Welcome

Creating colourful plant combinations is one of the best bits of gardening. If anything, it’s slightly easier in autumn when many of summer’s fresher, louder colours have begun to fade and die back. Instead, blushing red and purple foliage partner a wide array of pink November flowers, and golden grasses dazzle with vibrant reds and oranges, even rusty browns. So, despite the cold and occasional gloom, this is probably the most exciting time of year for colour harmonies. This issue is packed with ideas for how to harness the season’s new palette in your garden. Among them you’ll find a ‘symphony in pink’ border on p8, where asters and anemones are drifted through hardy chrysanthemums and grasses. On p16 you can see how hot reds and cool ever-grey plants team up for an unusual ‘fire and ice’ theme, and on p20, how gold, copper and bronze foliage creates a tableau of ‘precious metals’. We also love the creamy-white hydrangea and red hylotelephium border on p42 (above): definitely one to try in a partshady corner, if you love blowsy retro blooms as we do. Autumn isn’t just about colour though – there’s tidying to be done. But, as Tovah Martin points out on p24, make time to savour sensory treats too: the smell of woodsmoke and the crunch of autumn leaves. Don’t turn the garden into a place for outdoor housework – enjoy the warm sunshine on your face whenever you can. Happy gardening!