Using Autumn's colours in a Ruapehu garden

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 388, 28 May 1991, Page 14

Using Autumn's colours in a Ruapehu garden

During my childhood in the Northern Hemisphere we used to chant a little rhyme "March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers". I can't say that May brings forth a great abundance of flowers in our part of the Antipodes but what it does bring forth is the brilliant display of Autumn colour during the leaf fall of the deciduous trees and shrubs so suited to our colder climate and which we can grow to perfection in this area.

A truly lovely sight to look towards the mountain and to see the riot of colour against the dark backdrop of the hills with the snow covered mountain rising behind them. Majestic poplars in their autumn dress of pure gold, ornamental cherries in gold and yellows, rich brown and here and there a flash of bright scarlet. Liquid amber from sombre reds to bright greens and golds, cotinus americanus making a patch of brilliant scarlet with the deep purple of the copper beech as a backdrop. Such variety of colour can be used to great effect in our own gardens perhaps to accent a particular point or to draw the eye to a particulir feature. Golds and yellows to complement the glossy dark green or purple shades, yellows and reds against grey or blue, deeper purple or

brown shades to accent light green or yellow foliage. - One of the combinations I find most pleasing at this time of the year is the bright sunny yellow of physocarpus between the grey/blue of cupressus "blue ice" and the soft green of "sophora tetraptera" the large flowered kowhai. Physocarpus is a deciduous shrub growing to about one and a half metres high in height. It retains its golden foliage well into the winter before the leaves fall and in spring and summer gives a good show of white fluffy flowers tinged with pink. Among the larger shrubs the golden elderberry, sambucus canadensis aurea has beautiful golden foliage with the bonus of large white flower heads in summer followed by a crop of cherry red fruits in the Autumn.

by

Bea Barnes

A smaller shrub in the gold tones is euonymus ovatus aurea. This grows to a little over a metre in height and is evergreen. For something lower

corokia 'bronze king' is a good choice with its rich brown foliage all the year round and a mass of yellow flowers in the summer. This

growing carex evergold, compact with yellow and green grass-like foliage. Very useful for a border or rockery. For brown shades the

shrub is very upright in character and grows to about two metres. corokia 'chocolate soldier' is a smaller shrub growing to only one metre in height and having rich brown very glossy foliage. Quite a striking little shrub. For a good ground cover the lovely conifer microbiata deccasata turns a rich chocolate hrown in the

cold of the winter. In purple shades the evergreen dodonea purpurea looks good against light green or variegated foliage and is also evergreen. Upright fan shape in "character it grows to about three metres. For a really rich purple corylus avellana purpurea is quite outstanding with it's dark T.. — 7/C