“It’s my garden for all seasons” This elegant garden is a celebration of flowers and foliage for autumn
This long, thin Devonshire garden is full of exciting plants for autumn colour. Owner Helen Brown reveals its highlights
This long, slender garden in the heart of Devon’s countryside is packed with colourful plants for autumn. “The borders are brimming with Michaelmas daisies,” says garden owner Helen Brown, who lives here with her farmer-husband Brian. “One border is full of self-sown asters in a range of colours from pale lavender to darker mauve. Garden writer Noel Kingsbury visited us a while back and described them as ‘a fantastic hybrid swarm’!” The asters provide pops of colour among grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis, Anemanthele lessoniana and Calamagrostis emodensis – a silvery grey grass with silky flowers. “Grasses look so elegant in autumn,” says Helen.
My stipa is a monstrous thing, with all sorts of wildlife living in it
MIXED PLANTING (clockwise from above left) Faded Dierama pulcherrima by the bird bath, with pontederia and isoplexis in the background; Eucomis pole-evansii, Amicia zygomeris and crocosmia by the house; Yucca gloriosa ‘Variegata’; swingseat with salvia; rusty heart with cotinus; a silver birch shelters asters and hydrangeas “Stipa gigantea was one of the first I ever planted; I have one clump that’s 19 years old and still going strong. It’s a monstrous thing with all sorts of wildlife living in it. I like to leave the panicles intact for as long as they look presentable, which all depends on the weather. Eventually the seedheads will kink and I’ll have to cut things back. “I love having seedheads in the autumn garden, but then of course you get their progeny... I tend to let self-sowers stay if they’re in the right place and go with the colour scheme, but I learned the hard way with the Michaelmas daisies. They self-sow very freely, so now I trim the plants back just after flowering.”
It’s such an eclectic mix of plants. Colour themes help hold the garden together
Helen began creating the garden in 1999, transforming a paddock and orchard into this plant-packed paradise. “I started by planting a row of interesting trees and shrubs around the boundary and since then the garden has evolved in bite-size chunks,” she says. “There was never any overall plan. I just came up with ideas and mulled them over, often asking gardening friends for a second opinion.” Because Helen loves to compare and contrast a wide range of different plant species in her borders, she tends to group them by colour. “It’s such an eclectic mix of plants,” she says. “Colour themes help to hold the garden together.” Yellow-flowered rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ and are all reliable performers in autumn. “Silphium grows very tall – up to 9ft in some years,” says Helen. “It has clear yellow daisies and it’s a good doer, with a long tap root so it’s okay in drought.” Purple foliage plants are another source of vibrant autumn colour. “I love the way they can lead the eye down the garden,” she says. “Here I’ve used Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, purple hazel Corylus avellana ‘Purpurea’ and purple beech Fagus sylvatica ‘Riversii’. There’s also Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea, whose berries hang like little red rubies from the branches in autumn; the birds love them. “Another autumn gem is salvia ‘Royal Bumble’, which starts to flower in June and keeps going into November,” says Helen. “I like plants that give me plenty of value; whether it’s from flowers or foliage. Every area has to work hard; they don’t have to shine all the time, but they do have to please me at key times of year. “Layering plants by underplanting them with bulbs is a good way to ensure you have interest in every season. This is partly why I start cutting back so early – not just to control the self seeders, but because there are snowdrops, narcissus and species tulips all waiting in the wings. Hardy geraniums and other clump formers are perfect for underplanting as they can be cut down to a neat crown in early winter without crowding out the bulbs.” It’s clear Helen’s garden has become a haven where she can indulge her lifelong love of plants. “I’ve created my garden mainly for me, but I really enjoy sharing it with other people,” she says. “I love walking behind visitors and overhearing them gasp, ‘Oh look at that!’ Not only are you sharing your garden with people and attracting wildlife, but also you’re raising money for really worthwhile charities in the process. So it’s all win-win-win!”