This deciduous tree-like shrub offers a cloud of tiny purple-pink flowers in late summer, which is where the name 'smoke bush' comes from, but it's an all-round winner for much of the year because of its impressive oval purple leaves which turn a brilliant red in late autumn. The plum-coloured smoke bush Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' makes an excellent backdrop for other flowering plants with contrasting colour blooms such as orange tulips. However, I think it's best grown as a showy specimen shrub to show off its haze of flowers in June and its brilliant leaf colour in autumn.