Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’

With its wide, welcome arms and showy cream flowers, the Indian bean tree makes a classic shade tree. However, coppiced to the ground each winter is the way to bring the leaves to dinosaur proportions. I love the way the lower ones fade to lime, leaving the tops to shine brightest. This is a show-off, so surround it with equally gutsy planting such as the red-hot pokers and coreopsis. (Leafland stock the green form – the golden form is harder to find.)