A toddler of my acquaintance is getting to grips with language and has mixed up “awesome” and “autumn”. Easy to do as he lives in Katoomba where he is loving the “awesome leaves”.
The big trees that are impressing Teddy – brilliant scarlet pin oaks, to 12 metres; butter-yellow gingkos, to 25 metres, multi-coloured tupelos, Nyssa sylvatica to around 20 metres – are beyond the scope of most of us, but some of the smaller trees colour up well in Sydney. Now is the right time to buy them as you can check the colour on the tree in the nursery and know exactly what you are going to get.
Mayfield Gardens at Oberon, where the Autumn Festival runs until April 25.
The Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, is reliable and offers many cultivars that suit little gardens, including pots. Colours range from soft rusty reds through carmine to burgundy, with a side-trip to gold and orange. (Maple Springs Nursery in Little Hartley has hundreds of maples to admire and plenty to buy). Choose a spot in the garden where the leaves won’t be burned by strong summer sun.
Crepe myrtles are good for year-round interest, including reddish leaves in autumn. Chinese pistachio, Pistacia chinensis, turns orange and scarlet in autumn and crabapples are mostly golden. “Sugar Tyme” is an especially good crabapple choice, with vivid red fruit on long slender stems amongst the yellow autumn foliage.
As lovely as these are in a suburban or city garden, autumn leaves become truly awesome on scale: when they rain down from an avenue lit as if through stained glass; when they offer thick piles of crunching colour to scuff through; or fire up an entire horizon in glowing tones. To experience awesome autumn you need big spaces and big trees. In Sydney head to Auburn Botanic Gardens, Fagan Park, Parramatta Park or Centennial Park.
Head west for trees dressed for autumn in the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, and in private gardens in Bilpin and Mount Wilson which open for the season. Colour in cool climates tends to peak around Anzac Day, so plan for a day trip or longer to get the most from the seasonal change out of town.
On the other side of the mountains, Everglades, the National Trust property at Leura, has long been famous for its tree tapestry planted by nurseryman Paul Sorensen in the 1930s for Henry Van de Velde. On one terrace contorted Japanese maples make a lace of hazy red at eye level, while on the next the yellows and oranges of cherries are mirrored in the reflective pool. Larger trees in autumn tones seem to pick up the glow of the escarpment that rims the view of the Jamison Valley.
Keep heading west to Orange, whose gardens, parks and vineyards live up to its name in autumn, and to Mayfield Gardens at Oberon, where the Autumn Festival runs until April 25, and sees the entire 75 hectares of garden, including the private Hawkins family gardens, and the new Mayfield maze open to visitors. Awesome!
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