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30-03-2023

THE DELIGHTS OF AUTUMN COLOURS

Let me introduce myself. I am Jez Clark, co-founder and principal designer at Clark+Granger, a small studio-based design practice that specialises in house and garden design, landscape architecture and interiors. Over the coming months I will be sharing with you a journey through some of my favourite design experiences, from homes and gardens, interiors and landscapes.

I have been here on the Mountain for over seven years now and one of the things I love most about living here is the autumn colour. As a native Englishman I still have nostalgia for the home country and the autumn was always my favourite season.
The gentler Mountain climate allows us to indulge our passion for the brilliant displays of colour that some temperate climate deciduous trees can offer. Maples are an obvious choice for any gardener wanting that burning fire of autumn colour, but I have selected four of my particular favourite trees to share with you. They offer a different colour palette to the usual red tones of the maples and liquidambars.
I grew up in Sussex, in the south of England and loved visiting Sheffield Park. One of the most striking features of the parklands were the large stands of Gingko and Swamp Cypress around the lakes. The contrast between the golden yellow of the gingko and russet oranges and browns of the cypresses were an absolute joy.
Ginkgo, also known as the maidenhair tree and known horticulturally as Gingko biloba (above) is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, and first appeared over 290 million years ago and fossils belonging to the genus, extend back to the Middle Jurassic approximately 170 million years ago. It is a large spreading tree about 12m in height with a wide sheltering canopy. I know of a few fine specimens up here on the Mountain. I have one in my own garden. The gingko is suited to most soils but is most at home in wet areas.
Swamp Cypress, or Taxodium distichum (top right) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the everglades of the southern United States. It is very hardy and tough, adaptable to a wide range of soil types, whether wet, salty, dry, or swampy. In Autumn the bright green, lacy needles turn a russet orange then brown before falling.
There are several lovely specimens of this conifer at the entrance to the Tamborine Mountain Regional Botanic Gardens. Much to the amusement of the Gardens, each year someone calls to say the trees have died. If you have the space, planting stands of these trees together is a beautiful spectacle in the autumn.
Another of my favourite trees is the ornamental Manchurian Pear or Pyrus ussuriensis (pictured at bottom right). The is the largest of the species sometimes reaching 12m, pyramidal when young turning dense and round with age, making it ideal as a shade tree. I have one here at my home Chalk House and just love it. In the early spring it is a mass of pale pink buds turning to white blossoms and in the autumn the leaves display shades of burgundy and red. It is deciduous but the tree is quick to regrow and is without leaves for a very short period here on the Mountain.
My last, and perhaps my favourite tree is Nyssa sylvatica, (at right)commonly known as tupelo, or sour gum. It is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal North-eastern States and southern Ontario south as far as central Florida and eastern Texas and even Mexico. It has glossy, dark green rounded leaves which turn to varying autumn tones of plum-red, scarlet and gold and the foliage is held on the tree well into late autumn. I have planted these with great success on the Mountain and they have a tidy habit and well-formed shape requiring little to no shaping. This is a rather neglected tree that deserves to be better known. They look great in groups of three or more and definitely give maples a run for their money.
Visit Clark+Granger at www.cplusg.com.au or phone 0456 111 120 to find out more.