In the garden: Now is time to give consideration to the plants that suit our summers 

Temperatures are falling back, particularly in the early morning and evening time, and there is most definitely a feeling of autumn in the air, as kids go back to school and routines become the order of the day once more this September.

The garden is beginning to slow down now too after a summer of sunshine, showers, and lots of dry weather, the plants are tired, thirsty, and ready for a rest!

The soil moisture is being replenished over the last while with some much-needed rain and overall the summer has been a good one in the garden.

We did experience long periods of dry spells, which is reinforcing the need to help our soil and plants to be more resilient. We can do this by incorporating organic matter like garden compost, farmyard manure or leaf mould, which will create reservoirs within the soil for storing water.

Growing green manures over winter rather than leaving the soil bare will create organic matter that can be incorporated into the soil in springtime, increasing fertility and water retention within the soil.

Choosing plants that cope well with periods of drought will also be a sensible approach, it all gets back to that phrase, ‘right plant, right place’, and with our changing weather patterns, we need to adapt and grow what will thrive in the conditions being given.

It is interesting to make note of where a particular plant is native to, as this gives some clue about the growing conditions best suited to particular plants. Some of the best herbaceous perennials for drought include:

Yarrow,a native wildflower in Ireland, and Achillea millefolium ‘Pastels Mix’ provides a range of pastel colours from white, pink, yellow and purple.

Growing native flowers is great to support our native insects and these tough perennial plants will continue flowering in drought conditions and survive without watering.

Sedums, or Hylotelephium as they are now known, are a great addition to the garden, particularly in autumn when some of the later flowering varieties like ‘Herbtsfreude’ or ‘Karfunkelstein’ start to colour up and make their presence felt.

Their thick fleshy leaves give a good indication of their ability to store water and survive well in drought conditions. Their compact growth habit makes them an ideal choice for closer to the front of the border, where insects will extract nourishment from their flowers later in the year.

There is a smaller leafed Hylotelephium anglicum which is native to Ireland and its roots will survive with a minimum of soil and the tough fleshy leaves can store water also.

Oenothera lindheimeri, bee blossom or Gaura, was recently renamed after some taxanomic reclassification. Native to southern central America, specifically Texas and Louisiana, which both have hot and humid summers. This plant is a magnet for pollinators in the garden and produces light and airy flowers from May into September. It brings movement and pollinators into the garden as it dances in the wind.

Agapanthus are native to south Africa and are very tolerant of warm and dry weather with their thick and fleshy roots. Full sun and a free draining soil will suit them well and result in plenty of flowering umbels in blue and white during the summer months.

Echinacea, or coneflower, is native to eastern North America where it grows in wet and dry prairie settings. Considered hardy perennials, they will grow well in full sun given a free draining soil and can cope well with drought situations.

They help to keep the colour going in the garden later in the summer with shades of white, pink, purple and red to be chosen from.

Choosing plants wisely is just one of the measures that we can take to ensure successful, colourful and encouraging gardening results as we move forward.

We can take actions now that will make our gardening experience a more enjoyable and productive one as we adapt to changing gardening conditions.

Our gardens are constantly evolving as we grow and adapt to all that is happening around us. It can be climate-related, plant influenced, or design needs changing as we get older, or kids and grandkids arrive, and having different needs that present challenges for the use of the garden.

There are always solutions for difficulties encountered and sometimes it takes some time and research to reach the best fit for our situation.

Garden designers, landscape architects, and horticulturalists are all there to help us find the best solutions. It might be time to start planning new projects for next year in the garden!

Happy autumn planning this September!

Plant of the Week

One of the best and most impactful grasses, particularly in a dry summer, is Stipa ‘Ichu’, or Peruvian Feather grass, with its arching plumes of white flowers emerging from clumps of silvery foliage in late summer - and they will remain on the plant over winter.

It can get to almost a metre in height and has a more upright growth habit. It will do best in full sun on a free draining soil and these grasses really come into their own during periods of drought when the flowers become bleached white and stand out among herbaceous planting.

Best planted in drifts to make an impact, they are a perennial grass but they will not do well with aggressive competition from plants around them, so choose less invasive perennials as their neighbours for best results.

This grass is native to high altitude regions of the Andes.