AUTUMN LEAF COLOUR FOR A SMALL SPACE
Bring a kaleidoscope of seasonal colour to tiny gardens
Greg Loades
The most spectacular displays of autumn leaf colour don’t have to be seen in parks or woodland. Your garden can rival them for eye-popping colour if you
October 17 2020 choose some of the following plants, most of which are pot-friendly, too. The great thing about having plants with spectacular autumn leaf colour in containers is you can make sure they’re placed where they can be appreciated. If you can view them from the house, even better!
Autumn colour will still be there to be enjoyed from indoors, even if it’s too windy and wet to be outside.
And in a small garden, just one spectacular autumn shrub in a border or along the edge of the path can cheer the place up no end if you’re sad that summer is long gone!
For a multitude of autumn colours in a tiny space, blueberries are hard to beat, and they’re best grown in pots unless you have very acidic, sandy soil in your garden. The autumn leaf colours alone are good enough reason to grow these plants, but it also makes a good consolation if birds steal all the fruit! Grow blueberries in pots of ericaceous compost and make sure water is able to drain away well. Raise the pot onto pot feet immediately after planting. It’s best to have at least two different varieties to get a good crop of fruit and make a splendid autumn feature if grouped together, adding a burst of bright red and orange shades to the
patio. Height: 1.2m (4ft).
Enjoy the bright red leaves of blueberries
Best known for its spectacular bare winter stems that start orange at the bottom before darkening to red at the top, this colourful shrub shows off rusty shades of orange and red through its leaves as autumn begins, before finally falling to unveil the winter highlight. It serves as a useful backdrop in autumn to brighter shades of evergreen grasses such as acorus ‘Ogon’ or carex ‘Everest’ in autumn, to keep the patio looking as full and colourful as summer. Cornus thrive in damp soil that doesn’t dry out, so use John Innes compost in the pot, which will retain moisture well.
Height: 1.5m (5ft).
There are a whole host of Japanese maples that will dazzle the garden with amazing autumn colour and if you’re looking for a tree that can be controlled in a small space, they have to be the number one choice. Keep the trees in a lightly shaded place and sheltered from strong winds and midday sunshine to prevent the leaves from becoming damaged. ‘Orange Dream’ starts off with red-yellow leaves in spring, before changing to lime-green in summer, but in autumn it takes centre stage with foliage in a brilliant bright yellow-orange. It could grow up to 4m (13ft) tall but would take around 20 years if grown in the garden, and if grown in a pot, the size will be restricted. Grow in any soil except boggy or dry, chalky soils and grow in a soil-based compost in containers.
Formerly known as – and sometimes still labelled as – Stipa arundinacea – this graceful grass can provide year-round interest to the garden but it’s in autumn that it shows off some really eye-catching colours, with its slender leaves showing off a mix of rusty oranges, reds and light greens that last through winter. It’s not completely hardy though, so needs a warm, sheltered place and well-drained soil. Leave the flower heads to set seed at the end of summer and you may have fresh seedlings popping up in the following
year as an insurance policy! Height: 50cm (1¾ft).
These plants can be so colourful in spring and summer that they can get taken for granted in autumn, but their leaf colour can still be exceptional at this time of year and form a key component of autumn displays on the patio. ‘Autumn Leaves’ saves its boldest and most intriguing show for now, with an exciting mix of red shades. If you grow it in a pot, take precautions against vine weevil in spring and summer. Growing just 20cm (8in) tall, it will also make a useful plant in borders around the patio, or along the side of a path to brighten up the edges.
This shrub produces sprays of white flowers in summer but it saves its strongest suit for autumn, with a beautiful array of leaf colours from strawberry-red to peach and green-yellow. The plant holds onto its colourful leaves into winter and the leaves look even more spectacular when edged with frost. Grow it in a warm, sunny spot in soil that holds onto moisture well without becoming waterlogged, or in a mix of multi-purpose and John Innes compost in a pot. Height: 50cm (1¾ft).
October 17 2020
This gorgeous hydrangea is worth growing for its large, white, cone-shaped flower heads, which appear through summer, but it’s in autumn that it’s unmissable. The leaves are very different from the common H. macrophylla and look a bit like large versions of the leaves of an oak tree (hence the common name of oak-leaved hydrangea). In autumn they turn from green to a mix of pink, red and purple shades. It grows best in soil that drains well and can reach 1.5m (5ft) tall and 2.5m (8¼ft) wide when fully mature. Its effect will rival any parkland tree for autumn colour so it’s worth finding space because of its year-round interest.