'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
Flowers, leaves, seedheads, fruit to make perfect tapestry from September to November
IF you love a fiery colour palette, Halloween, hearty soups and appreciating weather and plants changing on a daily basis, autumn is the time of year for you.
Here's my star performers of the season. Timing is VERY arbitrary and totally based on weather - wind, excess wet or dryness, or frost, will all hasten the end of autumn. Enjoy it while you can!
I've included plant types: HB (hardy biennial); HP (hardy perennial); HS (hardy shrub); HT (hardy tree); HC (hardy climber); HHP (half-hardy perennial) and height in metres.
Acanthus mollis (bear's breeches): flowers and seed spikes, huge glossy leaves, mid Sept-Nov. HP, 1-1.5m.
Arum marmoratum Italicum (Italian arum): new variegated leaves/berries mid Sept onwards. HP, 35cm.
Berberis thunbergii atropurpureum (purple barberry): purple leaves turn red, Oct-Nov. HS, 2m.
Canna indica (Indian shot): leaves and flowers mid Sept-first frost. HHP, 2m+.
Cornus (dogwood): leaf colour Oct; stems through winter. HS/HT, 2-8m (less with pruning).
Cotinus coggygria (smoke bush): leaf colour mid Sept-Nov. HS, 5m (less with pruning).
Cotoneaster horizontalis: berries until winter. HS, 1m x 2m.
Cynara cardunculus (cardoon): flowers/dried seedheads/huge leaves until winter. HP, 2.5m.
Cynara scolymus (globe artichoke): flower heads and leaves mid-Sept-Nov. HP, 2m.
Dahlia: leaves and flowers mid Sept-first frost. HHP, 40cm-1.5m.
Dipsacus follonum (native teasel): seedheads mid Sept-Nov. HB/HP, 1.5-2.5m.
Echinacea (coneflower): flowers mid-Sept-Oct. HP, 1-1.5m.
Euphorbia (hardy herbaceous/shrubby spurge varieties): leaf colour/flowers, depending on variety, mid-Sept-Nov. HP/HS, 15cm-1.5m.
Fagus (beech): leaf colour Oct-Nov. HT, up to 50m (not as a hedge - 3m!)
Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia): flowers and leaves mid Sept-Nov; flowers Nov. HS, 2.5-4m.
Foeniculum vulgare purpureum (bronze fennel): flowers/seed heads/foliage mid Sept-Nov. HB/HP, 1.8m.
Fuchsia Hawkshead: white flowers mid Sept-Nov; leaf colour. HS, 0.5-1m.
Hedera (ivy): flowers October-Nov (only upward-growing stems). HC, 30m+ - responds to pruning.
Helianthus Lemon Queen (perennial sunflower): flowers mid Sept-late Oct; foliage colour. HP, 2m.
Humulus lupulus Aureus (golden hop): leaf colour/hops mid Sept-end Oct. HC, 4-8m.
Jasminum officinale Clotted Cream: (jasmine): leaf colour October. HC (may need winter protection in exposed sites), 3m.
Kniphofia (red hot poker, torch lily): K. uvaria Nobilis flowers mid Sept-Oct; foliage evergreen. HP, 1.5m+.
Leucanthemum x superbum Aglaia (Shasta daisy): flowers until Nov. HP, 0.5-1m.
Ligularia The Rocket: seedheads mid Sept-Oct. HP, 1m.
Malus (crab apple): fruit mid Sept-Nov; leaf colour. HT, 3m+.
Prunus (flowering cherry): purple varieties leaf colour late Oct-Nov. HT, 2m+.
Pyracantha (firethorn): berries mid Sept-Nov. HS, 2m+.
Rodgersia: leaf colour mid Sept-Oct. HP, 1m+.
Rosa glauca (red-leaved rose): leaf colour/hips mid Sept-Nov. HS, 1.5-2.5m.
Rhus typhina (stag's horn sumach): leaf colour mid-Sept-Oct. HS/HT, 6m.
Rudbeckia (coneflowers): flowers mid-Sept-Oct. HP, 50cm-1m.
Sedum (stonecrop): flowers Sept-Oct; leaf colour Oct-Nov. HP, 5cm-75cm.
Sempervivum (hens and chicks, houseleeks): rosette colour mid sept-Nov. HP, up to 10cm.
Spiraea japonica Goldflame: leaf colour mid Oct-Nov. HS, 75cm.
Stipa gigantea (giant oat grass): seedheads until winter. HP, 2.5m.
OF all the seasons, autumn is the one most forgotten about - until we're there, then we wish we had more plants that perform between mid-September and November. Here's my favourites...
Best performing autumn plants
From top, Acanthus mollis backed by Berberis thunbergii atropurpureum; Arum italicum marmoratum; Canna indica; Ligularia The Rocket; globe artichoke; Dahlia Bishop of Llandaff; teasel backed by Pyracantha; Echinacea purpurea; Euphorbia; Shasta daisy, golden hop and Heuchera Silver Blush; Prunus cultivar backed by beech hedge.
From top, Cornus alba Aurea; Rhus typhina; Fatsia japonica; Fuchsia Hawkshead; ivy; Helianthus Lemon Queen; Humulus lupulus Aureus; Kniphofia; crab apple John Downie; Rodgersia and Stipa gigantea; Rosa glauca leaves and hips.
