Autumn Colour
Episode: # 9 02/06/07
Presenter: Melissa King
What cool climate gardeners live for and warm climate gardeners long for is sensational autumn colour. Foliage displays are best in areas with cool autumn temperatures so if you want to experience vivid colour then head for the hills.
Few gardens do it better than Pirianda in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne. Pirianda is the aboriginal word for ‘plenty’ and there is certainly lots to see!
The spectrum of autumn foliage colour is magical, with a kaleidoscope of flame reds, deep plums, vivid purples and candy pinks as well as bronze, gold and burnt orange hues.
Maples are one of the highlights of the garden in autumn and the full moon maple is hard to miss! It has bigger more impressive leaves than other Japanese Maples and enchanting red, gold and orange autumn leaf tones
The Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum) is as sweet as it sounds with “to-die-for” foliage in all the sunset shades. It is the one you see a lot of in the hardwood forests of eastern North America.
The Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) colours later than the sugar maple but is equally striking with bright green leaves that change to bright yellow and orange as the weather cools.
Autumn Blaze (Acer x freemanii ‘Jeffersred’ Autumn Blaze®) is a real show off and it is appropriately named because it is a blaze of fire-engine red foliage. It has lovely upright habit and makes a perfect feature tree.
Autumn foliage trees can also make a dramatic centrepiece to a design, or an attractive feature in the lawn.
The Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is a real show-stopper with brick red to scarlet foliage. Apart from the distinctive colour you can recognize it by its bark, with ridges that look like they have stripes down the centre – the striping goes all the way down the trunk.
The Silky Camellia (Stewartia malacodendron) is a native of America. It isn’t often seen in gardens, but its purple and yellow shades are a striking contrast. Pretty white flowers bloom in summer followed by green fruits and the decorative orange-tinged bark is most attractive.
You can paint magnificent pictures in the garden with autumn foliage on mass – the collective effect is stunning - or splash vibrant autumn plants through the green foliage of evergreens.
Experiment with harmonizing hues of bronze and gold or rich shades of red and purple or make a dramatic statement with strong contrasting shades like purple and gold.
Pirianda Gardens
Victoria Parks
Hacketts Road off Monbulk-Olinda
Olinda
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/
Presenter: Melissa King
What cool climate gardeners live for and warm climate gardeners long for is sensational autumn colour. Foliage displays are best in areas with cool autumn temperatures so if you want to experience vivid colour then head for the hills.
Few gardens do it better than Pirianda in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne. Pirianda is the aboriginal word for ‘plenty’ and there is certainly lots to see!
The spectrum of autumn foliage colour is magical, with a kaleidoscope of flame reds, deep plums, vivid purples and candy pinks as well as bronze, gold and burnt orange hues.
Maples are one of the highlights of the garden in autumn and the full moon maple is hard to miss! It has bigger more impressive leaves than other Japanese Maples and enchanting red, gold and orange autumn leaf tones
The Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum) is as sweet as it sounds with “to-die-for” foliage in all the sunset shades. It is the one you see a lot of in the hardwood forests of eastern North America.
The Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) colours later than the sugar maple but is equally striking with bright green leaves that change to bright yellow and orange as the weather cools.
Autumn Blaze (Acer x freemanii ‘Jeffersred’ Autumn Blaze®) is a real show off and it is appropriately named because it is a blaze of fire-engine red foliage. It has lovely upright habit and makes a perfect feature tree.
Autumn foliage trees can also make a dramatic centrepiece to a design, or an attractive feature in the lawn.
The Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra) is a real show-stopper with brick red to scarlet foliage. Apart from the distinctive colour you can recognize it by its bark, with ridges that look like they have stripes down the centre – the striping goes all the way down the trunk.
The Silky Camellia (Stewartia malacodendron) is a native of America. It isn’t often seen in gardens, but its purple and yellow shades are a striking contrast. Pretty white flowers bloom in summer followed by green fruits and the decorative orange-tinged bark is most attractive.
You can paint magnificent pictures in the garden with autumn foliage on mass – the collective effect is stunning - or splash vibrant autumn plants through the green foliage of evergreens.
Experiment with harmonizing hues of bronze and gold or rich shades of red and purple or make a dramatic statement with strong contrasting shades like purple and gold.
Pirianda Gardens
Victoria Parks
Hacketts Road off Monbulk-Olinda
Olinda
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/
AS SEEN ON 
