ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot

Picture this as a perfect recipe for fall colour, as well as a spectacular photo: glistening, bright purple beauty berries of Callicarpa bodinieri (Profusion) backlit in the afternoon sun against the red, orange and gold foliage of Viburnum opulus snowball tree.
Many shrubs and trees glow in the fall, just when perennials and annuals are starting to fade into distant summer memories. Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo) provides year-round interest, but is particularly spectacular in fall, covered in clusters of tiny, orange-red berries. Take stock of colour in your garden now and if “dull” is what you come up with, plant some fall colour.
I steer clear of prickly plants in my garden, but make an exception for Berberis thunbergii, Atropurpurea, (Japanese barberry). This barberry bush covered in dark bronze-red leaves and tiny red berries looks spectacular on a sunny day underneath Cotinus coggygria, Grace, the red-leaved Smoke bush. But if it’s red you’re after, nothing beats cork-winged Euonymus alatus (Burning bush) for its vermilion-red leaves.
Each year around this time, I have a heyday planting for fall colour. “It’s all about the foliage,” I remind myself, while digging a hole for Ginkgo biloba (Maidenhair Tree), whose fan-shaped, golden leaves will light up the garden. In the case of Acer palmatum, Sango Kaku, it’s not just about exquisite foliage from spring onwards, but also striking coral-red bark that glows all winter.
I just had to have Cornus, Eddie’s White Wonder, with leaves that change slowly from green to orange to deep red as the weather cools down. Eddie has the added attraction of masses of white dogwood blooms in mid- spring and a habit of sublime elegance.
I’ve made one more exception to my “prickly” rule by planting an evergreen variegated English holly, Ilex aquifolium, in the lawn as a specimen tree. I prune it to shape just before the holiday season so I can bring sprigs of glossy, variegated foliage with red berries inside for decoration.
Dogwood shrubs are showy in full leaf: Cornus alba, Elegantissima, with its green and white-edged leaves, and Cornus alba, Aurea, with its dazzling chartreuse leaves. As winter approaches, colourful bark on eye-catching stems becomes the main feature. Tip: Prune these shrubs just above the ground in March to encourage clusters of colourful new stems to grow.
Virginia creeper lives up to its name, quickly spreading up anything it can cling to. The most colourful of all the Virginia creepers is Parthenocissus henryana, the Silvervein creeper, with leaves that start purple, turn dark bronze-green with silver veins and then turn rich red in the fall.
The choices of great fall foliage plants are many, but one that gets a lot of attention is Hydrangea quercifolia, Oakleaf hydrangea. This most handsome of shrubs has eye-catching, deeply lobed leaves that turn spectacular crimson-bronze in fall. It also makes a distinguished container plant.
Go on, don’t be shy. Light up your garden by adding more drama, texture, contrast, interest and colour.

From A Year on the Garden Path: A 52-Week Organic Gardening Guide by Carolyn Herriot. Second edition $24.95. Available from your favourite bookstore or order online at www.earthfuture.com/gardenpath.