow winged hummingbird visit the Butterfly bush in my front yard.
Buddleias in the greater Toronto area are regarded as perennials, dying back almost to the ground each winter, whereas in their natural habitat in Eastern Asia they are regarded as shrubs or trees. There, they often reach a height of several metres where they naturally thrive on river banks as well as in drier rock areas, anywhere there is sun and their roots have the benefit of well drained soil.
There are many varieties of Buddleia, ranging in colour from white, yellow, orange and red to the more usual purples and mauves such as the Buddleia davidiii species, instantly recognizable by their cone-shaped panicles of flowers seen in our Zone 6 (Toronto) gardens. The name Buddleja was given in honour of the amateur botanist and Essex vicar, Reverend Adam Buddle, who died in the early 18th century.
Buddleia ‘Potter’s Purple’ is an excellent specimen for Canadian gardens of Zone 6 and above, displaying dark purple panicles of blossoms from August through to September, and even October. Buddleia likes a full sun location in moist well-drained soil. Treat this plant like any perennial and cut it back in the spring to about 15cm. Gather a few of these wands of flowers to bring inside to create an excellent cut flower arrangement.
Another excellent perennial plant that attracts butterflies in the hoards [well, one at a time] is the bronzed-leaf Cimicifuga (Bugbane) – Cimicifuga ramosa ‘Hillside Black Beauty’. This attractive plant has put on a terrific show throughout the summer and early fall months, displaying its magnificent clumps of dark purple lacy foliage. And now for its pièce de résistance it has finally produced tall spikes of ivory white flowers erupting fountain-like from within the leafy foliage. I’ve had great luck planting Bug Bane in partial shade.
Make a bold statement by planting ‘Hillside Black Beauty’ as a backdrop to gold and lime-green Hostas (Plantain Lilies) such as ‘Gold Standard’ and ‘Golden Delight’.
Late season blooms don’t have to be the only consideration when it comes to colour as you will see with my next choice. As summer turns to fall, the lush leaves of Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’ become almost totally suffused with the colour of blood red. This Japanese Blood Grass is one of the shorter grasses, growing to a mere 45cm. However, once established it certainly creates an impact, and certainly catches the eye when planted en mass. Experiment by planting this in a display bed with Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Blue Leadwort), an unusual low-growing, fall-blooming perennial displaying delicate blue flowers, its green foliage turning to coppery-red in late fall.
Anemone hupensis ‘September Charm’ you must see to believe. True to its name it is a late summer bloomer, displaying large silvery-pink single flowers clustered above 60cm tall stems in the true classic Anemone style. Mulch it during its first winter and then it will be well on its way to establishing an attractive clump of prolifi
