Here are some pictures from sunny September:

Enjoy!

I do like that Helianthus I see beside your...blue globe thistle?

The actual flower seems very much what I call "Happy Days" but yours appears to be much taller than mine.

I love the combination of colour and height in later summer and fall.

We have many of the same plants blooming in, or into, September,
though not any of our Echinops or (Aruncus?).

Hostaholic and Sunny Borders, the plant looking similar to Astilbe is Artemisia lactiflora Elfenbein.

I am not positive, but the taller yellow flower in the first picture is very similar to one that I have had as a NOID in my garden for several years. It was given to me years ago by someone who had no idea what it was.....I would love to know the name (not that I would love it any more than I do. :) I always look forward to it.)

I'm a huge lover of heleniums and have been growing them in mixed perennial beds for twenty years, but I find them relatively high maintenance.

We keep our own garden watered (as needed) and the other main gardens I've done have/had sprinkler systems, so, in the latter case, I plant(ed) to take advantage of that.

I bother the gardens a lot, tending to divide and replant (many perennials) quickly and frequently upgrade our clay soil.

I find Helenium is perhaps the most demanding perennial I use in terms of needing to be divided (every couple of years), replanted and having soil upgraded. If not, it just gets shorter and gradually fades away.

Is that you experience with heleniums too?

Here are a few more pictures:

Chrysanthemum Rosetta, the best in this colour:

Aster X frikartii Wunder von Staffa, the best of the Frikartii hybryds:

Helenium Meranti

Actea pachypoda, shade plant, love it! Attractive for the whole season

Helenium Kupferziegel

Aster Sunhelene, a little mildew, but much better than others(clumping, non-flopping)

Lilium rosthornii, one of my faves.

Sanguisorba Stand UP Commedian, removed(too floppy)

Aster cordifolius Blue Heaven, removed(too floppy)

Euonymus sachalinensis, gorgeos fruits(bad picture)

Opened seed pods of Paeonia mlokosevitchii

Aster umbellatus:

Decided to simplify Helenium division today, by not separating and planting individual rosettes, just chopping clumps into small pieces.

Re critters: You likely know, though there seems to be some confusion about it, but Helenium is poisonous to humans and livestock. Judging from my garden, the voles don't eat the heleniums and the heleniums don't control the population size of the voles.

Re Frikart's aster (omitting umlauts): I don't know why, but 'Monch' is very available here, but I've only seen 'Wunder von Stafa', for sale, here once.
That one lasted 7 or 8 years and did seem to be a bit less flopping than Monch.

Re staking: Don't notice any stakes in your pictures. I appreciate your information re non-flopping cultivars (viz. Aster 'Sunhelene').

Re classic fall perennials (here): I don't notice any New England asters.

Re lilies: No lily beetles?

Last year I commited a fierce carnage on my New Englands Asters, only 2 survived, yes: non-flopping ones. It's Andeken an Paul Gerber and Wineflower. There was no mercy for the others. New Englands asters bloom in October for me, but this year they were closed all the time because of the rain. I also decided to remove my Aster laevis Van der Jeugd. It is just not showy enough.

I do not practice staking. I just remove the flopping plants and replace them with something non-flopping.

Yes , I have lily beetles, but they are so easy to kill that it is no problem for me.Besides,my sparrows have learned to eat the larvae of lily beetles, so they keep them in check.

A few more pictures:

Brunnera Looking Glass

Brunnera Jack Frost:

Echinacea Green Jewel:

Kirengeshoma palmata:

The following plant is the same as on the first picture but planted in more shaded area and on chicken poop(it eventually flopped because of all this nitrogen and rain). Pay attention to the green middles , which are not apparent in the sunny position

Helianthus Simon Wiesenthal. It is my tallest Helianthus now. I have disposed of Sheila's Sunshine, it was too tall and the flowers were too small compared to the height of the plant. Gorgeous pale yellow, but totally invisible when you look up to the sky to see them.

I do not have more pictures this year from September.

Lots of info, both what you say and in the pictures themselves (e.g. how you handle irises - not good mixed perennial bed team players).

One for the sparrows!