Kick up some leaves and revel in the shades and tones that come with autumn

It was one of those quintessential autumn days, the temperatures have dropped now from the summer highs, there was cold in the breeze, it was only 4pm but already the sky had lost the brightest of the daylight and dusk wasn’t far away.

I had to accept that the earth was indeed entering the last quarter of its orbit and the northern hemisphere was in the fall of the year.

I love the autumn don’t get me wrong, I just resist its annual onset, as it means another year is coming to an end.

The signs are everywhere of course, the spring bulbs are in the garden centres, autumn/ winter fashions are on the street and the summer flowers in the garden are waning if not totally finished.

Miscanthus Sinensis Ferner Osten in winter robes.

I can still remember my first day in college, it was late September and my first lecture was on autumn colour.

Until that point I had never really thought of the garden as a place of aesthetic beauty during this season.

I regarded autumn/ winter as a period when the garden slept in preparation for all the colour in the following spring and summer.

It was an enlightening lecture from an inspiring teacher and by the end of it I was so much more aware of the beauty that is all around during September and October.

There are many different types of plant providing a range of hues at the moment.

Late summer perennials, among them, Asters, some Heleniums, Penstemons, Rudbeckias and Salvias to name but a few, are still flowering away.

Shrubs such as Hydrangeas too are still very much to the fore right now‘, and the ornamental grasses which offer so much to the garden all year long in terms of texture, come into their own.

The evergreen Stipas and herbaceous Miscanthus both put on their autumn clothes.

Ferner Osten Miscanthus in autumn.

Stipa Ponytails will develop an oat-brown colour as the flower heads turn to seedheads and the foliage begins to go over.

These will need to be cleaned up next spring with a haircut to promote fresh growth.

Stipa arundinacea on the other hand takes on all the autumn colours in all the different shades, but is a substantially bigger plant and will need a good bit of space.

Miscanthus turns straw-coloured for the winter and this foliage can be removed if you want.

However, I love the winter look that they provide, the harshness of the cold frost on the dead stems looks so dramatic and seasonal and the seed heads provide welcome food in the winter larder for small birds, like finches.

Before that happens of course, we have the now and it is now that Miscanthus are show- stoppers.

The tall and majestic ‘Ferner Osten’ will grow to over 1.5m and an established clump will need at least 2m to be allowed to show itself off and what a show off it is.

The flowers open up deep pink in colour on top of green leaves and then the flower heads fade to silvery white as the foliage turns a lovely bronze-orange.

Miscanthus ‘Yakushima Dwarf’, will never get as tall, rarely growing more than 70cm to 80cm with a similar spread and will give a more compact autumn display.

What child, nay what adult, doesn’t love kicking through dry fallen autumn leaves.

Even now in adulthood there is such escapism in walking through the park or forest, ankle deep in leaves kicking them in the air with gay abandon — one can be a child again.

For all that the ornamental grasses and late-flowering perennials bring, it is nature’s kings that provide the real story. After all what would autumn be without trees.

Unimaginable is the answer. The butter yellow of Birch and Ash, and all the other shades that are present in Horse Chestnut, Oak and Beech trees throughout the countryside.

On the road between Cork and Mallow you are likely to see the finest autumn display on offer and all on the side of the road, not in any private garden or great estate, but actually on our roadside which we take for granted.

If you do find yourself on this stretch of road then do take the time to enjoy the beauty which is about you.

Please don’t forget road safety and understand that the juggernaut behind you travelling at 100kph may not share your fascination in the autumn colour and perhaps you should pull in somewhere safe.

There is one tree in particular in this planting which is rich mahogany red in colour.

I think I have identified it, I think it is a particular type of ash, Fraxinus angustifolia ‘Raywood’ or Claret Ash.

No matter the name, do enjoy the display of autumnal beauty which is all around this month.