Welcome to the English Garden newsletter from Bellaonline.com

Here is a selection of autumn flowering plants that bloom until the first frosts.

Little roses can do well right up to the frost so if you are short of space try Rosa The Fairy for masses of pink flowers - it will only grow to 2ft or 60cm.

Penstemons look great planted in big drifts or groups of three or five and come in pinks, whites, dark and light purples and red.

Sedum spectabile is a marvellous plant and has lots of flat, pink flower-heads on upright stems which butterflies just love. Sedums like a sunny spot in well-drained soil.

Asters - Frikartii Monch has blue flowers and grows to 29 inches or 72 cm. There are many varieties of asters available at your local garden center - try planting them with pink dahlias.

Cannas come in some vibrant reds and oranges -for the latter try Wyoming which grows to 6ft or 1.5m. Dot them amongst your border.

Salvias flower into late autumn - salvia uliginosa has blue flower spikes grows to 5ft or 1.5m and s. confertiflora has dark orange flowers and scented leaves.

Remember that large groups of plants have a dramatic effect but to get that wilder more cottagey garden effect you need to mix everything up and stand back to admire the effect.

Jobs for early September

To keep your roses blooming remember to deadhead them regularly – the same applies to all your perennials unless of course you want to save the seeds.

Trim lavender bushes if you haven’t already – cut off all the old blooms and shoot tips, but taking care not cut into any old wood.

Plant out any spring-flowering biennials such as Viola, Foxgloves or Wallflowers.

It is a good time to lift and divide perennials that have got too big as they have a chance to settle in before winter gets here.

Any annuals that have finished flowering can be dug up and added to your compost heap.

Plant the seeds of cottage garden annuals, such as cornflowers, marigolds, clarkia, and larkspur where they are to flower. This will give them a good start and they will flower earlier for you than seeds that are sown in spring.

Plant spring flowering bulbs

September is an excellent time for laying new lawns or repairing worn patches
Weed around the bottoms of hedges and fences.

Enjoy your garden!


Here's the latest article from the English Garden site at BellaOnline.com.

Strawberries
Strawberries - their history and how to grow these delicious fruits.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art52815.asp

Please visit englishgarden.bellaonline.com for even more great content about English Garden.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about English Garden located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=283

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Hellie T., English Garden Editor
http://englishgarden.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com