The copper beech sounds beautiful, js, as well as the autumnal colours. I think having a mix of deciduous and evergreens is the best possible combination for autumn and winter. How nice that your camellias are still flowering.
In the end I changed my mind about the rockery so I've just put a pot plant on the bit where nothing will grow.
(I think it is due to the foundations of a brick pillar which supports the fence.) However I've planted a few things including a cosmos, which I hadn't heard of before, and a hollyhock, which I'd mistaken for a peony.
They were next to each other in the garden centre and I think I just picked up the wrong pot and planted it before I'd realised my mistake. I'm happy with it but it is a taller plant than I wanted. However the slugs and snails are keeping it in check
- it must be a delicacy in their cuisine the way they are attacking it.