August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 99Acloudofwhiteblossomappearsin
Mayandlooksgoodunderplantedwithcow
parsleyforanaturalisticlook,orstuddedwith
vibrantbluecamassias.Hawthornalsoactsas
aperfectbackdroptolateseasonsizzlerssuch
asdahlias,whichclashbeautifullywithits
scarletautumnberries.
4 .Acerpalmatum(Japanesemaple)
Thesegorgeoustreesaresoadaptabletoour
gardens,whetherinapotorintheground.
Theyhaveagracefulhabitwithstriking
foliage,whichvariesfromyellowtoburgundy,
aswellasvividautumncolour.
Acersarealsoeasytogrowinpots,soif
youhaveasmallgardenyoucanmakeastand-
alonefeatureofastrikingvarietysuchasAcer
palmatumvar.dissectum,adome-shaped
bushoffinelycutmid-greenleaveswhichturn
goldinautumnandlookfabulousinpots.
OtherstrikingvarietiesincludeA.
palmatum‘Bloodgood’,whichisquite
vigorous,growingtoaround 4. 5 mheight
andspread,withdeeppurpleleavesthat
turnbloodredinautumn.Acersarebest
plantedinfullsunordappledshadeandif
you’replantingtheminapot,useacompost
consistingofequalpartsJohnInnesNo.
2 compostandasoillessmultipurpose
compost,puttingplentyofdrainagematerial
inthebaseofthecontainer.You’llbeableto
controlgrowthbetterinacontainer.
5 .Sambucusnigraf.porphyrophylla
Ifyouwantaneye-catchingcontrastinleaf
colour,choosewhatisknownasblackelder,
whichhasalmostblack,lacyleavesandgoes
perfectlyinaburgundyborder,aswellas
producingdelicatepinkflowersinMayand
Juneandblackish-redautumnberries.
Growingtoaround 3 x 2 m,theirlight
structuremakesthembrilliantcompanions
forroses,perennialsandwhitevariegated
shrubs.Theygrowonanysoil,althoughthis
varietywilldobestinasunnyspotandneed
cuttingbacktogroundlevelinspringto
producethebestleafcolour.
HOMES INTERIORS
‘Acershavestrikingfoliage,whichvariesfrom
yellowtoburgundy,andvividautumncolour’
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