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Put on a dazzling show of autumn colour

Cinead McTernan reveals the best perennials, shrubs and trees for a gorgeous seasonal display in your garden

ASTER

If you’re hoping to catch the blazing colours of autumn, your best bet is to head to your nearest arboretum. I was lucky enough to grow up a stone’s throw from Westonbirt, the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, so my family and I visited regularly and never missed the spectacular display on show at this time of year. My principal memory is the stuff of storybooks: kicking up a carpet of red, orange and yellow leaves as my sister and I raced through the Acer Glade in the Old Arboretum and Maple Loop in Silk Wood. As the arboretum holds the national collection of Japanese maples, which contains nearly 300 different types, I think it’s here that my father began his love affair with the species.

Fast-forward 40 years and we are still talking about acers in autumn, mostly, however, to try and persuade my father to move an Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Atropurpureum’, which he planted in the middle of the lawn several years ago. The theory behind his decision was sound – a specimen tree can create a focal point and add yearround interest to a garden – but this one is clearly the wrong tree in the wrong place. Sure, it provides welcome shade in summer for the family’s four-legged friends, and it really is a sight to behold as its leaves change colour, but this particular Japanese maple has a compact, weeping habit, which means that planted on its own, it looks for all the world as if Cousin Itt from The Addams Family is paying a visit.

If you are looking for a small specimen to grow in a container or as part of a border in a tiny garden, acers are a great choice. However, after many heated discussions at my parents’ house, these days I am inclined to play it safe and look beyond this popular genus to provide a splash of autumn colour in my garden. After all, I can always visit Westonbirt if I need a quick fix.

Here is my pick of favourite perennials, shrubs and trees that will put on a colourful show to rival that of the mostly graceful – though at times, slightly quirky – acer.

Available in a range of shades – from white to pinks, purples and blues – these cottage-style perennials flower from late summer to October, which means they are ideal to plant in containers and borders for a splash of colour when much of the garden is fading. Loved by bees and butterflies, they also look gorgeous nestled next to ornamental grasses in prairie-style planting.

Preferring well-drained soil, they cope in either sunny or partially shady spots. Deadhead regularly to encourage blooms and cut back after flowering.

Powdery mildew can be an issue with some varieties, so keep the soil moist to prevent infection, or go for European varieties, such as Aster pyrenaeus ‘Lutetia’ and A x frikartii ‘Mönch’ which are resistant to it. Take softwood cuttings between April and August, or divide established clumps. Note that some asters were recently reclassified, so popular New England types A. novae-angliae and A. novi-belgii, are now Symphyotrichum novae-angliae and Symphyotrichum novi-belgii. Plant in early spring to enjoy bright blooms in the first season.

CHRYSANTHEMUM

Blooms appear in late September and October – even November if you go for tender late varieties that will need to be grown under glass. There’s a range of shapes and shades, so it’s easy to find a chrysanthemum to suit your style and colour scheme. For time-pressed growers, choose hardy varieties that won’t need to be dug up once they’ve finished flowering and stored for replanting when the risk of frosts has passed.

They need moist but well-draining soil and it’s a good idea to add well-rotted manure at planting time, as well as a stake to ensure stems don’t break.

GARDENING

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2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph