Gardeners may despair as September approaches, as it can often mean the decline of their borders as autumn approaches. But it doesn’t have to be like that, September can be the culmination of the summer season with our gardens bulging with colour and texture. Including some late flowering herbaceous perennials, mixed with a few ornamental grasses enables you to create that crescendo to summer that everyone will be envious of. September is not a bad time to tweak your planting schemes either so it can be easy to add that splash of late season colour too.

Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' is one of the most famous Anemone cultivars that was discovered in Verdun, France in 1858. It has large white flowers with a green centre and yellow stamens to top it off. It’s quite a large plant that sometimes grows up to 4 ft tall and has a habit of creeping through your borders but don’t let this put you off as this Anemone can provide you with a bright splash of white to brighten up those duller Autumn days.

Anemone is a herbaceous perennial genus that contains over 100 species that are native to temperate habitats all over the world. Anemone means "daughter of the wind" in ancient Greek– hence its sometimes called 'Windflower'. The Metamorphoses of Ovid tells us that the plant was created by the goddess Venus when she sprinkled nectar on the blood of her dead lover Adonis.

Anemone Honorine Jobert thrives in almost any soil and flowers throughout August, September & October. Its fully hardy with a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit, clump forming and deciduous, it will grow to a height of around: 90 - 1.20 cm (3 - 4 ft) and a spread of: 45 - 75 cm (1.5 - 2.5 ft) within 2 to 5 years.

Planting Anemone on their own in larger-than-average clumps, yields a dramatic effect at this time of year when so many other perennials have gone over. It’s a fabulous plant for brightening up those darker spots in the garden as it can be quite happy in some shade, however it will also grow happily in full sun too. These single flowered Japanese anemones are one of the plants traditionally associated with Japanese gardens, where they're grown against dark rocks or in the shade of trees.

While Anemone can be a bit of a spreader it can be easily be kept in check if you dig out anything that comes out of the area you want it to grow. It looks great in association with ornamental grasses like Calamagrostis, Miscanthus and Panicum and can also work well with other late flowering herbaceous plants like Sedum, Dahlia & Aster. Its best to plant it with other plants that are vigorous otherwise you may find the Anemone will invade its neighbours and eventually evict them too.

I prefer to use it for those shady spots as the bright white flowers really show up well against a darker background, I find that its spreading nature is also not quite so prolific in the shade either. It’s a versatile and elegant plant that is worth considering of you want to add a splash of colour into your garden in the autumn.
 
Jobs to do this month include:
Ornamental Garden:
• Continue to deadhead.
• Trim Lavenders to woody growth to keep them compact.
• Begin to clear leaves as necessary.
• Keep borders clear of weeds.
• Take cuttings of tender perennials.
• Continue to deadhead bedding plants.
• Plan for next year's garden displays.
• Collect seed from perennials / hardy annuals.
• Start planting spring bulbs.
• Lift and divide herbaceous perennials.
• Start planting trees and shrubs towards the end of the month and move evergreen shrubs etc while the soil is still warm.
• Collect and get rid of any infected roses leaves.

Vegetable Garden:
• Once the tassels on sweet corn have turned brown check whether the cobs are ready to harvest. When ripe the kernels contain a milky liquid.
• Leave marrows, squashes, pumpkins etc., to ripen on the plant. Place fruit on a wooden board to prevent soiling.
• Plant onions/shallots suitable for over wintering (on heavy wet soils spring planting may be preferable).
• Continue harvesting fruit.
• Harvest main crop potatoes.
• Sow winter greens such as land cress, mustard spinach, corn salad and hardy lettuce cultivars.