Perennials for Autumn Colour

People are always asking me for planting that provides year-round colour and clients always want something interesting to look at in there garden for as much of the year as possible.  Here are some of my favourite perennials for keeping colour in the garden well into the autumn months.

Aster frikartii ‘Monch’

All Asters provide great autumn colour, but I love this one because it blooms from late summer through to November.  It’s a lovely tall, open form and the bees love it.

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’

Sedums are wonderful for wildlife and give great structure to a border, making particularly good edging plants.  This one has dark pink flowers and I really like the dark purple foliage.  Give it the ‘Chelsea Chop’ in late May to keep it from flopping open.

 Helenium ‘Wyndley’

Another of my favourite perennials, it's flowers have dark centres and burnt gold petals.  It will flower from early summer all the way into October. 

Echinacea purpurea

Wonderful for bees and other insects, and great for structure standing upright on robust stems. Gorgeous dark pink with cone shaped centres.  Will flower from mid-summer well into the autumn.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Deservedly the nation’s favourite geranium. This fabulous plant will produce masses of bright blue flowers all summer and keep going all the way into October.  Great for the front of the border and cascading down walls.

 

Cimcifuga atropurpurea

A wonderful architectural plant with dark purple foliage and tall stems with white bottlebrush flowers that smell heavenly.  It is a very late flowering plant and really prefers a bit of shade, but I've got it in a sunny herbaceous border and it's doing very well. 

 

Verbena bonariensis

Beautiful purple flower heads stand above the rest of the border on stiff stems. Again, fabulous for attracting bees and other pollinating insects to the garden.  

Include some grasses with these perennials for a colourful, easy to maintain, naturalistic autumn border.

Visit my Web site and Facebook page for garden design inspiration.

Japanese Garden Design in Reading

This garden in Reading, Berkshire is desperately in need of a makeover.  The client loves Japanese style gardens, so I created a garden design scheme that makes good use of the space in a simple, elegant way with a Japanese flavour.

 

  Reading Garden - Before

 

Reading Garden - Before

Reading Garden - Before

The requirements were a large dining area in the sunniest spot in the garden, a Japanese courtyard, spaces for the client to display his Bonsai collection, and an area with a pathway through trees. 

Garden Design Reading - Master Plan

The scheme uses simple geometric shapes to give the garden symmetry.  The garden design makes use of the whole garden, enclosing the house and making the garden feel more private.  

Garden Design Reading - Aerial View 1

A large terrace with a pergola provides height, interest, a sense of enclosure and privacy.  A paved walkway with arches leads from the dining area creating interest, encouraging exploration and providing a natural journey around the garden. On one side of the pathway is a raised area for displaying the client’s Bonsai collection. The pathway leads into a part covered Japanese style courtyard with a tiled roof, seat, and a planting area with a water basin.  This area is perfect for quiet contemplation and also gives the garden a sense of cohesion, greater space and privacy from the outside world.

Garden Design Reading - view of woodland walkway

Japanese elements such as lanterns and water rocks are used as focal points throughout the garden.  A stepping stone path curves through the trees to one side of the front garden and around the side of the house.  The path is broken by a dry, rock stream bed traversed by a wooden bridge, it then continues along the side of the house to give purpose and interest to an otherwise dead area of the garden.

Garden Design Reading - Aerial View 2

Slatted screens are used around the garden to disguise sheds and cover up any old fencing that is not being replaced.  These baton screens serve as backdrops, but also help update the garden and give it a Japanese flavour.

 Garden Design Reading - view of Japanese courtyard and woodland walkway

All the practical requirements have been addressed, but within a Japanese aesthetic.  The garden has a taste of Japan without resorting to pastiche. The client is delighted and can’t wait to get the garden built.

 

If you would like help designing your perfect garden, please contact me by visiting my Web site for contact details, or email me.

How much does garden design cost?

How much does it cost to have a garden professionally designed?  This is a hard question to answer without taking into account the many factors involved in designing a garden.  Each garden is different - large, small, flat, sloping, narrow.  Ground conditions vary - boggy, dry, sandy, clay soil.  Requirements vary - a complex garden with retaining walls will take longer to design (and therefore cost more) than a simple, flat garden.

 Garden Design Master Plan for Medium-Sized Garden in Marlow, Buckinghamshire

When people phone me and ask me how much my services will cost, my reply is usually unsatisfactorily vague.  This is because I don't really know until I see the garden and talk to the client how much I will need to charge for designing their garden. The cost of a garden designer's services are based on how long it will take them to complete the garden design.

 Garden Design 3-D visual for small/medium- sized garden in Camberley, Surrey

However, deciding to employ a garden designer should involve considerations other than cost.   Having a professionally designed garden is an investment in your property.   Employing an experienced garden designer ensures you will get the garden you want and need.  Garden design plans help you to visualise your new garden.  Garden design plans are given to landscape contractors so they know what they are being asked to build and therefore how much to quote for carrying out the work.  Having garden design plans prepared is the only way to ensure that you get exactly what you are paying for when employing landscape contractors. 

Garden Design 3-D visual for large garden in Ascot, Berkshire

A great deal of time, thought and creativity is involved in arriving at the final garden design and then translating this into plans that can be used by landscape contractors to construct the garden.  The garden design process is set out in detail on my Web site.  

Garden Design Master Plan for Large Garden in Ascot, Berkshire

It is extremely hard to provide fixed costs for designing a garden as fees are based on how long the practical and creative elements of the design process take.  The garden design process is not simply about preparing plans it also involves thinking about how to solve specific issues relating to each site such as level changes (slopes), and awkward-shaped sites.  The garden design process also involves coming up with an aesthetically pleasing and unique solution to each client’s brief.  The value added by a designer is more than simply practical advice, it is about giving the garden balance, symmetry and making it a wonderful place to relax and spend time with friends and family.  

 Garden Design 3-D visual for a small front garden in Woking, Surrey

However, having said all this here are some rough costs that you should allow if you are employing a competent, qualified, experienced garden designer:-

A small, flat garden 10m x 5m, allow £700 - £1000 in fees for the first phase plans, then another £700 - £1200 if you want construction drawings and some project monitoring services.  A medium, flat, simple garden 10m x 15m allow £1200 - £1500 for phase one, then another £1200 - £1500 for phase two.  A large, flat garden 20m x 50m allow £2000-£2500 for phase one then a further £2000 - £3000 for phase two.  

The above figuresare for guidance only - fees will be quoted individually for each project.

If you need help designing your garden please visit my Web site for all contact details, you can also look on my Facebook Page and Pinterest boards for more garden design inspiration.