Late summer gems

When I first started gardening the jewel box of early summer plants was so extensive that I loved them all and we filled the borders with them.

By August the limitations of our choices became obvious - the garden looked flat and colourless as the early blooms finished for the season

So in this garden we made a positive attempt to make space for late flowering plants, a particular favourite being the beautifully vibrant Rudbeckia.

We can't remember where we got the gorgeous allium - we don't even know which sort it is but it's fantastic at this time of the year, like hanging pink pearls.

And with a few Dahlias in pots on the patio August isn't a wasteland of scruffy foliage and spent flowers any longer. 

It only took us about ten years to learn the lesson!