Our 6 top plants for Autumn

Thursday 1st September 2022

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After our incredibly dry and challenging Summer we have chosen a selection of plants that have thrived in our even drier garden.

Crab Apples

 

These are looking spectacular this year and we have a good selection for customers to see planted around the car park and amazingly they have all survived in the garden with little or no watering.  Malus ‘Red Sentinel’, hupehensis, floribunda, transitoria, ‘Professor Sprenger’, ‘Indian Magic’ and ‘Harry Baker’.  These lovely medium to small trees produce superb spring blossom and love our East Anglian gardens and the fruits are much sought after by the birds.

Our annual Tree weekend will take place 8 and 9 October – see website for further details

Ceratostigma

 

A good late Summer, early Autumn flowering shrub which as I write is flowering and starting to turn a lovely bronze/red Autumn colour.  I love this plant not only does it do well on our dry terrace but over the last 3 years attracts the Hummingbird hawk moth, even in the Plant Centre this amazing moth can be seen hovering above the Ceratostigma.  We give ours a trim over in the Spring to keep it low, two very good varieties C. plumbaginoides and willmottianum.

Colchicum

 

Amazing these lovely Autumn flowering ‘Autumn Crocus’, ‘Naked Lady’ are flowering, they brighten up even the driest of gardens.  Ideally planted now, flowering out of the bulb, I always over order these in the hope there are several left over to plant in the garden.

 

Autumn Tubs/Containers

Over the last 2 years I have been experimenting with peat free and peat reduced compost for growing both summer bedding plants and Autumn planted bulbs and plants.  My summer tubs are looking rather tired (next year as a result of my trials I shall add feed) and I cannot wait to plant up my tubs for Autumn and Winter any day.  I shall be using different compost again and continue my trails, I am normally rather lazy and select the Taylors Colour themed blend of bulbs, good value and all in one bag, last year they were slightly disappointing so I shall add a few extra bulbs with some Pansy’s planted at the top which I hope the Peacocks will leave alone this year.

Bulbs

 

Always a joy to browse the shelves and planted now give such a good show in the Spring, remember to buy early to get the varieties you really want, plant by the end of November and enjoy next Spring, these are very good value and depending on the bulbs and varieties will live in your garden for years.  When the first daffodils and crocus appear in January I always wish I had planted more bulbs – We are holding our Annual Bulb weekend 16-18 September.

Cotoneaster

 

Considered rather dull by some this genus of shrubs is not only robust, drought tolerant this year in the garden is smothered in fruits, hardy as anything and loved by the birds, definitely a plant to consider for any garden and there are loads to choose from.  Low growing C. ‘Queen of Carpets’, medium sized shrub horizontalis, larger lacteus as well as trees ‘Rothschildianus’ and ‘John Waterer’.