Garden for September wedding

[JeNeSuisPasVotreMiel]

(Not my garden or my wedding)

Your loveliest recommendations please.
What is really outstanding in your garden now?
I'm working with a clay soil in places, some sheltered sunny places but also a large East facing border in a walled garden.

September 2017 btw

Schizostylis is my top recommendation. There is a lovely, lovely white one that is very slightly tinged with pale pink. It is the definition of floral elegance. 'Mrs Hegarty' is a pinker version of the plant.

Sedums are out now in shades from white through pinks to oranges and reds.

Grasses that stand for winter colour are coming into their own - Calamagrostis Karl Foerster is dramatically straight and golden.

Japanese anemones - Honorine Joubert is a lovely white one that really glows out in shade.

Cyclamen bought from a garden centre can be used as bedding - the white ones with silver leaves are especially beguiling.

Rudbeckia 'goldsturm' is very bright yellow. However, some of the other varieties like 'green wizard' are a bit more subtle and have a lovely black form.

Verbena bonariensis for a shot of very bright purple.

Late flowering clematis - rehderiana, jackmanii, arabella - up a wigwam of some sort.

Evergreens for a backdrop to all of this.

Oh, and if you have sun, white echinacea may still be flowering now. They are lovely too!

It depends if you want to be subtle! If not then the dahlias are putting on a brilliant show in my garden right now. They have the advantage of being very reliable if planted in the spring and large!

I think shove may have covered most things, but my asters are just coming out now, which I love - my favourite is aster laevis 'Calliope'
My fuchsia 'Mrs Popple" is absolutely gorgeous at the moment

My cosmos were looking fabulous in early Sept - you could sow early spring directly or in pots - going over now.

How about cerinthe - it does really well in my clay soil and can still be going now. Dahlias as well - possibly in big pots so you could move them to fill any gaps. And fuschias in pots to hide gaps too.

Thanks so much for starting me off, I tried to post twice here yesterday but technology was against me.

Schizostylis is a great idea. Do you think we'll get them up to sizeable clumps if planted this season?
I have lots of Verbena bonariensis already and they are looking good.

The bride wants two rows of big pots full of flowering things in red and white (around 20 in total, possibly more) so I can see myself carting them around the place to the best growing locations by the middle of the summer.

No need for subltety at all - the bride loves showy things. So I'm thinking of lots of dahlias, as over the top but still weatherproof as possible - in pots with loads of slug protection as everything gets munched here. She wanted roses but I don't think it's possible in late September to get a reliable show - unless anyone knows better?

My neighbour has a fantastic white jasmine in full flower on a north east facing wall right now - does anyone know what variety it might be or is it bog standard? Surprised to see it going full power at this time of the year. Neighbour won't have a clue what it is.

Loving the clematis recommendations, thanks. And cyclamen do fine there so I'll order a load of white ones.
They already have 2 big red shrub fuchsias with narrow flowers, I might be able to sneak in a more showy variety as well.

If schizostylis likes it in a location, it does bulk up pretty quickly. However, I think if you want to be on the safe side, given that you only have a year and only one shot at this, it's probably better to order many clumps. If you look on places like ebay or the smaller nurseries that do a bulk discount, you may find you can get them cheaper. There is a lovely, very red one called 'crimson flag'.

Crocosmia 'Lucifer' is another very vividly, splashy red plant that will flower in August/September. It's a good doer.

There's a red rudbeckia 'cherry brandy' if your soil is heavier, and several lovely red echinaceas instead if your soil is well-drained.

Abutilon have red flowers, but they might be rather too large for a pot? Check out megapotamicum.

Don't forget leaf colour too - there are some reddish heucheras (cherry cola?).

It might be worth buying dahlias in pots nearer the time - that way, you're not risking the winter/sluggage early next year.

Great suggestions.
As the main theme, we've decided to go with lots and lots of dahlias in pots, to be moved into position on the day (which for me will probably start around 5am!).
There is a south facing paved area against the house where I can keep them and set up an irrigation system.

I was going to buy the tubers soon and overwinter them in compost in the shed (which is huge).
Is this the best way of going about it?
I haven't decided on the best method of slug control yet.

I am sure that will look lovely! Check out the Bishop of Llandaff - it's one of my favourites because it has this gorgeous dark foliage that makes the red flowers seem very dramatic.

I am not a great dahlia grower - I literally have 2 - so someone may correct me on this. But I wouldn't buy them this time of year. They sit dry all winter, you see, so you are basically taking a risk that something will happen to them (generally some critter eating them, because they taste good) before spring. You could just buy the tubers early next year instead and be without the hassle.

Parkers wholesale have a lot of bulbs - www.dutchbulbs.co.uk/c-bc/dark-leaf-dahlias.htm. However, you can also find them in the discounters in the spring.

Crikey, Shove, that website has amazing prices. Far too tempting!

Yep, it's such a cheap way to fill your spring garden with colour. Be aware, though, that they add VAT at the end and that there is a surcharge for small orders. However, if you need things in proper bulk so you don't get hit with the latter, it's the cheapest I've found!

I've overwintered dahlias regularly for a client and they have always turned out well - we do around 50 in different colours.
As long as you have a protected space it's ok.
I use Parkers and will be going to make a big order from them soon.

Your garden sounds gorgeous gardengeek