NOVEMBER 2026
TIME TO PLANT RESILIENT TREES FOR EVERY GARDEN
CONSERVATORIES
Styling the perfect indoor-outdoor space
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GARDENS AGLOW
Autumn colour from grasses, late blooms & leaves
Rose hips Heritage fruit Elegant maples Multipurpose plants Gravetye Manor £6.50 UK
$21.90 NZ
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In Hampshire, Helen Elks-Smith has designed a garden that’s a true celebration of autumn, combining late-flowering perennials, colourful tree foliage, sculptural seedheads and graceful grasses to deliver a vibrantly textural display that extends the season beautifully WORDS MARTYN COX PHOTOGRAPHS STEPHEN STUDD
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At the corners of the dining terrace are four large elegant planters, each containing an olive tree underplanted with Erigeron karvinskianus.
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True to FORM
When the 7th Lord Carrington took on Bledlow Manor in the Chilterns from his father, he was keen to re-energise the planting while staying faithful to the garden’s original formality, which is at its clearest in the chill of late autumn WORDS LIZ WARE PHOTOGRAPHS ANNA OMIOTEK-TOTT
Prunus lusitanica and yew balls edge the four reflecting ponds at Bledlow Manor, each with a central sculpture.
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Contrasting with an emerald lawn is a vivid combination of acers and enkianthus at the foot of a towering Himalayan birch.
OLD MASTERS
An eye for art informs this mature Edinburgh garden. Best known for a summer show of rhododendrons, its painterly palette of glowing autumnal foliage, enlivened by selected sculptures, makes it a year-round masterpiece WORDS SHEILA M. AVERBUCH PHOTOGRAPHS RAY COX
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TO P 1 0 P L A N T S
2 Caragana arborescens
3 Elaeagnus x submacrophylla
A legume, and therefore also nitrogen-fixing, the Siberian pea tree will grow to about 6m tall with a 4m spread. Its seeds, young pods and flowers are all edible – you can press the seeds for oil, while the leaves provide a blue dye. Grow this drought-tolerant plant in full sun as part of a mixed border or even as a hedge.
Ebbinge’s silverberry has oval, russet-toned, edible berries that are rich in vitamins and minerals. The shrub also fixes nitrogen into the soil, making it available to those surrounding plants that need it. “It’s also shade tolerant and an incredibly resilient evergreen offering shelter for wildlife throughout the year,” says Lizzie.
4 Hosta sieboldiana var. elegans
5 Lavandula angustifolia
This is also known as the giant blue hosta; its young, edible spring shoots are known as hostons and taste like asparagus. The leaves and the off-white flowers are also edible and are traditionally enjoyed in Japanese cuisine. Hostas are good in shady spots, and this one’s leaves turn a rich brown before they die back in autumn.
“Drought-tolerant English lavender is a magnet for pollinating bees, butterflies and hoverflies. It’s also a natural deterrent for mosquitoes,” Lizzie explains. “It’s long been valued for its soothing qualities, and a little goes a long way when using its flowers and leaves in tea and desserts, or in aromatherapy for a calming effect.”
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IMAGES GAP/THOMAS ALAMY/GARDEN WORLD IMAGES/JASON SMALLEY; SHUTTERSTOCK
6 Toona sinensis “A prized spring vegetable in China, the young leaves of this plant taste like beef and onion crisps but they can also be used dry as a tea substitute,” says Lizzie. Also known as Chinese cedar, this fast-growing, deciduous tree can reach up to 15m with a great shade canopy and fragrant white summer flowers.
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CO N S E RVATO R I E S
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