Gardening on the Moor with Anne Swithinbank – Autumn Colour

Shuffling through crisp autumn leaves, raking them to reveal emerald green lawn and collecting the prettiest for a nature table are seasonal delights. Shuffling through crisp autumn leaves, raking them to reveal emerald green lawn and collecting the prettiest for a nature table are seasonal delights.

A good collection of trees and shrubs that turn brilliant bonfire colours ensures a good display and you can plant now. For inspiration, visit the 24 acres of woodland garden at Lukesland near Ivybridge (www.lukesland.co.uk for more details) open on Sundays and Wednesdays from 8th October to 12th November, 11am to 5pm.

Among others, you’ll see Japanese maples including the classic A. japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’, caramel-scented katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum), pterocarya, taxodium and rowans. I hear the home made soup and baking are good too.

Autumn colour close-up

• Ginkgo biloba, the maidenhair tree from  China is almost a living fossil, whose shapely  leaves turn buttery yellow before falling.
• Sorbus commixta, a rowan from Japan makes  a compact, conical tree with attractive fruits  and autumn tints.
• Rhododendron luteum delights us with  fragrant yellow blooms in spring and  bronze-purple leaf colours.