Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’

Wild mountain ash ( Sorbus aucuparia) has given itself a bad name as a garden escapee in the South Island but there are plenty of less virulent species and varieties with berries of pink, white or red and good autumn tints too in some cases. The yellow berries of Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ are one of my favourites – underplanted with tall spires of late-flowering monkshood (aconitums) they make an enchanting garden scene.