Many people’s favourite season, autumn is a wonderful time to be out and about admiring all that nature has to offer. As temperatures drop and rain falls, our gardens and open spaces take on a new life in a blaze of autumnal colours that inspire the mind and warm the soul. These glorious colours occur as the days shorten and temperatures fall, chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down causing the green to disappear and beautiful shades of red, orange, bronze, yellow, purple and brown are revealed.
Trees
Most noted for their autumn colour are trees, the giants of the botanical world. Trees come in all sizes though so every garden can revel in the joyous autumn colour on offer. Some of our favourites are:
- Acer palmatum ‘Garnet’ (AGM) - an outstanding Japanese Maple with stunning, finely dissected, purple leaves turning shades of rich-red in the autumn. Ideal for small gardens or planting in a large container.
- Prunus ‘Kursar’ (AGM) - a beautiful small Cherry Blossom tree with masses of deep pink single flowers in early March, followed by rich autumn leaf colours of red and gold.
- Sorbus sargentiana (AGM) - a medium sized Mountain Ash with large plume-like red stalked leaves which are downy underneath and turn rich red in autumn. It also bears huge clusters of small scarlet fruit.
Shrubs
Not to be outshone by their larger counterparts, shrubs offer an equally impressive range of autumn colour. They can be accommodated in even the smallest of spaces and many will grow happily in pots or containers. We recommend:
- Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ - a large shrub with broad, purple, heart shaped leaves which turn shades of orange, bronze and red-purple in autumn.
- Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Makijaz’ – an evergreen shrub with unique marbled green and white foliage that turns shades of red and purple during the colder months.
- Nandina domestica ‘Obsessed’ – another evergreen shrub noted for its stunning foliage which is bright red when new, maturing to green before turning deep red in winter.
Planting
Autumn is the ideal time to plant trees and shrubs, there is still some warmth in the soil as well as plenty of moisture giving their roots time to settle in and develop over winter before the growing season starts again in spring. You will find our best range of trees in the autumn, so if you’re looking for some autumn colour or spring blossom, now is the time to come and visit us.
