An Exceptional September in your Garden

While many gardeners regard September as the end of the growing season, in truth this time of the year still provides plenty of scope for planting and sowing.

It may go against some seasonal logic, but planting in September offers a variety of options for late-year flourishing of flowers and vegetables.

Flowers

Starting with this dramatic plant, Eryngium pandanifolium, which is a large relative of the native sea holly. It prefers good drainage and forms a bold clump of bluish leaves with tall stems and small reddish-purple flower heads.

Compact and bright, polyanthus resembles primroses but blooms in clusters atop short stems. With long-lasting, colourful flowers, they are ideal for winter beds, borders, window boxes and containers. Try fragrant Polyanthus ‘Firecracker’ for a stunning display.

Pansies, a winter display staple, outshine other winter bedding plants. Thriving in both full sun and semi-shade, they are perfect for hanging baskets, containers, and filling gaps in borders during the cold months.

Aster × frikartii ‘Mönch’, meanwhile, is a top sun-loving perennial with neat, wellbranched, elegant growth. It has lavenderblue petals and yellow centres, it blooms long, resists mildew, and pairs well with grasses, sedums, and schizostylis.

Hylotelephium is the new name for hardy sedums, with Red Cauli offering rich red flower heads resembling red broccoli. succulent foliage, it complements Aster × frikartii ‘Monch’ beautifully for weeks.

Finally, they are neat and compact, and hardy perennial daisies produce quilled blooms in pink, red, or white, brightening late winter gardens.

Vegetables

If you’re keen to make your garden a space for food rather than flowers, why not take the opportunity to sow kale, land cress, and radish in September for winter harvest? Kale provides nutrient-rich greens, land cress offers a peppery flavour, and radish adds a crisp, spicy bite to winter dishes. All thrive in cooler weather.

Salad crops such as mustard leaf, winter salad mixes and mizuna can go in sheltered spots or pots, while winter lettuces like Winter Density always prosper under glass. Sowing broad beans in autumn, particularly the Aquadulce Claudia variety, helps them establish over winter for an early spring crop. Remember to cover with fleece during severe frosts or snow.

Spinach can be laid now in well-prepared soil or pots, then covered with fleece or a low cloche from October, while hardy peas like Meteor or Douce Provence also benefit this time of the year, overwintering to yield an early crop.

Finally, the faithful turnip won’t let you down, even in cool, moist conditions and can be harvested at golf-ball size in six weeks, perfect for Christmas.