Make space for a flamboyant tree

Small specimen trees create a bold focal point, whatever the weather

Japanese maples (named forms of Acer palmatum) create a late-autumn spectacle all on their own.

The highly dissected foliage colours up to either red, butter-yellow or orange and, as the foliage falls, the intricate tracery of stems reveals itself. These slow-growing treescum-shrubs need careful placing because they’re very vulnerable to frost when the fresh foliage emerges. Dissected forms, with lacier foliage, are most vulnerable. Japanese maples can also be grown in rugged containers placed on pot feet to improve winter drainage; you’ll need to emulate the Japanese rainy season and keep well-watered in summer. Reddishpurple A. palmatum ‘Trompenburg’ turns fiery red; ‘Shin-deshojo’ has shrimp-coloured foliage that deepens to pinkish-red; ‘Fireglow’ and ‘Garnet’ both morph into orange.

As the foliage falls, the intricate tracery of stems reveals itself

By now, birches have dropped most of their yellowing foliage to reveal twiggy stems. Silver-trunked Himalayan birch Betula utilis jacquemontii ‘Grayswood Ghost’ has neatly serrated, glossy green foliage and comes in multi-stemmed form for an ‘instant woodland’ effect. It’s always worth sponging down the bark in September, with lukewarm water, to make the bark glow. This shallowrooted tree hangs onto its foliage until late autumn and can be enhanced by planting autumnf lowering Cyclamen hederifolium around its ankles. Sorbus trees, also known as rowans or mountain ashes, need good winter drainage and a warm position. One of the most elegant for a small garden is Sorbus vilmorinii, a Chinese native with trembling, ferny green foliage. By November you’ll find clusters of deep pink berries turning pale against its purple-tinted leaves. Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’, grown for its heart-shaped purple foliage, is now a burning bush of pinks and oranges. More shrub than tree, this makes a wonderful specimen in the lawn and, in spring, its pea-like clusters of pink flowers look superb. ‘Ruby Falls’ is a compact, weeping form. You’ll get the same blaze of autumn colour from the heart-shaped leaves of the katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, but this makes a much larger tree – it’s not for a small garden. If you’re lucky the foliage will smell of burnt sugar on warm autumn days. ➤

RACY ACERS Evergreens provide an ‘anchor’ for this dashing collection of Acer palmatum. Show clockwise from top left are red acer ‘Osakazuki’, ‘Red Pygmy’, Acer viridis; cloud-pruned box, pinus ‘Mugo’, Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’; Acer viridis and Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’

ABOVE Rusty-leaved Sorbus sargentiana with a feathery drift of Miscanthus sinensis ‘Kleine Fontäne’ and Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’

Betula utilis jacquemontii trunks contrast with Cornus sericea ‘Red Cardinal’

Plant Cyclamen hederifolium beneath birch trees