Garden Design & DIY
Top 5 Autumn Foliage Trees
Paint the garden with blazing autumn foliage in a kaleidoscope of shades from flame reds to deep plums, vivid purple, gold and burnt orange hues.
Acer ‘Fairview Flame’ is one of the best red maples around with fiery foliage that lights up the whole garden. It makes a spectacular avenue or feature tree, but it’s big, so give it plenty of space to grow.
You’ll also love Acer ‘October Glory’, with lush green foliage that takes on brilliant shades of dark pink and red with the cooler autumn weather. It’s another good choice for larger gardens.
If you’re lacking space, but still want spectacular Autumn colour, then look no further than the beautiful Japanese Maples. ‘Osakazuki’ is a real showstopper with vivid scarlet foliage.
So too is ‘Omurayama' with its cascading habit and gold, crimson and orange leaf tones. Make a feature of them in gardens or big decorative pots.
In the yellow spectrum it’s hard to beat Ginkgo trees, with their decorative maidenhair fern like foliage.
Look out for Ginkgo ‘Lemonlime Spire’ with rich lime green foliage and golden Autumn leaves as bright as the sun. It’s a slender, compact variety, so it’s perfect for driveways and narrow areas.
If you’ve got space, you’ll also love the Golden Ash Tree, which is known for its brilliant yellow foliage. Plant it somewhere where you can enjoy summer shade and winter sun.
Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ is a beautiful addition to the garden all year round, but it shines in autumn when the purple-green heart shaped foliage turns wonderful shades orange and yellow.
It’s also stunning in spring when the bare branches are covered with masses of small, pink flowers. Look out for compact cascading forms, like ‘Ruby Falls’, with lovely weeping foliage than falls to the ground.
We also love Crepe Myrtles with gorgeous summer flowers and flaming red, yellow and orange autumn foliage.
We also love Crepe Myrtles (Lagerstroemia) with gorgeous summer flowers, ornamental bark and flaming red, yellow and orange autumn foliage. Lagerstroemia ‘Sioux’ is an absolute stunner with masses of lolly pink blooms and brilliant autumn colour. ‘Natchez’ is another striking variety, with snow white blooms and slightly pendulous foliage.
