Garden lacking colour-what to plant for autumn?

Have a look at helenium and sedums.
Helenium is tall (about 3 feet) and is good for the back of the border. Sedum comes in a few different varieties; we have Autumn Joy. It's quite a vibrant pink. Also good old begonias (the wax begonias) flower right until frost. I'm not especially fond of them, but have had them flowering right to the end of October.

My garden also tends to fizz out in August, so i need to add some colour as well.

Our summer plants are just coming into their own,its been a really bad start to the season here .We lost a lot of things that this time last year filled the garden with colour .Even the phlox hasn't bloomed for as long .I'll be putting winter flowering things in early in the hope they actually flower by spring .

I’ve been working on this problem for several years.

Try Asters, particularly aster dumosus and frikartii and aster angliae (I haven’t checked the spellings, could be suspect)! These asters are resistant to mould unlike the Belgian varieties.

Japanese anemones. Can be too rampant for some people but fine if you keep them in check.

Hardy chrysanthemums - these are not the same as florist chryanths (which I hate) - and you may have to look for them online. I have a few, big clumps of bright red daisies with yellow centres. The colours are like jewels and should be far more popular than they are.

I have a large clump of Rudbeckia (bright yellow sort of daisy like) that are only just starting to flower now and will flower well into the autumn. They have a tendency to spread mind you.

I also have quite a few Heuchera who’s leaves come in the loveliest of colours dark red, orange, yellow and green. They keep their colour all year around.

My hardy fuschias (Mrs Popple) flower later in the garden than they do at the garden centre and keep going until the first frosts.

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Rudbeckia

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Heuchera

Hardy fuchsia, Japanese anemone, sedum and dahlias keep colour for us into autumn. Tiny garden so no room for any others.

Geranium Rozanne (sp?). Blue flowers nonstop from June until cut down by frosts.
Shrubby potentilla, also nonstop flowering once it gets going in early summer.
Nepeta 6 Hills Giant, clip off the first flush of flowers once they look tatty and within a week or two it'll be off again until late autumn. Needs protecting from cats who'll rub out the emerging shoots in the spring because they love it so much.
Salvias, penstomens, japanese anenomes....

Sorry, can't plant most of my list now for late colour. Didn't read your post properly. Do it next spring... ?

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My autumn garden is very colourful but my winter garden a bit bare I have lots and lots of Nerines and a Virginia creeper

Oh yes MazieD my Geranium Rozanne is a mass of flower and buds and will continue flowering for quite a while yet. Another plant that spreads like mad. DH wants to rip some of it out but I love the way it spreads itself around the other plants , he can keep his hands off !

Pelargoniums, they can keep going almost into Winter.
We plant up pots of them and dot around in the borders for late summer/autumn colour, also dahlias.

I like your Nerines BlueBelle a lovely fuschia, ours are a pale pink.

I planted Japanese anenomes, pink, and they are thuggish!. I just wish the white ones would take after them.

A trip to the garden centre should do it. Whatever is looking good now. Aster, sedums, monarda always good bets. Put in some repeat roses in the autumn or next spring too.

Hi.... If you have room in spring plant a hydrangea.
They flower late and the flowers hold into winter.
You can cut them and dry. I have a large old jug full of
dried hydrangea flowers in the bathroom.
They always look good.

I saw an entire bed planted with Heuchara at Hever Castle a few weeks ago & it looked stunning. It occurred to me at the time that it would look wonderful in winter too. So many different colours. I moved all mine to the same bed & intend to get a few more to add to them.

My display of geraniums on the balcony have been battered by wind and rain for couple of days and the red ones especially have lost most of the flowers, I have 3 large oblong tubs and need help for autumn winter colour too . . Anyone have any ideas ?

For the balcony how about evergreens, under planted with bulbs which are probably in the shops now. A mix of ivy, ferns and maybe some heather. I would cut back the geranium and give them a feed, they might perk up.

When I say cut back I mean dead head!

In my garden I have the following which lasts in some cases until November.
Most are in flower now or will be soon.

Asters.
Phlox
Japanese anemone
Wolfbane
Nerines
Autumn crocus
Clematis
Roses
Grasses
Geraniums including Rozanne
Soon second flush of delphiniums
Colour from berries including arums.
Cyclamen
There’s lots of colour still left over from summer flowers
Leaf colour is good too. I have the vine that goes deep red before it drops as well as other shrubs trees etc.

I don’t do bedding but if you look after your pots they will last well into the autumn until you are ready to plant up the winter display.

Anyone cutting back their perennial geraniums, hoping to get new greenery and perhaps a second flowering, yet? I seem to half and half with mine. Indecision.

Go for it?

I’m just sat looking at the garden, and notice how the light is changing. I guess the sun is lower. It feels different today, even though it is the most beautiful summers day, it has a hint if autumn about it.

The bees are incredibly busy. Standing and watching I’ve noticed that different bees go for different plants.
Big bumbles like the anemones, honey bees like the cat mint,
Other types like the lavender - others on the other stuff like buddleia and persicaria it is fascinating.