November colours

Many of my perennials have collapsed and I've tidied them up for the winter, leaving bald patches of earth between the few plants still clinging to green foliage. Nevertheless, there are still some bright patches like Enkianthus perulatus, which is, with good reason, my favourite shrub at this time of the year. It just gets better and better as it grows to fill its allotted space.

Underneath it,  Begonia grandis leaves are now a mixture of lime and sulphur-yellow, providing a sharp contrast to its striking pink seedheads.

Richer colours have infused the purple leaves of a nearby Heuchera...











...and Corylopsis pauciflora is a golden beacon in its backyard corner.

Sharing the same bed at the back of the house, Clematis recta  has exchanged its star-like white flowers of summer for a froth of seedheads.

A closer look shows the electric-blue seeds in the middle of those wispy white feathers. It is one of those plants that goes through an untidy phase after flowering and the temptation is there to cut it back. I need photos like these to remind me what a bad idea that is.