IN THE GARDEN
To generate year-round interest in the garden, choose plants with different seasons of interest. Trees and shrubs provide the structure to your garden, and these can be chosen for their flower or foliage, from formal structure such as hedging to species that offer striking autumn colour. Once you have this woody backdrop, you can begin to build up the herbaceous and bulbous layers. By choosing a variety of plants with different shapes and forms, you can begin to add interest not only in the peak of summer but also at the beginning and end of the year. For example, snowdrops bring welcome winter flowers against a backdrop of Lenten roses. These can be interspersed with a range of herbaceous perennials such as Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and Verbena bonariensis , along with different grasses like Nassella tenuissima and Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’. This combination provides colour from spring through to autumn, as well as texture and movement throughout the year. How to achieve year-round garden colour
NATURE’S CANVAS Fagus sylvatica (top) and cyclamen (above) show off autumnal colour
berries during the autumn months, and Strobilanthes wallichii is clothed in tubular purple flowers through autumn. While many of us discount putting trees in our gardens due to their size, there are a number of trees suitable for smaller gardens, many of them bringing the added bonus of striking autumn colour. Favourites among those here at the Botanic Garden are Amelanchier lamarckii (snowy mespilus) and the showstopping Japanese maple Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’, whose palmate purple leaves take on brilliant red colourings in autumn. These herbaceous and woody plants grow well in sunny spots and fertile soil and, once established, need minimal attention from you. So, your gardening season needn’t be limited just to the height of summer – you can continue to enjoy a riot of rich colours to brighten even the dullest autumn day!
Sally Petitt is head of horticulture at Cambridge University Botanic Garden
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK OCTOBER 2025 89
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