The hot red autumn leaves of the sourwood in my back garden are partly obscured by its garland of Clematus tangutica. The tree changing color in the foreground is a young variegated dogwood, Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief.'

We should all bask in the fact that for the next month or so it is nearly impossible to create the color clashes of springtime, because all the sumptuous autumn shades blend so beautifully. The light and the colors conspire to make us look like inspired gardeners. The low, slanting sunlight perfectly backlights leaves grown nearly transparent in their final days, and clusters of blue, black and red berries only add to the richness of it all.

No other major group of trees offers such possibilities for size, shape and diversity of autumn color as maples. The Japanese maple Acer palmatum 'Senkaki' has coral stems that contrast with yellow autumn leaves, and A. palmatum 'Dissectum' has finely cut, filigreed foliage that becomes a blaze of orange. Few trees are as easy to grow, stay as compact, or are as brilliant in autumn as our native vine maple (A. circinatum). Another conveniently small, easy-to-grow tree that is spectacular this time of year is the serviceberry (Amelanchiar x grandiflora 'Princess Diana'), which grows slowly and turns a clear, bright red. Parrotia persica is a more spreading small tree with a graceful shape and dramatic fall color.

Now In Bloom Chrysanthemum 'Robin' is a garden mum whose pompom-shaped bronze-orange flowers accent the changing tones of deciduous trees and shrubs. It has a bushy, branched habit and grows best in full sun and rich, moist soil.

Then there are the small trees whose leaves are colored all season long, turning yet more vivid in autumn. The golden locust (Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia') has golden yellow leaves that shine even more brightly in autumn sunlight, and the heart-shaped leaves of Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy' become an even deeper tint of purple as the weather cools.

If intense, burning red leaves are what you're looking for, be sure to consider the sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboretum), which hangs on to its creamy, pendulous flower and seed clusters while its foliage turns flame red. The sourwood also turns color early and hangs onto its leaves late into autumn. Another tree that puts on a dependably long display of fall color is the sweetgum (Liquidambar), whose broadly lobed leaves turn purple, orange, red and yellow all at the same time and hang on the branches well into early winter.

One tree that is worth growing although its fall foliage has a short life is the elegant katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum). Its leaves are heart-shaped, coming on a bronzy haze in spring, turning to soft green in summer, then moving on to delicate shades of apricot, orange and darkest maroon. Katsuras are planted down the middle of the main parking lot at the Graham Visitor's Center at the Washington Park Arboretum. On warm days, their fall foliage smells of brown sugar with a whiff of cinnamon. One of my most enduring autumn memories is of a couple of bright bluejays playing tag among the yellow and orange leaves of a katsura, inadvertently denuding the tree by causing a fluttery shower of colored leaves every time they hopped from branch to branch.

Valerie Easton is a horticultural librarian and writes about plants and gardens for Pacific Northwest magazine. She is the co-author of "Artists in Their Gardens" from Sasquatch Books. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.