back garden
Maximise an urban plot: Ginkgo biloba The Ginkgo biloba is the national tree of China, and is also known as the living fossil tree. It’s a large species that usually has a narrow habit and can grow up to 30m. It’s resistant to pests and diseases and copes well with pollution, which makes it well-suited to urban planting. The distinctive bright-green, fan-shaped leaves, similar to those on a maidenhair fern, turn a luminous saffron yellow in the autumn, falling quickly over a two-week period.
Create a long-lasting centrepiece: Liquidambar styraciflua Commonly called sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua is often mistaken for a maple. It’s a beautiful deciduous tree and is at its best in the autumn, as it’s one of the last trees in the garden to shed its leaves. This is a big tree with a corky bark, so it needs space and is ideal as a specimen in the centre of a lawn or bed. The colour of the leaves is second to none, ranging through yellow, orange, fiery red and deep purple, and the small woody clusters of seeds hang from the branches throughout the winter.
Form a circle The common name for the herbaceous perennial Echinops, which is part of the Asteraceae family, is the globe thistle. This glandular plant bears almost perfect spherical flowers and looks great as drifts in the border, or naturalised in grassland.
Lavender has long been known for attracting honeybees, as well as short-tongued bumblebees and solitary bees. The flowers on lavender are pollinated by bees and butterflies, and they tend to prefer the Lavandula angustifolia varieties, which bloom more freely and sometimes multiple times.
Nepeta, or catmint, has aromatic leaves and can be used as a substitute for lavender. The latter needs very good drainage, so it can sometimes be tricky to grow.
Ramp up russet hues: Fagus sylvatica The common beech is one of our most majestic deciduous native trees. The leaves turn a lovely russet brown in the autumn, and often hang onto the branches until the new foliage emerges, providing good screening. Due to the close spacing of its foliage, very few plants will grow underneath it. Varieties to try Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea – the copper beech – has stunning deep purple leaves that turn reddish in the autumn. It’s perfect as a specimen and for creating contrast in the landscape.
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