Day 298: smoke bush

Daily details from the garden to bring you inspiration throughout the year

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The purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Palace Purple’) wears its autumn colours well. Bright scarlet travels up the leaf stalk (petiole), creeps up the veins and around the margins, and gradually replaces deeper plum tones – it’s a skeletal effect, appropriate for the end of October. Meanwhile the underside of each leaf turn a coppery orange and, as they fall, there’s the faintest smell (familiar to anyone who’s pruned a cotinus in later winter) of spice – like a vague memory of walnut leaves – on the air. 


Garden coaching with Andrew O’Brien

Just to let you know, I’ll shortly be opening up a few spaces for one-to-one online garden coaching. The final details are still being tweaked, but if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, let me know on this page so I can tell you as soon as booking opens.


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Hello! I’m Andrew, gardener, blogger, podcaster, and owner of a too-loud laugh, and I’m so pleased you’ve found your way to Gardens, weeds & words. You can read a more in-depth profile of me on the About page, or by clicking the image above.

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