Acers, all the acers

When we moved in I thought "ferns and hostas, ferns and hostas" and it didn't cross my mind, really, that ferns and hostas need specific conditions; I just bought hostas from the garden centre which said "partial shade". Being so affected by the woodland conditions and the north-east facing aspect to the garden, what I really want to create is something to look at all year round. I can't grow lots of exciting flowers so I decided on foliage, architectural planting and contrasting shapes and textures.

Of course, what you get with ferns and hostas is GREEN - lots and lots of GREEN. And, when the snails attack, frayed and shredded leaves in amongst the green. Which means you have on-purpose and purely accidental sharp edges which, frankly, look dreadful (hence the hostas are now in pots).

So, my current job is to introduce some different colours and textures into this part of the garden to make it look more interesting throughout the year. I am also trying to work on levels and heights so that there is a sense of depth to the bed and not just low lying foliage.

Acer palmatum Katsura





This little beauty is perfect for a shady corner and, in my garden, the orange and yellow serrated leaves will add interest against the sandstone. The tree grows only to around 90cm x 90cm which is perfect in a bed about 5m long, especially as it is situated next to the window so it should give some framing effects as well. It will turn orange and red in the autumn and its leaves will also give some colour in June when everything else is just GREEN.




Acer palmatum Atropurpureum

I have had this acer for ages and have kept it in a pot; last year it became really quite infested with weeds and moss and looked like it was dying (this is a theme in my garden!). So I gamely chopped it back and stuck it in another pot and it, rather politely, came back to life again this year. It has been in full sun for a few years now and seems reasonably happy but I am thinking of transferring it to the garden. At the moment, it is still in the pot so that I can move it around to try to find the best spot for it. I co-planted it with crocuses this year which looked rather nice whilst it was still just twiggy but probably not quite the right aesthetic!



Acer palmatum orangeola

So I might be a bit in love with this one. It is in a really quite shady spot but in very good soil and I am hoping it will be happy in its little corner. So, this acer will grow to around 1.5m (hopefully!) and has a weeping habit. I am imagining the long graceful branches giving some much needed softness to the rather angular construction of the garden. The foliage will turn a bright orange in the autumn and winter - I am very excited about it :-)
It is a dissectum, which means that the leaves are splayed and look like snowflakes.

I have planted next to it a Japanese painted lady fern in silvers and purples, and also an anemone Honorine Jobert. My plan for the rest of the bed involved heucheras, trilliums, brunnera 'Jack Frost' and probably some tiarellas, a winter-flowering jasmine and...I go on!