As the high summer flush begins to fade, there is no need for the garden to wind down. In fact, late summer is one of the most rewarding windows in the gardening calendar. As borders transition, a well-chosen selection of resilient, hard-working plants can inject a final, intense wave of colour and structural depth just as other plants start to tire.  The team at British Garden Centres has put together the list of late summer plants that will step forward, providing a vital autumn lifeline for pollinators while keeping your outdoor space vibrant right through to the first frosts.

To bridge the gap between summer and autumn, here are our recommended plants that hold their form and keep producing colour when garden energy levels usually dip.

- Rudbeckias. Delivers colour in brilliant golden yellows and bronzes. Their dark, prominent seed heads offer a strong architectural focal point while providing a reliable feast for visiting pollinators as summer starts to dwindle.

- Echinacea (also known as coneflowers). Thriving in the warmth, their striking pink, purple, and orange petals add fantastic height and upright movement, eventually fading into architectural seed heads that look exceptional in the autumn light.  Bees love them too, so plant now to keep the pollinators flocking to your garden in late summer.

- Dahlia. Ranging from neat pom-poms to flamboyant cactus types, they provide an uninterrupted riot of colour right up until the weather turns, bringing a vibrant and beautiful display until the first frosts roll in.

- Sedum. Drought tolerant and indispensable for dry or exposed spots. Shifting from fleshy green foliage into massive, flat-topped clusters of deep pink and dark red, they are magnets for bees and butterflies seeking a final nectar stop.

- Asters. Dense cloud of daisy-like blooms in shades of violet, blue, pink, and white. They introduce a soft, textural movement that complements the heavier flower heads in the late summer border.

- Chrysanthemums. Long celebrated for their resilience, they bridge the gap into the cooler months seamlessly, providing a robust splash of colour when other annuals have faded, whether that be in beds or window boxes.

- Heathers. Perfect for textural contrast. They work wonderfully to anchor containers, bring colour to rockeries or edge pathways alongside golden foliage, and their evergreen leaves provide lasting interest, while their flowers attract bees and other pollinators.

- Verbena. Creates a transparent, floating effect. It weaves effortlessly through existing planting schemes without blocking light or view lines, and its tiny clusters of flowers on wiry stems are loved by beneficial insects.

- Cyclamen. Thrive in cooler air beneath shrubs or in sheltered pots. Cyclamen coum features neat clumps of patterned, ivy-green leaves and is remarkably tough, easily withstanding heavy frosts.

- Pansies and Violas. The ultimate cool-weather reliable bedding plants, offering unmatched longevity through the shoulder seasons.  By deadheading regularly, this encourages even more flowers, which keep your displays fresh and bright whilst other plants go dormant.

- Heucheras. Loved for foliage rather than flowers, heucheras transform through the seasons. Their rich plum, amber, and caramel leaves add continuous depth and ground-level warmth to winter borders and containers.

- Heucheras. Loved for foliage rather than flowers, heucheras transform through the seasons. Their rich plum, amber, and caramel leaves add continuous depth and ground-level warmth to winter borders and containers.

- Kniphofia. Commonly known as the red hot poker plant, it lives up to its name in fiery orange and yellow flowering spikes that can reach up to 1.3 metres in height.