As the leaves falls and the colour subsides, one shrub is still showing off and providing good value, finds GINA PARKINSON.

MANY of the deciduous trees and shrubs in our garden have lost their leaves now, but one still clinging to its full autumn coat is the smoke bush, or Cotinus. What a glorious plant this is.

We are lucky enough to have the space for the specimen in our garden to have been allowed to grow to its full height; it must be ten or 12 feet tall, with a network of branching stems.

Ours grows in an open sunny spot and although big, it gives an impression of delicacy; the stems aren’t overcrowded, some grow upright while other are horizontal, each finding their own space in which to catch the light.

The common name given to this shrub comes from the mass of fluffy plumes the plant carries in the summer. Pinkish to begin with, they turn smoky grey as they mature, so that by late summer the leaves appear to be topped with clouds of smoke.

The cotinus we have in our garden is a popular variety called ‘Grace’, a relatively new garden plant raised by Peter Dummer in the late 1970s and named after his wife.

A propagator at Hilliers Nurseries in Hampshire, Peter crossed Cotinus obovatus and Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’, the result being a bright plant with soft reddish purple leaves with an occasional greenish haze. As the summer progresses the foliage turns redder and slowly more bronze and orange so that by mid November it is glowing in the garden. Cotinus ‘Grace’ will tolerate most positions, but the foliage will give the best summer colour when planted in full sun, it will be greener in shade although autumn colours should be unaffected.

A mature specimen looks its best when backlit by the sun, which shines through the foliage making it look like old stained glass, especially if it can be allowed to grow to its greatest height.

The flowers appear in late summer and continue for several weeks. ‘Grace’ is a vigorous plant that will establish quickly and grow rapidly, as much as a metre or so in one year while young.

Its eventual unpruned height can be as much as five metres or 15 feet, with a spread of about two thirds of the height.

The height can be reduced with regular pruning, but this needs to be done carefully to avoid affecting flowering. Cotinus blooms on two or three-year-old wood, so a new plant needs to be left unchecked for its first two summers. After that a few of the oldest stems can be cut back annually for rejuvenation.


In the veg patch

BROAD beans were planted last weekend in the vegetable garden. Although usually sown in early spring, there are a number of varieties that are winter hardy, including ‘The Sutton’ which is a dwarf variety and the one we chose to try.

Broad beans are easy to plant: the seeds simply require to be put into the soil at a depth of around 5cm/2ins and 23cm/9ins apart in rows 23cm/9ins apart. They need an open spot and well drained soil, winter sown plants will struggle in cold, wet or water logged soil.

‘The Sutton’ grows up to 45cm/18ins tall and unlike taller varieties the strong bushy plants shouldn’t need supporting. The seeds can take a week or more to germinate and will grow over the winter into tough little plants hardy enough to withstand cold weather.

Fertilizer isn’t needed for winter sown varieties as it promotes soft growth prone to frost damage.

There should be enough nutrients in the soil to support the initial slow growth, the plants can be fed in early spring should this be necessary. The first beans should be ready to harvest in late spring or early summer.


Weekend catch-up

THE cold weather we have had this week is a timely reminder that pots need to be protected, especially if they aren’t frost hardy.

The simplest way is to wrap them in a few layers of bubble-wrap or pot ‘duvets’ made from black bin liners stuffed with crumpled sheets of newspapers and tied securely around the containers. Where possible move the pots to a warm, sheltered place by a house wall and huddle them together for extra protection.


Gardening TV and Radio

Tomorrow
8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners’ Question Time. From Manchester with Pippa Greenwood, Bob Flowerdew and Matthew Biggs. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

Tuesday
8pm, BBC2, Alan Titchmarsh’s Garden Secrets. Alan explores the gardens at Sissinghurst created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson looking at its naturalistic planting, its wild garden nuttery and influential use of colour.

Friday
3pm, BBC Radio4, Gardeners’ Question Time. A postbag edition from the Devon home of panellist Anne Swithinbank who is joined by Matthew Biggs, Bob Flowerdew and Eric Robson to answer listeners questions. The gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm.

Saturday, December 4
7am, BBC Radio York, Presenter Julia Booth and plant expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.