Fall colour

I had to go outside and get my paws around some plants today. I've been spending too much time behind the computer screen - writing and blundering around on the internet. I did linger though, over an interesting paper by Friedrich Oehmichen of Montreal. His subject was Acer Negundo - New Future for a Forgotten Tree. His theory is that the Acer negundo or Manitoba maple, should be used to re-green hostile places in the inner city. The Manitoba maple as most of us know can grow in almost anything - a tin can - a gutter - a cement block. In a survey quoted by Oehmichen, 11 per cent of the trees observed were growing in asphalt. People loathe the Manitoba maple because it grows too fast, seeds too much, and has a nightmarish shape. It also displays no fall colour. But I think the theory has merit. Oehmichen urges us to manipulate the Manitoba maple, not fight it.

I have waged a quiet war with the Manitoba maple in our own backyard. I don't mind it looming on the periphery - but I prefer it not colonize our 22-foot wide hillside garden. There are a selection of trees and shrubs planted for fall colour and by keeping the Manitoba maple at bay - the pretty ones have a chance to reach maturity, or maybe at least, puberty.

On this mid-October day, with the temperature nailed at about 9 degrees C, I did the sort of mindless chores I love. They are so repetitious and undemanding of the brain, they allow one to absorb the visual beauty of the garden and think poetic thoughts.

As I gathered pots and emptied the skeletal remains of annuals I have killed, I admired the emerging fall colour. The serviceberry tree, (Amelanchier canadensis, Zones 3-7) can always be counted on for rich fall display. The leaves turn wine or red or apricot colour. They are small too, so the leaf litter is absorbed into the landscape, rather than gathering in heaps.

Sumacs of most types ignite the autumn garden. I rely on the cut-leaf sumac for shots of yellow and orange, and am adding a new one to the garden this year, shinning sumac, (Rhus coppallina, Zones 4-9). This was pressed into my arms by Henry Kock from the University of Guelph Arboretum. Already it is all aglow in its little container. Michael Dirr author of The Manual of Woody Landscape Plants says it is the most ornamental of all sumacs but because it is so vigorous warns, "Plant with discretion for the plant may turn on you tomorrow."

The doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum, Zones 5-8) has the refinement of a debutante. It is gorgeous in the spring with white flowers that look like they should decorate a wedding cake. Berries follow the flowers and now in October the leaves are just starting to turn reddish-purple. I have done this plant a disservice, since it is wide spreading with attractive, horizontal branching, it really needs a bit of breathing space. But I have it wedged amongst a witch hazel and filbert, the three shrubs are duking it out like an old-fashioned, wrestling cage match. The filbert (Corylus, Zones 5-9) is turning a most delicious persimmon colour. It is a tad too vigorous for my garden, but it you have room, it is a handsome shrub for naturalizing, since it sends up a platoon of suckers from around the base.

I have been on a personal campaign to popularize the hybrid witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia, Zones 5-8) for years. You will see them in the nursery with cultivar names 'Arnold Promise', 'Jelena', and 'Diane' among others. I have been growing Arnold Promise in my garden for 15 years, since being struck dumb by its beauty at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. The fall colour on witch hazels can be outstanding, with leaves turning multi-shades of yellow and orange. They are among the earliest shrubs to flower in the season. In my garden the fragrant, electric yellow flowers start to unfold as early as February and last for many weeks. This plant tolerates full sun to part shade, and would prefer adequate moisture. In my yard it grows in very dry conditions and seems to resent it only a bit.

Once I finished emptying pots, I began raking the paths. I like raking almost as much as sweeping. I rake the paths, but I sweep the periwinkle - that's a good way to get rid of excessive leaf litter, and litter generated by humans. As I raked the paths in the backyard I made note of all the fall colour that is yet to come. The oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia, Zones 5-9) will put on a long, sensuous display of colour. The leaves will be orange, red and purple in waves of overlapping beauty. Some people choose this plant for the fall colour alone, but it also produces handsome, white flowers in June.

Fothergilla major (Zones 5-8) is a shrub I first saw in the lovely garden of Frank Kershaw of Toronto. Kershaw lectures widely on plants of merit, so I knew anything spotted in his garden is a worthy subject. Fothergilla will put on a generous display in autumn, with scarlet, red and orange leaves all showing off at once. The literature says Fothergilla demands an acidic soil. I must admit I have subjected mine to alkaline soil and is seems fine, but it has taken years and years to reach a size and spread of 3 x 3ft. In the spring, Fothergilla has sparkling white flowers that look like bottlebrushes.

In addition to fall foliage colour to swoon over, there are still flowers in performance mode. I really like the Hydrangea 'Limelight' (Zones 5-7)) which was new to my garden this year. It has been in bloom for a month, and is still showing vigor. The flowers on sturdy stems, change from green to pastel pink, and seem to blend in effortlessly in the perennial garden. Supporting the shrubs and trees are fall blooming perennials like the Japanese anemones (Anemone x hybrida), and the toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta).

I am even getting sporadic blooming on my Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) and lavender. The annuals which looked positively terminal for much of the summer, seem to be re-invigorated with the cool weather and are coming back for one last curtain call. So gardeners go outside and wallow in the autumn splendor, the colour rivals the Gauguin to Matisse show at the Art Gallery of Ontario.