Trees and shrubs give a spectacular display
While trees and shrubs are often overlooked in favour of herbaceous f lowers, October turns this on its head with certain seasonal stars erupting into magnificent displays of colour.
Every garden should have at least one tree, so it makes sense to pick a specimen with several seasons of interest. For autumn colour try Rhus typhina (stag’s horn sumach), liquidambar and Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura), which, as a is one of the most vibrant small trees bonus, smells of toffee apples. As a group, the maples come into their own now, so consider Acer capillipes (snake bark maple), or A. palmatum ‘Osakazuki’ and ‘Atropurpureum’, which are particularly rich in hue.
Combining foliage colour with attractive fruit or berries is always a winner. Sorbus is a great all-round tree and becomes a complete show-off late in the year, with orange leaves and pretty clusters of berries in a spectrum of colours from white, through orange, yellow and red, to pink and purple.
Apple trees have huge ornamental value too. Even ordinary cookers and eaters can put on a great display until the fruit is harvested, while crab apples, such as malus ‘Nuvar Marble’, ‘John Downie’ and M. robusta ‘Red Sentinel’, have good autumn colour with decorative and persistent fruits.
The way trees and shrubs are deployed in the garden is key to maximising their dramatic effects: give specimen trees a bit of elbowroom to help them embrace their moment in the spotlight.
Liquidambar acalycina