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Japanese red maples in Poland [15]
I have remembered there is a Japanese Maple called 'Sangu-Kaku' or something similar, which has all the things you could possibly want from a maple, but also has bright red stems that stand out nicely in the winter. Better still, why not try some of this selection:
Prunus serrula (Himalayan Cherry) which is not the same as Prunus serrulata. P. serrula has pale pink spring blossom, green summer leaves, red ornamental cherries in the autumn and absolutely gorgeous red peeling bark, rather like the bark of a birch, only because it's red, when the sun, particularly the winter sun, shines through it, it glows around the edges of the trunk. Plant a couple of these, along with a couple of Betula utilis var. jacquemontii (Himalayan birch) and you have Poland colours and some very nice trees. Neither grow particularly large.
There are maples other than the Japanese ones that you could try. The obvious candidates would be the native European ones - Acer campestre and Acer pseudoplatanus. The former is good as a hedging plant or as a tree with its rough bark. The latter is a large tree and should be planted with plenty of space and caution.
Maybe you don't have room for all that, but you could easily find room for Fuchsias. Just look for ones with appropriately coloured flowers and remember to cover it with fleece in winter. Penstemons are good cottage garden perennials. Again, some have flowers that are both red and white, or you could find two varieties, one red, one white. Again, I can't remember the specific name, but I have seen a Gaura with red and white flowers. This is another small perennial.
If you like interesting leaf shapes and autumn colours, you could try Rhus typhina (Sumac) but that does have a habit of spreading by suckers which come up in other parts of the garden, in neighbours' gardens, over the other side of the road and maybe even through the living room floor. I have seen one in Poland that was behaving itself alright, but I can't guarantee good behaviour. If you have a large lawn and plant one in the middle, constant mowing around it will definitely help.
Finally, another addition could be some climbers - Lonicera (honeysuckle) and Clematis. Plenty of honeysuckles have appropriately coloured flowers and the range of Clematis is absolutely staggering. Train these plants along fences or amongst trees and bushes.
I'm not sure how many of these will be available in Poland, but certainly in Germany and other places west of Poland if you like driving a long way with a load of plants for company. I would still say that it would be worth trying with a Japanese Maple, but start with a small one and keep it in a pot so it can be taken under cover in winter.
