Evergreen shrubs come into their own
Silver and golden variegated evergreen shrubs are a year-round attraction in this garden, but they really come into their own when emerging from the faded growth of herbaceous perennials and falling leaves of deciduous shrubs leave the scene.
Slow growing conifers are especially effective in an autumn garden.
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ is a star performer with a long name which, roughly translates into ‘pea-sized cones and golden filigree leaves’.
Thuja occidentalis ‘Rheingold’ lives up to the name in summer then in autumn a coppery tint develops on the foliage. Add a few dwarf silver and golden variegated shrubs to the mix and you have an attractive background structure to highlight winter-flowering plants as they come into bloom
Whilst the silvery pink blooms of autumn heather Calluna vulgaris ‘H.E,Beale’ remain fresh into October as usual, the flower buds on groups of winter heather (Erica carnea) are starting to swell. It looks as though they could open in early, rather than late December this year.
The popularity of garden heathers has ebbed and flowed over time. Possibly because great purple swathes of Calluna vulgaris across our early autumn moorland which has acidic soil, marks them down as difficult. But the majority will grow in a soil with neutral Ph.
Good points; they are frost tolerant and have an extended period in bloom. The carneas flower from December to April serving early pollinating insects in late winter. Planted in groups, they are ideal ground-covering plants, smothering most weeds. A resident wren forages for insects in their dense growth and they can be propagated via softwood stem cuttings. Prune out the dead flower heads in spring to encourage new growth. Collect young shoots five centimetres long, with a heel attached and plant in a container of gritty sand.