There are some colours gardeners shy away from — orange being the chief culprit. Landscape designer Franchesca Watson walks us through how best to combine her favourite sunset hues and bold foliage for a garden that gently eases from summer into autumn.
How brave are you with orange in your garden? Are you the ‘integrate and blend’ type or one that’s after walloping contrast and drama? (No judgement here!) If you fall into the 'integrate and blend’ camp, try touches of orange rather than swathes. A few tall stands of lion’s ear (Leonotus leonorus) towards the rear of your planting will do the trick. Orange cosmos or dainty orange Bidens ferulifolia interspersed with smaller shrubs can add liveliness, and orange roses such as the fragranced ‘City of Pretoria’ or the tangerine and gold-coloured ‘Herero’ bring both autumnal warmth and colour.
Make a seasonal statement with the handsome pride of De Kaap (Bauhinia galpinii), which bears masses of terracotta coloured flowers from summer to late autumn. It looks wonderful on a slope or cascading over a wall in either sun or semi shade. It’s truly wonderful and a delicacy for barred playboy butterflies. For softer autumnal shades try the delicate flowering Begonia sutherlandii. It’s perfect for shady spots and in summer rainfall zones it flowers right through summer until April.
Aloes and gladioli give delectable pops of colour when planted among ornamental grasses. Aloe cooperi and Gladiolus dalenii being my favourites for this effect. I love to use the climbing roses ‘Copper Arch’ and ‘Francesca’ draped over an arch or clambering up a trellis. Their warm colour and generous, full-petalled blooms flower throughout the season and well into autumn. Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) makes a good loose hedge as well as a screening plant, and it’s available in both deep and paler orange. I like to mix the two colours together — and, when food is scarce, their abundant flowers are magnetic for birds.
Dahlias are your go-tos for drama. Lift their tubers and store them in a dry paper bag over winter and replant in spring — this minimal homework is worth the reward in the next season. I contrast them with something ethereal such as Pennisetum ‘Red Buttons’ or other ornamentalgrasses. My favourite dahlias are the huge, cactus types with feathery petals and I have to confess a love for the miniature varieties such as ‘Cornel Bronze’ with their densely textured pom pom heads too. Pair them with burgundy leafed Loropetalum ‘Plum Gorgeous’ and Sambuccus ‘Midnight Lace’, a combination I use in my own garden. The deep purple and almost black foliage in combination with orange are a perfect match.
Lastly, cannas are back in vogue and I find the lustrous specimen, ‘Tropicana’, with variegated striped orange leaves irresistible. (Variegated, by the way, is no longer a swear word!) If you're lucky enough to garden in a tropical zone, dig into the heliconia and ginger families. Some dangle, others flower upright and a few varieties, such as the lobster claw types, flower pink and orange.
Text by Franchesca Watson
