floradania.dk 33/2011 

Late summer in the pot garden 

Is summer over, or is now the time for us to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and subdued colour play of late summer? Or to put it another way – is the glass half empty or half full? 

If you are ready to renew your plants in the pot garden and enjoy late summer to the fullest, you are clearly one of those who can still look forward to many pleasures on the terrace and garden in August and September. 
Let the late summer bloom 
And there is every reason to look forward to a fresh start, with late summer's wide selection of exciting plants. For with beautiful flowers, colourful fruit or fascinating leaves you can really put some colour into late summer. Some of the plants would normally be mainly thought of as houseplants, but in fact Jerusalem cherries, ornamental peppers and a number of carnivorous plants actually thrive in the late summer climate. 

If you feel the need for even more colour, you can enjoy the beautiful shades of late summer flowers, which so perfectly match the season's mood. Asthenia, lavender, sage and the classic cyclamen, with their very different flowers and colours, belong, together with chrysanthemums, to the sure winners of the season’s flowers. 

Exciting leaves 
It is also worthwhile focusing on plants that are distinguished by their leaves or form. Along with flowering plants or other plants, they can give the late summer garden a whole new and unusual expression. Try, for example, planting alumroot, leaf begonias, houseleeks, sedum or cushion bush in pots and crocks on the terrace, and experience nature’s own colour play in mini-format. 

Easy pots 
One of the best things about the beautiful late summer pots is that they are easy to look after. Thanks to the lower temperatures and high humidity of the season, the pot plants are actually easier to look after than summer flowers, because they do not require nearly as much water. 

Late summer plants will spread life and joy in the garden until the frost really sets in, and some of them, such as alumroot and the sedum types, will continue to adorn the autumn garden even when the days begin to be a bit chilly. During the winter they will wither down, but will reappear again when spring announces its arrival. 

So fill your pots to the brim with lovely late summer plants, and you can enjoy the results all the way until the next gardening season. 

Fact box:
Don't forget to clean the pots before re-using them for other plants. Old plants should be disposed of along with the soil in which they have grown. The soil has been drained of nutrients, and may contain infectious plant diseases.