8 plants for autumn colour – grow these shrubs, trees and flowers to beautify your garden

By choosing plants for autumn colour, your outdoor space can look just as beautiful as it did in the summer months. And there are plenty to pick from; this season brings dramatic flame-hued foliage, branches adorned with berries, and lots of flowers, too.

You may have already planted some late-summer blooms, which are merrily continuing to put on a show. But if you're looking for something new, now's a great time to get shrubs and trees in the ground, where you can enjoy them year after year, and to plant pot-grown, seasonal flowers, often available at garden centres.

In this guide, you'll find eight plants to consider, with plenty of expert recommendations and practical tips. From cheery patio-pot favourites to a shrub with pink seed pods, you'll be sure to find something you love in this mix.

8 plants for autumn colour to keep your garden glowing this season

Autumn is often seen as a time to prep and plan. Spring bulbs need to be sorted, there's lawn care to attend to, and you may have started thinking about ways to protect plants from frost. But, alongside all this outdoor action, there's so much seasonal beauty to admire – that is, if you have the right types of plants.

1. Nerine

We tend to associate bulbs with spring, when the likes of daffodils, tulips, and crocuses bring borders and containers to life. However, there are also a few autumn-blooming bulbs, such as nerines. Dry nerine bulbs can be planted in spring or summer, or some garden centres sell them potted up when they're flowering.

Harriet Worsley, managing director at Worsley Design & Consultancy, calls them her "secret weapon" for pretty, feminine flowers this season. "They like full sun – these are not for shady, boggy ground – and come in pinks and whites," she says. "Although the bright bubblegum-pink ones are not my favourites in terms of colour (I prefer the subtler shades), these are the real ‘doers’ and should come back each year."

The Crocus website offers a nerine collection available to buy, which includes three different varieties.

Harriet Worsley

Garden designer Harriet Worsley set up Worsley Design & Consultancy after studying Garden Design and Planting Design and studying for her RHS Certificate of Horticulture. She worked as a landscape designer for a firm in Notting Hill, and as a weekly volunteer at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she honed her plant knowledge. Harriet has a first-class degree from Central Saint Martins, where she has taught for twenty years, is a published author, and lives in London.

2. Acer

"For impact in the autumn, I often use acers in my planting schemes," says Harriet. "My favourite at the moment, which my clients also love, is Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku'. It has vibrant red stems, lush green foliage in the summer, and butter-yellow leaves in autumn."

In city gardens, where a lot of the planting is evergreen, a tree like this can be a reminder of the changing seasons, adding novelty and surprise as its colours change, Harriet adds. You can buy "Sango-kaku" acers from Suttons.

There are lots of other acers to consider, too, for a dazzling display this season. "I often plant acers in pots for my city garden clients, ideally in large troughs or raised beds at a metre wide, if there is the space," Harriet says. She also highlights that they tolerate some shade, which is important for urban spaces often shaded by tall buildings.

3. Helenium

Rosebie Morton, founder of The Real Flower Company, adds Helenium "Moerheim Beauty" to our list (which you can shop for at Crocus). "This is a wonderful, hardy, perennial plant for late-autumn colour, producing beautiful copper-coloured, eye-catching, daisy-like flowers with bold brown centres," she says.

"It likes to be planted in full sunlight and good fertile soil – don't let it get too dry," Rosebie advises. "It will flower all summer long and well into the autumn, as long as you deadhead it regularly. It is also very good for pollinators and makes a great cut flower. What more can you want?"

Rosebie Morton

Rosebie Morton founded The Real Flower Company in 1995, determined to restore scent to the cut flower market. The flower farm covers eight hectares, growing over 180 different varieties of flowers and foliage as regeneratively as possible, to fulfil their nationwide online bouquet business, along with weddings and other events.

4. Snowberry

If you're looking to add a beautiful berrying shrub to your autumn scheme, consider snowberries. Rosebie particularly recommends Symphoricarpos "Magical Candy" (available at Thompson & Morgan), which grows to 80cm to one metre in height.

"It comes into its own at this time of the year, with a mass of eye-catching pink berries which stand out like shining jewels all along its stems," she says, adding that its leaves turn an attractive autumnal colour before eventually dropping in the winter months. She also highlights its small flowers in early summer.

"The beauty of growing a snowberry is that it will grow in most soils and is very undemanding," she continues. "It is prone to suckering, but easy to control. If necessary, it can be pruned in late winter, but will really only need doing once every few years."

Snowberries can also help attract birds to your garden – but don't be tempted to try the berries yourself as they are toxic to humans (as well as to pets).

5. Sweet gum

Rosebie says you can’t talk about autumn colour without mentioning a Liquidambar styraciflua, also known as a sweet gum, or occasionally "alligator wood" due to its scale-like bark.

If planted in moist, well-drained soil, it can reach heights of up to 17 metres, she says. "It has so much to offer, from its architectural shape to its beautiful lobed leaves which, in autumn, turn from golden-yellow tones through shades of orange and finally fiery red – and can often have the full range of colours going on simultaneously.

"Plant so that the sun will shine on its exquisite autumn leaves to give you weeks of pleasure," she suggests. Sweet gum trees are available to buy from the Crocus website.

6. Winged Spindle

Euonymus alatus, commonly known as winged spindle or fire bush, is one of Rosebie's all-time favourites – she says she has at least three growing in her garden.

"It is a deciduous shrub which has large, dark green leaves which turn the most spectacular colour in the autumn – hence the name fire bush. It needs to be planted where the sun will catch the coloured leaves and the eye-catching seed pods, which are sugar-pink in colour, splitting open to reveal bright orange seeds."

Pruning can be carried out in late winter to remove dead, diseased or congested stems, she adds.

Planting in a small garden? Consider the compact "Little Moses" variety, available from Thompson & Morgan.

7. Viola

Thriving in mild temperatures, violas are ideal for spring patio containers but also make excellent plants for autumn colour. Emma Fell, head of horticulture at Hillier Garden Centres, says they're exceptionally hardy and will carry on flowering for months, adding reliable pops of colour to borders, hanging baskets, and pots.

Don't forget about pansies, too, which are similar but have larger blooms. "With their bold, cheerful faces in a rainbow of colours, they provide instant impact," Emma says. "For best results, keep deadheading spent blooms to encourage fresh flushes of colour.”

Try "Frizzle Sizzle Burgundy" from Crocus, which has charmingly ruffled petals, or "Tiger Eyes", also from Crocus, for black and yellow flowers.

Emma Fell

Emma is a respected expert in the world of plants and plant care. Throughout her career, Emma has been responsible for sourcing and selecting new plants, including the ones that feature in Hillier's illustrious show gardens, such as at RHS Chelsea and BBC Gardeners' World, as well as championing the company's learning and development strategy.

8. Beauty berry

Callicarpa, or the beauty berry, is another gorgeous shrub to consider when looking for plants for autumn colour. As its name suggests, its ornamental berries are its prized feature; they form eye-catching clusters in a vibrant purple hue and often stay put into winter. The foliage also has seasonal colour before falling.

Mulching in spring is beneficial, and you may also need to give yours a light prune in spring to keep them looking their best. Opt for the award-winning "Profusion" variety, available from Crocus, or if you'd like to grow a white-berried alternative, try "Magical Snowstar".

FAQs

What are some colourful plants for autumn containers?

As mentioned above, acers can work well in large containers (and can make a gorgeous addition to a Japanese-style garden). For instant impact, violas and pansies are a classic choice for uplifting colour.

Rosebie also recommends considering heucheras. "Also known as coral bells, these plants are grown for their striking foliage, which comes in all sorts of colours from pale greens and yellows, apricots to deep corals, to purples and almost blacks," she says. "They are ideal for containers, being very undemanding.

"They thrive in partial shade, but the deeper coloured leaves can cope with sun. Favourites are Heuchera 'Marmalade' and 'Plum Pudding', although if you really want to create an autumn statement, look at 'Autumn Leaves'."

Do any roses flower in autumn?

Roses are usually thought of as a summer flower, but some can keep blooming into the cooler months. For instance, if you see a white rose in flower this season, Harriet says it’s probably "Iceberg" – "(the wintery name is a good hint)".

"If you keep deadheading it, you’ll probably get flowers later on in the year, sometimes even in December in warm city climates," she says. "It comes as a climber, or as a normal bush form rose."

Note that many roses have vibrant rose hips in autumn, too, which aren't only decorative in the garden but are also beneficial for birds.

As well as growing gorgeous plants for autumn colour, there are some important tasks to tick off this season to keep your garden looking its best. Just be sure to steer clear of making any common autumn gardening mistakes – our guide has all the info you need to know.