Would you like a rich tapestry of autumn colour in your garden? Who doesn’t enjoy the rich shades and tints of autumn? Those glorious golden caramel vistas that you see when visiting gardens open to the public have often taken years to establish.
But despair not!
It is possible to achieve a crimson and coffee pattern in your garden that you can enjoy next year. Planning for this involves an excuse – sorry reason – to visit open gardens and plant nurseries. Plus sitting down to research which trees and shrubs might suit your garden soil, the size of your plot and complement the planting you already have.
You could of course just do the interesting bits of garden visits and choosing a few trees and shrubs that you’ve seen and liked. Then ask someone else to do the hard work of testing the soil and designing the planting scheme. As well as ensuring everything in the garden works well together so you achieve that ruby and gold autumn garden.
Autumn Colour in Your Garden
As different sized gardens need different sized plants, and coastal gardens are not the same as urban gardens, this is a general list of suggestions for trees, shrubs and climbers to get you started. Check out our other gardening blogs for further ideas.
Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, is tolerant of north and east facing aspects so a good choice for autumn colour on a shady wall. Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia is another North American climber with good autumn colour. Do you get confused between the two? Virginia creeper has leaves shaped with ‘five fingers’ whereas Boston ivy has three.
The maple family of trees – the Acers – are one of the best to start looking at for autumn leaf colour. In Britain, the acer family includes large naturalised species such as Sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus, as well as the Japanese maples, Acer palmatum.
It is the small and slow growing Japanese maples that are most popular in gardens. These trees have a graceful growth habit, so manage to look decorative rather than just ‘twiggy’ when their stems are bare over winter. Depending on the variety chosen the leaves may change colour from spring through to autumn. Acers are particularly good at retaining their colourful foliage for some time – which is the reason why they offer such a colourful show in the autumn garden.
To get the best autumn colour from Acers grow them in semi-shade away from chill winds; in a slightly acidic soil. Many Japanese maples are small, 4-6 foot, so will grow happily in a large container. This makes them good for patios and courtyard gardens.
Rhus tymphina, also known as stag horn sumach, is a delight to see with its furry stems and stunning autumn foliage. However, keep an eye open for suckers appearing in your lawn; although they’re not a problem to pull out when small. I have also known this tree grown successfully for some years in a large container.
Amelanchier are lovely for a larger garden/ Their best time is the autumn when the tree is filled with fiery foliage.
Hydrangea quercifolia has oak shaped leaves that turn a deep red in autumn. This hydrangea has white flowers in summer and early autumn. It’s fairly tolerant of most conditins, so would grow well in a coastal garden. A good choice for those gardens where space is limited and plants need to earn their keep.
Inspiration for Autumn Colour in Your Garden
As for suggestions for gardens to visit where you can enjoy seeing the trees and shrubs for real, all of the arboreta, or tree collections will of course have stunning displays. So, for example, Westonbirt National Arboretum and Winkworth Arboretum are glorious in autumn.
Whilst Bedgebury National Pinetum has brilliant reds and oranges set against the evergreen conifers. The Treetop Walk at Kew should also be a stunning experience during autumn (it’s certainly on my list).
Instant Autumn Colour in Your Garden
Arguably you could cheat and plant certain shrubs in your garden now, but that all feels a bit rushed, and gardening should be pleasurable. And if you were to plant a shrub for its autumn leaf colour now, there’s no guarantee that many leaves will still be on the tree when the nursery deliver it to you. Leaves change colour in autumn as part of the process of falling off the tree after all.
If you are after a bit of instant colour, then an obvious suggestion would be winter bedding plants such as cyclamen and pansies.
If its height you need for the instant autumn colour in your garden, then a variegated evergreen shrub such as Ilex aquifolium ‘ferox argentea’ or silver hedgehog holly might be the answer. This holly has green and silver serrated leaves with a prickly spine; and purple tinged stems. Under planted with red cyclamen this would look attractive throughout autumn and winter.
Do have a look through the website, particularly Plews Potting Shed blog archives, for more planting inspiration and gardening tips. And if you’d like help planning autumn colour in your garden do please get in touch
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