Showing posts with label fall foliage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall foliage. Show all posts

Friday, October 17, 2008

More Fall Colors

Fall gardening and other business have kept me busy this month--hence, the lack of posts. Meanwhile, Fall continues it relentless march, weaving a quilt of colors and ruffling up piles of leaves along the way. Overnight temperatures recently dipped into the upper 30's and several frost advisories already have been issued. The foliage in this part of the world is outstanding, and our wooded backyard is no exception:

A riot of colors on the ground...


and this glorious sugar maple is a likely suspect.


The red drupes of this Mohawk viburnum begin morphing to blue-black...


while this spring-blooming Dart's Duke viburnum seems confused!


Abelia chinensis is weighed down with honey-scented blooms...


while the glossy abelia's blooms are nearly spent.


This blackhaw viburnum looks hot to the touch!


A red-twigged dogwood has slipped into its winter jammies.

Monday, September 22, 2008

A Precocious Season

Officially, today is the first day of autumn. Unofficially, harbingers of fall--especially foliage--have been conspicuously visible since mid-August. I can't remember seeing so much color so early in the year (brought on perhaps by weeks of unseasonably cooler nights).

Not that I'm complaining. I love all the seasons--even the harsh, protracted Michigan winters--but fall always has held a special place in my heart.

Below are a few samples of the burgeoning fall colors in our yard:



A viburnum flaunting lustrous purplish-red jewel tones.



A sugar maple already adorned in full autumn splendor.




Another viburnum with leaves gloriously hued in rich wine shades.




This sumac tree has been displaying flaming orange to crimson colors since late August.




The berries of this winterberry shrub (also known as Michigan holly) turned bright red only this past weekend.