GARDENS that seemed effortlessly easy on the eye in spring and early summer can sometimes start to fade as autumn approaches. This lack of fresh colour could be laid at the door of summer droughts, or is perhaps a symptom of gardeners taking their foot off the pedal as the months roll by. Yet climate change seems to be delivering long periods of fine autumn weather with the first frosts often holding off until the start of winter, so why not plan a fiery finale to end the growing season in grand style? The bright shades of red, orange, russet and yellow that looked flat and brassy under the high-summer sun now begin to glow as it sits lower in the sky and casts longer shadows.
A dedicated area
In her book , plantswoman Marina Christopher comments that: “Creating a border satisfactory at all seasons is an almost impossible task and is rarely successful. It isas setting aside a specific bed, border or even a collection of containers enables plants to settle, mingle and then bloom together in a riot of bonfire shades.
