The final, bright shades of autumn enlighten the garden through November with many leaves turning through reds, oranges and browns and fruits and hips ripening in rich shades of yellow, orange and red.
Grasses provide a huge amount of interest through the autumn when they add great texture, movement and sound to mixed borders, herbaceous plantings or naturalistic schemes. Cortaderia selloana 'Pumila', the pampas grass, bears strong, stout stems from its crown and creamy plumes that produce a dazzling display. It looks particularly striking on a clear, sunny day.
Malus x zumi 'Golden Hornet' is one of the crab apple trees that are great for the smaller garden. Covered in white blossom in spring, in the autumn the rich, golden yellow fruit ripens producing a stunning spectacle for several months. Malus are easy trees to grow, preferring moist but well-drained soil and a sunny position. Once established they require little maintenance.
Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, makes a fine mature tree in the garden where it forms a shapely, conical habit. It has attractive, orange-brown bark and soft, feathery foliage that turns from orange to russet brown in autumn: on a clear sunny day this produces fantastic reflections if grown by a pond or lake. Metasequoia needs soil that remains moist throughout the year, an open site and space to allow it to develop.
Molinia caerulea 'Variegata' is a great selection for use at the front of a border, in a container, or mixed planting where its yellow and green variegated foliage will add texture and interest throughout the year. During autumn, slender flowering stems emerge from the tufted base and open to produce purple spikelets of flowers that fade to rich golden yellow. These combine fantastically well with the foliage, producing a light, frothy effect.
Rosa 'Scharlachglut' is one of the best shrub roses for producing fantastic scarlet hips in autumn. As its crimson flowers fade in summer the hips, which are pear-shaped and hang in clusters, produce a beautiful effect, particularly when covered in a hoar frost or thin layer of snow. This rose is easy to grow and requires only a light prune in late winter to remove dead wood, crossing branches and to re-shape it.