As October moves with graceful ease towards November and deep autumn, the ever changing combinations of colour, shape and texture from the gardens myriad grasses, perennials and woody plants continues to delight and amaze.
Foliage colour from woody plants is quite fabulous at this time of year. In a part of the Decennium border a vine, Vitis coignetiae, sprawls over a fallen tree trunk in a near perfect autumnal combination with the red and pink foliage of background spindle trees.While on another side of the Decennium border the tall Miscanthus Malepartus and the more compact Miscanthus Cindy combine with Euonymus Verity (left), and Euonymus Pillar Box, (right).A little further around the Decennium border again the rounded mounds of now fading flowers belong to Miscanthus Cindy which are supported by the impressively pink foliage of Euonymus hamiltonianus.Offering purplish mauve upright spikes of flower earlier in the summer, Veronicastrum virginicum is scarcely less effective now that the still intact flowers have dried a tasteful shade of brown.As part of the prairie style planting in the recently replanted Dragon Garden, various miscanthus steal the show whenever low sunlight hits this part of the garden. In another part of the Dragon Garden Panicum Red Cloud shows off its quite beautiful warm orange brown autumnal outfit.Euonymus Red Cascade is a selection of a UK native tree and nevers fails to wow with its autumnal performance. If that were not enough the masses of tiny early summer flowers attract so many pollinators that the tree literally hums!While perhaps not overly subtle, the bright pink leaves and fruits of Euonymus Verity demand attention and seem to revel in the low afternoon sunlight.Although a little more restrained than some of the fall performing parts of the garden, the Dry Meadow is equally effective at this time of year as Aster Ice Cool Pink can be seen as an occasional accent appearing amongst the silvery blue foliage of Poa labillardierei.Asters are really great plants at this time of year, and perhaps none are more so than Aster Ice Cool Pink whose freely produced soft pink flowers can be seen in the Dry Meadow.The Rain Garden consists of four separate but linked swales that surround two sides of the Dry Meadow. With their sometimes wet and sometimes dry regime plants such as the native Molinia caerulea find the conditions much to their liking. The honey orange tinted foliage and flower stems belong to a lovely selection, Molinia Poul Petersen. While not showing any trace of fall colour as of yet the soft green mounds of Hakonechloa macra, growing in the dry shade conditions under larger woody plants, frames a longer view to panicum, miscanthus and pyracantha at the end of the Long Walk.Miscanthus Red Spear growing on one corner of the Long Walk was only released by us this spring and is as effective for its upright habit and subtle autumnal colourations of flower, leaf and stem as it is for its bright red summer time flowers.Looking across the Long Walk the combination of colours and textures from the many different woody plants, grasses and perennials create a kind of autumnal tapestry that is as deeply satisfying as it is beautiful.Another Knoll Gardens selection, the fiery orange red colourations of its foliage which is topped by the now fading but still graceful silvery pink flowers explains why Miscanthus Sunset got its name. The wine red foliage of another Knoll Gardens selection, Panicum Merlot, literally looks good enough to drink!At the top of the Summer Garden Acer October Glory offers the most fabulous deep red foliage.
