Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia These are bushy plants that create masses of bold, zingy yellow flowers.

RUDBECKIAS These are bushy plants that create masses of bold, zingy yellow flowers.

At the end of summer and as autumn sets in, waves of rudbeckia and aster eclipse all earlier excitements at Glebe Cottage.

At this time of year I realise just how dependent our garden is on rudbeckia.

Many warm yellow herbaceous perennials look fantastic in mass plantings, such as the long-lasting Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'' and late season heliopsis.

But Rudbeckias and Zinnias have performed exceedingly well at trial gardens throughout Britain.

PHOTO : Rudbeckias reseed themselves and volunteer each summer.

They look best when planted en masse - and are stunning partnered with old-fashioned roses and in a natural-style prairie scheme of ornamental grasses, asters and rudbeckias.

Clouds of small-flowered asters sparkle in the background and hosts of yellow prairie daisies, rudbeckias and helianthemums take up their posts in a relaxed sort of a way.

Dividing Echinacea purpurea is not as easy as splitting rudbeckias. The plants tend to have a woody centre and it is difficult to get purchase, either with fingers or forks, to break up the crowns into viable pieces.

BEST OF THE BUNCH - Rudbeckia Summer may be almost over, but zingy rudbeckias keep flower borders bright, with their daisy-like flowers and chocolate brown centres, blending beautifully as the colours in the garden change.

Not all rudbeckias are short lived, indeed rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm is in my top 10 of the best trouble free border perennials.

Caryopteris flower throughout September and looks sensational partnered with yellow-flowered daisies like rudbeckias, or red and orange dahlias.

WHAT'S NEXT: Rudbeckias are starting their show now and other North American daisies heleniums and helianthus add to the celebrations.

Other great late-summer perennials include rudbeckias, also known as coneflowers because their showy, yellow petals hang down, making the dark central cone prominent.