Autumn colour isn’t always top of the list when selecting a tree to go in your garden, but I often think this is something easily overlooked. For me, autumn colour is as important as the flowering prowess of a tree, such as the Japanese flowering cherries (Prunus) or Snowy Mespilus (Amelanchier).
The intensity of a tree’s autumn colour can be as arresting as the most impressive display of flowers. For some trees, their autumn colour can be fleeting, appearing and departing in a matter of days; the best example I have growing of this is Aralia elata, aka Angelica tree, with its extraordinary and very large pinnate leaves that turn the most intense purple and red, which almost immediately fall to the ground.
For others, the transition from one colour to another can take weeks or even months. The one I enjoy most and get weeks of pleasure from is Cladrastis kentukea (Kentucky yellow wood tree) that we planted over 10 years ago. I wasn’t all that familiar with this species having only come across it a couple of times as a student and it was something of an experiment to see how it might fare in a Cumbrian climate. After settling in for the first couple of years and sending down some decent roots, the top growth has been developing at a wonderfully steady pace ever since. The foliage is a vibrant green that begins turning yellow over many weeks before reaching a stunning crescendo in early November. The intensity of the yellow acts like a beacon so much so that when I drive into our main car park at this time of year, I can see the yellowing leaves on the other side of the nursery.
With our increasingly challenging seasonal weather, choosing a tree that not only has excellent autumn colour but can also cope with little to no rainfall for long periods includes trees like Parrotia, aka the Persian Ironwood tree.
I have a cultivar of Parrotia called ‘Persian Spire’ that has been growing in a large terracotta pot for three years now and gets very little watering compared to the bulk of our pots around the nursery. When the surrounding plants are looking strained due to a lack of water, ‘Persian Spire’ seems unaffected. The autumn colour is as kaleidoscopic as its taller cousins and ranges from the strongest reds, orange and purple through to yellow. This is a tree with a tall, slender form making it ideal for the smaller garden where space is limited. The autumn colour lasts for many weeks and can still be found on some branches in November. If you have a large garden and like the sound of ‘Persian Spire’ I would go for Parrotia persica, the native Ironwood tree that makes a gloriously impressive specimen over time whose lower branches can be removed to make a more upright form.
I can’t talk about Autumn colour without mentioning the Japanese Maples. There are hundreds to choose from and without exception they all have fine autumn colour. We have a cultivar called ‘Osakazuki’ that was originally planted in a tiny back garden in Kendal in 2006; not the best decision, as it needed somewhere far bigger to grow and flourish, so we dug it up and planted it in the nursery garden. It’s now a stunning focal point in October at the centre of the site with the most intense, fiery red leaves that last for three to four weeks.
Botanical name: Cynara cardunculus
Common name: Globe artichoke
Size: 1.5m tall x 0.5m spread
Site: Full Sun
Hardiness: Hardy
Description: My parents-in-law grow a fine crop of these architectural beasts every season in their vegetable garden and I always have to take time to enjoy these stunning plants. They are grown for their edible buds but are ornamental enough to warrant featuring in any flower garden. Green, scaly buds open to thistle-like purple flowers in late summer and autumn. The leaves are enormous and erupt from the ground, shard-like and coloured a distinctive silver.
Botanical name: Passiflora caerulea
Common name: Blue passionflower
Size: 5-10m tall
Site: Sun or light shade
Hardiness: Hardy Perennial
Description: This is a reliable climber with the most extraordinary flowers and attractive foliage. The flowers look wonderfully exotic and not something you’d expect to be able to grow in Cumbria. In my experience, a ferociously cold winter can cause all the main growth to die back but they will almost always shoot away again from the base. The ideal position is south facing and if heavy, wet soil is a problem, opt for a large pot and use a free draining compost.
Botanical name: Acer capillipes
Common name: Snake bark maple
Size: 4m tall x 3m spread
Site: Full sun or light shade
Hardiness: Hardy tree
Description: A beautiful small tree with striated bark that I first came across when I was 18 at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The distinctively shaped leaves are bright green with slightly glaucous undersides. Early in the season, the young growth is coral red. In the autumn, the leaves embody a blend of rich red and yellow tones. Yellow catkin-like flowers ripen in the spring to tiny, winged pink and yellow fruit in the summer.
Botanical name: Leucanthemella serotina
Common name: Autumn Ox-eye
Size: 1.2m tall x 0.5m spread
Site: Sun
Hardiness: Hardy perennial
Description: This is an excellent, robust perennial that will add a lighter note to your October colour palette with bright white flower heads. I adore this perennial for its lofty qualities and the fact that whilst every other colour at this time of year is a rich and deep tone of purple, blue, orange and red, this counters all that with a fresh injection of white. The strong stems don’t need staking and established clumps can be divided in early spring.
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