The days may be getting shorter but there is still plenty of interest in the garden, from late-flowering perennials and autumn foliage to colourful bulbs and striking seedheads. Here are 20 of the best and most reliable, that will continue to work hard from August to October – and sometimes even longer.

Trees				Shrubs
Cercidiphyllum japonicum				Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’
Fagus sylvatica f. purpurea				Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’
Liriodendron tulipifera				Ceratostigma willmottianum
Liquidambar styraciflua				Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Chief’
Malus ‘Evereste’				Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’
Herbaceous perennials				Bulbs
Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’				Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘George Davison’
Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’				Cyclamen hederifolium
Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’				Gladiolus murielae
Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’				Hesperantha coccinea ‘Sunrise’
Salvia ‘Amistad’				Nerine bowdenii