Naturally Great Fall Color

In spring the sap of the American sugar maple, concentrated to syrupy confection, has dribbled across many a flapjack. The sugar produced from this tree was used as legal tender in Quebec as late at the 1930s (the leaf adorns Canada's flag). The autumn colors of this tree, ranging from vibrant yellow to brilliant orange to mind-bending red, are those of a near religious experience. There are superb selections, from the radically narrow beanpole known as 'Newton's Sentry' to cut-leaf finery in 'Sweet Shadow'.

The witch hazels of our continent received their common name from water diviners of the 17th century. Arriving on our shores in need of a new source of divining wood (hazelnut, Corylus, had been traditionally used in Europe), the diviners decided that Hamamelis, whose leaves are similar in appearance to the Eurpoean hazelnut, filled the niche. When compared to its Asiatic cousins, the flowers of the American species pale; the spidery yellow to reddish flowers are later than the species (late winter). The multistemmed tree or large shrub, however, is unparalleled in its end-of-season finery, alighting in shades of burgundy, copper and coral.

"Leaves of three, quickly flee" is the axiom subscribed to many other members of this plant family, which includes poison oak and poison ivy. Fortunately, the American sumac doesn't have enough of the culpable irritant--urshiol--to pose any threat to human skin. This dioecious shrub (literally meaning two houses, referring to the fact that separate plants bear either male or female flowers). On female specimens, knobby cones of deep red fruit (refreshingly tart to the taste and under-appreciated as a font for 'lemonade') ripen in autumn and are a sensational complement to the highly textural pinnate foliage as it shifts from green to high-voltage red and orange in late September. A new cultivar called 'Tiger Eyes' offers brilliantly colored golden, filigreed yellow foliage during the summer and an end-of-season spectacle. Rhus typhina is a responsible water consumer.

The oakleaf hydrangea has a particularly large following throughout much of the U.S. due to its large, lobed, highly textural leaves and sensational mid- to-late summer blossoms of ivory white. There are many good selections, some with very large flower heads, including 'Snow Queen' and 'Harmony' and even one with fully double flowers, 'Snowflake'. If grown in shade, the foliage will generally not color well. If cultivated in full sun, however, be prepared for a superb performance--glossy shades of burgundy and red appearing in mid autumn and staying effective for many weeks. Though popular gardening literature recommends this species be treated as a woodland plant, if it can be provided even moisture throughout the year in a bright sunny location, the autumn color will equal the entertainment value of its flowering season.

--Author of The Explorer's Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials, noted plantsman Dan Hinkley is working on a book about trees and shrubs. He writes frequently for American Gardener, Horticulture, The Gardener and Martha Stewart Living, among other publications.