- Cotinus Grace. Just shining out in my shrubby corner. I love the way that there are pinks and oranges and reds in its beautifully veined leaves as the chlorophyll breaks down. This will be over in a week or so, but I have absolutely loved every minute of its display this year.
2. Beautiful zig-zagging berries on this Cotoneaster. It sits in a dark recess barely earning its keep for most of the year, if I am honest, but now it looks absolutely fabulous.
3. This is the newly made architectural wonder that is The Drawing Shed, Attlee Terrace, E17, a community garden and space for arts projects on the estate. I was invited to the opening and look forward to working with them on garden workshops for the community in the next year. Nice lights.
4. Free plants one. Bamboo. Phyllostachys Aurea. The well behaved one. It is good time of year to crown lift, thin and divide these. I spent a merry couple of hours doing just that to this clump, harvesting about forty stout canes and lots of compostable material. I also dug around each clump and ended up with five nice culms which I have potted up for the next client who wants some bamboo. These go for £50 each in my nursery, so that was worth doing!
5. Free plants 2. Eriobotria japonica (thanks, Jim for the ident.) You may remember this relatively new garden from the Summer and the fine tree which I couldn’t identify. I only go once a month at the moment, but I found a lovely seedling of it which I was allowed to take. Need to find a good home for that to now.
6. Seeking a bit of natural inspiration earlier this week, I had a short walk in Epping Forest. This Birch clump just sang out to me with its lovely golden leaf and bracken underplanting. Beautiful.
Tim Hewitt, Gardener 
I also grow an Eriobotria for 3 years and I haven’t had any flowers yet. After eating fruit in Spain I sowed the seeds and one of them sprouted. Now in my heated bench, it seems to be happy there
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It is new to m, Fred, but in the sheltered London garden that the mother tree is in there are flowers. I will be keeping an eye on it. Maybe there will be fruit one day in an exceptionally warm year?
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fingers crossed !… keep us posted about yours
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Last week, it was The Potter’s phyllostachys aurea I admired & now this week, it’s yours. I see this bamboo in my future. Cotoneaster earns its place in the garden, doesn’t it, & this time of year, especially so.
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Mmmmm yum. Loquats are awesome. They’re all in fruit here in Western Australia at the moment. Best thing is people don’t seem to eat them so if you see a tree full of fruit and stop and ask to pick some usually the answer is of course.
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I envy you, Nat. I think I will have to go to an exotic fruit store for a taste because here they rarely, if ever, fruit. Lovely tree though.
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Shining is certainly the word to describe Cotinus ‘Grace’. It’s a glorious colour.
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Loquats used to be grown most commonly from seed. Now that they are becoming popular again, cultivars are becoming available in nurseries. It seems odd to me that anyone would actually pay money for one. However, The fruit of the cultivars is impressive!
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Beautiful Cotinus! Enjoy it while you can.
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My ‘grace’ has almost finished now. Just a few leaves hanging on to the tips of that branches. Fancy sending a chunk of that bamboo my way? If so, let me know how much moolah.
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You are welcome to it. Just postage. How many would you like? I currently have four big pots and the canes are 6-7 feet high.
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Gosh thanks, just one I think. It might not be practical to send given the size.
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Cotinus is on my thinking about list. I need some shrubby autumn impact in the garden and C.Grace does look glowing lovely. Enjoy the Drawing Shed project.
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I can recommend it, but you need to prune it to a low framework each Spring.
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