'I'm a gardening expert and this is the best plant you can buy right now'

Summer might be at its end but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to plant these gorgeous flowers.

While summer is the time of year when we see many plants come into full bloom, there are some flowers that thrive in September’s milder temperatures. In early autumn, the soil is still warm and hospitable, while the increase in showers means that young plantsget the moisture and nutrients needed to grow.

So, which flowers should you go for? Gardening expert Sophie, who runs the TikTok channel @insidemygarden, told viewers that now is the perfect time to plant clematis.

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“It is the season for the bargains and every year I treat myself to a new Clematis and these are a steal for £5 each,” she wrote in her video caption.

She continued to explain that this is because garden centres will be reducing their stock to get ready for autumn and winter - therefore, you can get “a really large established one” for a cheaper price.

Sophie added that the flowers offer a high reward for minimal labour, making them perfect for a more hands-off gardener. She said: “They are a perennial which will come back every year and put on an incredible floral display with minimal effort!”

Indeed, as well as being long-lasting, these flowers are also incredibly versatile, fitting into almost every corner of your garden. They can be used in mixed borders, placed in pots and even grown as climbing plants across walls and trellises.

Even better, they can provide almost a full years’ worth of blooms. Sophie said in her video: “I’ve got lots of them in my garden. If you plant different varieties you can actually get flowers for about eight months of the year.”

To achieve a full years’ worth of blooms, you simply need to plant clematis which flower in different seasons. For example, winter-flowering clematis, such as Clematis cirrhosa (including 'Freckles' and 'Wisley Cream') and 'Downy Clematis', provide blooms from December to March.

Early-to-mid-summer flowering types, such as ‘Nelly Moser’ or ‘Diamentina’, will often produce their first display in late spring or early summer. Meanwhile, late-flowering varieties like ‘Etoile Violette’ typically bloom from July to October, extending into the cooler months.

Gardeners should also keep their eyes peeled for the Clematis 'Guernsey Flute', which is considered to have an exceptionally long blooming period, running from May to September.