AS the summer bedding fades, the autumn border can begin to look lacklustre if you don't keep the colour going well into the colder months.

It's a time of russets and reds, when the leaves change colour with the season, but you can still get some flowering beauties if you plant the border carefully.

At the moment, I still have a flush of light purple asters brightening up the border, along with some ice plants (Sedum spectabile Brilliant'), whose pretty pink flowers contrast well with the succulent grey-green foliage.

And there are others that will help retain the colour in your border.

Dahlias, for instance, are still in bloom and should remain so until October, provided there are no early frosts.

A brilliant red tall variety, Bishop of Llandaff', will reach 6ft and has contrasting purple foliage. It makes a good bedfellow to the deep mauve Verbena bonariensis, a perennial which flowers until late October.

Another tall winner at this time of year is the Japanese anemone, A. hybrida Max Vogel', a vigorous herbaceous perennial which grows up to 5ft and bears single light pink flowers from late summer to autumn.

Chrysanthemums will also be coming up, as will nerines, which provide a healthy splash of colour in troughs and containers where others are fading.

Another colourful specimen for the patio is Schizostylis coccinea Sunrise', the kaffir lily. This vigorous evergreen perennial flowers from late summer to early winter, bearing spikes of salmon pink flowers which are good for cutting.

It grows to around 24in and is also suitable for brightening up the mixed border.

Even smaller but no less relevant is the autumn crocus, Colchicum cilicicum, which grows to just 4in produces funnel-shaped purple-pink flowers, which appear before the leaves.

It's ideal growing underneath deciduous shrubs or naturalised in grass, and thrives in fertile, well-drained soil.

Other bulbs also prove useful at this time of year, such as Amaryllis belladonna.

Many ornamental grasses also stay looking good at this time of year, as their seedheads continue to look attractive into the winter months.

And if you have a Japanese maple in your border or in a pot, that should provide you with some warm orange and deep red foliage.

You will be more limited if you live in a frost pocket but there is some stunning foliage about which can turn heads.

If you have a big garden, the vine Vitis coignetiae produces vivid red leaves throughout autumn. But it needs to be kept damp, with plenty of moisture at the roots.

Give a smokebush some room to display its rich burgundy foliage against autumn oranges and you won't go far wrong.