Celebration Trees and Other Plants,
September - December and Winter interest

   Malus - Crab apples. T 
Attractive colorful fruits, and frequently good leaf colors too.

    Romneya coulteri - Tree poppy. S

A sub-shrubby perennial rather than a true shrub. Grown  for attractive glaucous foliage and large fragrant showy white flowers that are up to 5" across of ruffled white petals with a large group of prominent yellow stamens in the middle. Needs some protection, shelter from strong cold winds and grow against a sunny wall if at all possible. Sometimes difficult to establish, but once way should be fine. Height to 3-8ft depending on how happy it is, spread depends on how far you'll let it sucker as it goes. Sounds difficult, but actually is magnificent.

   Acers - Maples. T

Almost all varieties have autumn colorations, try; Acer griseum - paper bark maple, Acer japonicum, full moon maple to 30ft high and wide. The Japanese Maples, Acer palmatum, also produce some good autumn colors, especially. A. palmatum "Osakazuki" which turns a fiery scarlet, slow growing eventually to 12ft tall and 6ft wide.

    Liquidambar styraciflua - Sweet Gum. T

One of the best trees for autumn color, place in full sun as a feature for best effect, against an evergreen background if at all possible. The species grows very large to 80ft tall and 40ft wide, and is well worth having if you have the space! There are several slower growing smaller cultivars such as "Golden Treasure"  or "Moonbeam" both to 30ft high and 20ft wide.

    Malus - crabapples. See April. T Attractive colorful fruits, and frequently good leaf colors too.

    Vitis coignetiae - Crimson glory vine. C

A large climbing vine and one of my favourite  plants. The "Crimson glory" bit comes in in autumn when the leaves turn. Very tropical and exotic looking but perfectly hardy. Great big leaves up to 12" across. Good over arbors and pergolas - as are other vines - as they produce leaves for shade in summer and lose them in the winter when you need the light to get through. Twiner.

    Viburnum bodnantense "Dawn". S

One of the small but very useful group of plants that produce scented flowers in the depths (or nearly the depths) of winter. Bunches of fragrant pink blooms on leafless stems. Grow near to a path that you are likely to use frequently as otherwise you won't appreciate the scent at a time of year when you're less inclined to go down a damp cold garden to smell it. Height to 10ft by 6ft wide, but can be pruned to keep the scented flowers down at nose level.

    Ilex J.C. van tol - Holly. T/ S

There are a great many varieties of holly available, but unfortunately none of them do exactly what we require from a holly on their own. i.e. have the traditional deep green spiky leaves and be reliably covered in bright red berries at Christmas. 

Most hollies are monoecious, a plant is either male or female but not both (unlike most plants) and therefore you need at least two to get the berries. Of these two, one will be male and so have no berries. J.C. van tol however is reliably  self-fertile and the closest to a perfect holly that we have, the draw-back - or not depending on how you see it - is that the leaves are deep green, but smooth without the traditional spikes. To 20ft tall by 12ft wide, like all hollies, fairly slow growing.