The city gardener: The darling buds of … September?

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLifeHomes The city gardener: The darling buds of … September?  Spring may be flashier, but the September garden has more soul Author of the article: By Martha Uniacke Breen, Special to the Citizen Published Sep 14, 2026 Last updated 58 minutes ago 3 minute read Join the conversation September is the perfect time to give your garden a nice sprucing-up.  PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK Article content September is my favourite time in the garden. It’s not quite so hot, the garden is usually gratifyingly lush and full, and it’s a great place to just stretch out with a book (or, it being 2026, my phone), and just chill.  Article content September marks another milestone as well, since it’s the perfect time to walk through your garden and take a close inventory of what needs doing. If the spring is for building up the garden, you might think of September as akin to renovating.  Article content Article content Article content Cooler temperatures are great for planting and moving things; when it’s really hot, everything tends to go to sleep, which can retard the recovery and growth process.  Plants that may have enjoyed full sun in the spring but ended up sun-starved when the trees filled in, or are just in the wrong spot, can safely be moved now.   Article content Refresh compost or mulch that’s been displaced by rain or critters. Remove dead plants (or parts of plants), spent annuals and other debris, along with deadheading any flowers you missed before. I use broken pieces of old flagstone to line my beds; by now they tend to have shifted around a bit, so I’ll take an afternoon and neaten them up.  Article content Look for bare spots between plants that are perfect for either planting something newly purchased, something you’re transplanting from elsewhere in the garden, or pieces of plants that you’ve divided.   Article content Overgrown or unshapely plants can be cut back. I tend to cut back my ditch lilies (that is, species daylilies) to about twelve inches or so; by September they tend to look pretty ratty, and they don’t seem to mind being trimmed.   Article content Article content Now for the fun part. There are lots of easy-to-grow, reliable performers that come into their own now for adding fresh colour to your late summer and fall garden. A trip to the local garden centre will give you lots of ideas, but here are a few of…