Get the look: autumn spectacular

Persian ironwood

Otherwise known as Parrotia persica , the Persian ironwood is one of the very best trees for autumn colour. It can be quite wide-spreading so if you have a small garden, choose the variety 'Vanessa' , which is more upright and takes up less room.

The Persian ironwood smoulders with fiery autumn colour

Monkshood

Monkshood is a reliable late-season performer

A closer look at the flowers gives a clue as to why Aconitum carmichaelii is also called monkshood. It's a reliable perennial

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs.

(a flower that lives for more than two years) bearing blue-purple flowers in September and October. It's poisonous so is best planted at the back of a border, away from passers-by, but still there for the bees and butterflies who love it!

A galaxy of grasses

Grasses add movement and sparkle in autumn sunshine

Grasses really come into their own in the autumn months. Here the purple moor grass ( Molinia caerulea ) in the foreground and golden oat grass ( Stipa gigantea ) show off their golden colours, waving in the breeze and sparkling in the slanting autumnal light. Their delicacy contrasts perfectly with the solidity of the dark green box topiary cones.