Late summer is when the garden can feel at its most abundant, with borders still bursting with color and plenty of flowers ready to fill a vase. But as the days begin to shorten and the first signs of fall creep in, it is worth looking ahead, too. With the right plants, that display doesn't have to end when summer does.

Amongst the best winter flowers, there are, believe it or not, several that can keep flowering right through to December and, in some cases, beyond. I have found there are often enough blooms in the garden to fill at least a jam jar and bring indoors, even in the darkest months. The holidays are not reserved for holly, ivy, and mistletoe – I've brought in large pewter jugs filled with colorful flowers, with handfuls of rosemary and ivy adding fragrance and greenery. My floral snips, which you can find at Target, are never out of my pocket.

It simply takes knowing which plants will keep chugging on as temperatures drop. Here are seven flowers to grow now for blooms that can carry you right through to Thanksgiving and Christmas, helping to keep the garden – and your vases – full of color for longer.

1. Rosa 'Hot Chocolate'

3.5 ft

In mixed borders or in containers.

Rosa 'Hot Chocolate' is a force to be reckoned with. One of the longest-flowering rose varieties, it can keep producing blooms long after many other roses have packed up for the season.

The orange-flame buds open into warm, velvety, chocolate-brown flowers, set against wonderfully dark, glossy foliage. Highly floriferous and scented, these unusual blooms make a beautiful addition to a festive vase, particularly mixed with evergreen foliage, rosemary or berries. If your garden is still producing roses in December, 'Hot Chocolate' is one variety worth bringing indoors.

A similar rose is the 'Red Double' Knock Out rose from Plant Addicts, which is hardy in zones 5-11.

2. Daphne bholua 'Darjeeling'

Planting location: Plant 'Darjeeling' where you can brush past it regularly to experience its intoxicating fragrance. By front doors, back doors, gates, or near patios. Due to their considerable root system, they prefer to be planted in the ground and are not very container-tolerant. Daphnes do not like to be moved, so pick their forever location from the outset.

This evergreen daphne is intensely fragrant and provides year-round green structure in the garden.

Whilst it looks fantastic all year round, come November, it bears masses of white flowers, and by Christmas, they are in full swing.

They're a doddle to grow, so long as they are fed in February or March with a little bit of organic fertilizer, like this organic sea kelp fertilizer available at Amazon, they will keep flourishing for decades.

3. Rudbeckia hirta 'cherry brandy'

Planting location: Extremely pot-compatible, so one of the best plants for container gardening. Works well in mixed borders as long as the soil is fertile, so keep it well fed. If you have a cutting garden, this is a must-grow flower.

The slightest mention of rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susan, and many of us instantly think of the canary yellow plants that are resilient, but don't always fit into our color schemes. But not 'Cherry Brandy'.

'Cherry Brandy' is one of the very best Rudbeckias on many counts, not least for its rich and highly unusual crimson blooms that appear in July, and so long as you pick them regularly, they will continue to appear without hesitation right through December.

Rather astonishingly, it has a vase life of ten days to two weeks, and I have been known to pick this on Christmas Eve and have it still perky in the vase by New Year's Day.

You can find Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’ starter plants at Amazon.

4. Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel)

Planting location: Pick a location in partial shade. Growing witch hazel in pots is just as easy as planting it in the ground. They are incredibly easy-going plants. Just be sure there is good drainage, as they loathe waterlogged soil.

The joys of growing a witch hazel are relatively new to me, and I only wish I'd discovered this enchanting plant sooner. As the garden loses much of its summer colour, its bare branches become covered in ribbons of flame-colored flowers, creating one of the most magical displays of the colder months.

Better still, the flowers can continue through December, making witch hazel a wonderful plant to grow if you want winter color both outside and in. Cut a few branches for a vase and the fragrance is extraordinary – rich and sweet enough to make scented candles and room sprays feel entirely unnecessary.

The delicate flowers are also beautiful in festive arrangements. I love gathering a few stems with ivy and hellebores in a large pewter jug, but they would also make a lovely addition to a homemade Christmas wreath, bringing a little unexpected color and fragrance to traditional winter greenery.

Hamamelis virginiana is a US native variety and you can find it at Perfect Plants.

5. Cobaea scandens

Planting location: Plant on a climbing support in moist soil. It also trails beautifully, so it works at the edge of a pot, and it will cascade beautifully down the side.

Cobaea, often referred to as cup and saucer vine or cathedral bells, is one of the very best fast-growing climbing plants for a plethora of reasons. Its eagerness to grow very loftily is, of course, a non-negotiable when it comes to good climbers, and it can soar up to staggering heights of 10-15ft without issue.

But its merits don't stop there, cobaea flowers hard from summer and through winter, and although it should technically stop flowering come the end of October, if it is in a nice sheltered position without intense cold, it will continue to bloom right through to late December or early January.

You can purchase cobaea seeds from Amazon

6. Viola 'Frizzle Sizzle Burgundy'

Planting location: Grows perfectly in pots. Use a simple organic potting mix enriched with earthworm castings, like this potting mix available from Amazon, and keep deadheading regularly.

Viola 'Frizzle Sizzle Burgundy' has both a charming name and a charming character. This frilly, ruffled pansy is a cool-season star, producing velvety burgundy flowers from fall into early winter and shrugging off the chilly conditions that would see many summer flowers give up. In fact, the cooler the weather, the more pronounced those wonderfully ruffled petals become.

It is an especially useful choice for containers, where its compact, mounding habit can keep otherwise bare pots full of color as the garden moves towards winter. Deadhead spent blooms regularly to encourage more flowers, and plant in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.

The one thing to watch is slugs and snails, which can damage violas, particularly when plants are young. If they are a persistent problem in your yard, a physical barrier such as copper barrier tape like this one available at Amazon can be a useful extra layer of protection around containers.

You can purchase viola Frizzle Sizzle Burgundy seeds from Amazon.

7. Dahlia 'Moor Place'

: 1.2m (4ft)

Planting location: Dahlia 'Moor Place' works well in a mixed herbaceous border, cutting garden, and really looks terrific in large containers.

You must feed this plant with a potash-rich fertiliser to prolong flowering. This potash supplement available at Amazon will ensure your dahlias will be perfect at ensuring they keep blooming for as long as possible.

Most dahlias will die back when the first hard frost hits in November. But certain types of dahlias can continue to flower even as the temperatures plummet, and if you're looking to grow dahlias specifically for their staying power, then it's the pompon dahlias, like this one, you want to keep an eye out for.

'Moor Place' is the most weather-resistant of them all, and it is easily kept going (with regular deadheading, of course) for use in Christmas bouquets.

You can purchase Dahlia 'Moor Place' tubers from Eden Brothers.

It is extraordinarily productive and produces flowers of the most saturated deep purplish-burgundy hue. In the summer, they look beautiful next to Knautia macedonica and acid-green euphorbia. Come wintertime, most other plants will have finished flowering, and this dahlia has enough presence and color to still make a serious impact.

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Even many of the best-performing, longest-flowering perennials, like catmint and geums, won't keep blooming by December, even if you do give them all the TLC in the world.

All of these flowers like to see the sun during the summer months, so if your garden is cloaked in deep shade, you may find that you need to stick to full-shade perennials to deal with these tricky areas.

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